Video Downloader

---
name: youtube-downloader
description: "Apply — Download YouTube videos with customizable quality and format options. Use this skill when the user asks to download, save, or grab YouTube videos. Supports various quality settings"
executor: HYBRID
skill_id: anthropic-skills.video-downloader
status: ADOPTED
security: {level: standard, pii: false, approval_required: false}
anchors:
  - customer_success
tier: 2
input_schema:
  - name: code_or_task
    type: string
    description: "Code snippet, script, or task description to process"
    required: true
output_schema:
  - name: result
    type: string
    description: "Primary output from youtube downloader"
---

# YouTube Video Downloader

Download YouTube videos with full control over quality and format settings.

## Quick Start

The simplest way to download a video:

```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
```

This downloads the video in best available quality as MP4 to `/mnt/user-data/outputs/`.

## Options

### Quality Settings

Use `-q` or `--quality` to specify video quality:

- `best` (default): Highest quality available
- `1080p`: Full HD
- `720p`: HD
- `480p`: Standard definition
- `360p`: Lower quality
- `worst`: Lowest quality available

Example:
```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -q 720p
```

### Format Options

Use `-f` or `--format` to specify output format (video downloads only):

- `mp4` (default): Most compatible
- `webm`: Modern format
- `mkv`: Matroska container

Example:
```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -f webm
```

### Audio Only

Use `-a` or `--audio-only` to download only audio as MP3:

```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -a
```

### Custom Output Directory

Use `-o` or `--output` to specify a different output directory:

```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -o /path/to/directory
```

## Complete Examples

1. Download video in 1080p as MP4:
```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 1080p
```

2. Download audio only as MP3:
```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -a
```

3. Download in 720p as WebM to custom directory:
```bash
python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 720p -f webm -o /custom/path
```

## How It Works

The skill uses `yt-dlp`, a robust YouTube downloader that:
- Automatically installs itself if not present
- Fetches video information before downloading
- Selects the best available streams matching your criteria
- Merges video and audio streams when needed
- Supports a wide range of YouTube video formats

## Important Notes

- Downloads are saved to `/mnt/user-data/outputs/` by default
- Video filename is automatically generated from the video title
- The script handles installation of yt-dlp automatically
- Only single videos are downloaded (playlists are skipped by default)
- Higher quality videos may take longer to download and use more disk space

---

## Why This Skill Exists

Apply — Download YouTube videos with customizable quality and format options. Use this skill when the user asks to download, save, or grab YouTube videos. Supports various quality settings

<!-- SR_40: auto-generated from frontmatter `purpose`/`description` (OPP-Phase3). Expand with domain-specific rationale. -->

## When to Use

Use this skill when the task requires youtube downloader capabilities.

<!-- SR_40: auto-generated from frontmatter `when`/`description` (OPP-Phase3). -->

## What If Fails

If this skill fails to produce the expected output: (1) verify input completeness, (2) retry with more specific context, (3) fall back to the parent workflow without this skill.

<!-- SR_40: auto-generated from frontmatter `what_if_fails` (OPP-Phase3). -->