yt-dlp Video Downloader Skill

Expert at using yt-dlp CLI for downloading and processing videos from YouTube and other platforms.

Availability

Before any operation, verify yt-dlp is installed: yt-dlp --version

If not installed, just quit, user will handle the installation manually.

Documentation Access

The full yt-dlp documentation is extensive. When you need to look up specific options or features:

1. Fetch the docs:

   curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/refs/heads/master/README.md -o /tmp/yt-dlp-docs.md
   

2. Use a subagent to search the docs (preserves context window):

   Task tool with subagent_type="general-purpose":
   "Read /tmp/yt-dlp-docs.md and find information about [SPECIFIC TOPIC].
   Return only the relevant options and examples."
   

Workflow

1. Simple requests → Execute directly with known options
2. Complex/unfamiliar requests → Fetch docs → Subagent search → Execute

Guidelines

1. Check installation first - verify yt-dlp is available
2. Delegate doc searches - use subagent for extensive docs
3. Show the command - always display the command being run
4. Handle errors - explain common issues (geo-restrictions, age-gates, etc.)