YT Downloader GUI

A desktop YouTube / video downloader built with Python and PyQt6, wrapping yt-dlp.

Features

• Download queue — add multiple URLs and download them one by one
• Dynamic dropdowns — resolution, codec, audio track, and subtitle options are populated from the actual video metadata after pasting a URL
• Playlist support — paste a playlist URL and choose to download all videos or just the first one
• Audio-only mode — extract audio in mp3, m4a, opus, or best quality with configurable bitrate
• Subtitle download — choose from available subtitle languages (manual or auto-generated in the video's language), with optional embedding
• Real-time progress — segmented progress bar with live log output from yt-dlp
• Thumbnail preview — video thumbnail shown in the detail panel
• Output folder — configurable with persistence between sessions
• Queue counter — shows Video X / Y while downloading a playlist
• yt-dlp updater — one-click update button

Requirements

Requirement	Version
Python	3.10+
PyQt6	6.4+
yt-dlp	installed and on PATH

yt-dlp must be installed separately and accessible as yt-dlp on the command line. Install it with: pip install yt-dlp or download from yt-dlp releases.

Installation

Option A — Pre-built executable (Windows)

Download YT-Downloader.exe from the latest release and run it. yt-dlp still needs to be on PATH.

Option B — Run from source

git clone https://github.com/FiJislav/yt-downloader-gui
cd yt-downloader-gui
pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m yt_downloader_gui.main

Building the executable yourself

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --name "YT-Downloader" yt_downloader_gui/main.py
# Output: dist/YT-Downloader.exe

Usage

1. Paste a URL into the input field and click Add (or press Enter / use Paste from Clipboard)
2. If it's a playlist URL you will be asked whether to add all videos or just the first
3. Wait for the thumbnail and metadata to load — dropdowns populate automatically
4. Choose your preferred resolution, codec, audio track, and subtitles
5. Set the output folder with the Browse button
6. Click Start Queue to begin downloading

Download options

Control	Description
Resolution	Video height (e.g. 1080p, 720p) or Best available
Codec	Container + codec per resolution (e.g. mp4 (avc1, 60fps))
Audio track	Language of the audio stream
Subtitles	Available subtitle / auto-caption language
Embed subtitles	Mux subtitles into the video file
Audio only	Extract audio; choose format (mp3/m4a/opus) and quality

Filename format

Downloads are saved as:

<Channel Name> - <Video Title>.<ext>

Development

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
pytest

License

MIT