yt-dlp
FreeThe de-facto standard for downloading video, in one command
A command-line video downloader supporting well over a thousand sites. Pick a resolution, extract audio only, pull subtitles and thumbnails alongside, or name files from a template. It ships as a single executable and pairs with ffmpeg to merge the highest-quality audio and video streams.
Why we picked it
184,400 stars, released under the Unlicense (effectively public domain). Nearly every "online video downloader" website, every player with a download button and most GUI download tools are yt-dlp underneath — the difference is that those wrap it in ads and you can just use it directly.
Being a command-line tool is both the barrier and the point. yt-dlp <url> starts a download.
Add -x for audio only, --write-subs --sub-langs en for subtitles, or feed it a text file of
URLs for batches. Once three or four flags are in your muscle memory it beats any GUI on speed.
Two practical notes. First, install ffmpeg. High-resolution video now ships audio and video as
separate streams; without ffmpeg you are limited to a lower-quality pre-merged version, and with
it you get the real maximum. Second, keep it current. Sites change their internals constantly
and yt-dlp keeps up through frequent releases (currently 2026.07.04) — a six-month-old build will
likely just fail. yt-dlp -U or your package manager fixes that.
To be explicit: downloading copyrighted material or violating a site's terms is your responsibility. The tool is just a downloader.