ytarchive

Attempt to archive a given Youtube livestream from the start. This is most useful for streams that have already started and you want to download, but can also be used to wait for a scheduled stream and start downloading as soon as it starts. If you want to download a VOD, I recommend yt-dlp, which is an actively maintained fork of youtube-dl with more features.

Dependencies

• FFmpeg needs to be installed to mux the final file.

Installation

Download the latest pre-release from the releases page

Alternatively, if you have Go properly installed and set up, run go install github.com/Kethsar/ytarchive@dev

Usage

usage: ytarchive [OPTIONS] [url] [quality]

	[url] is a youtube livestream URL. If not provided, you will be
	prompted to enter one.

	[quality] is a slash-delimited list of video qualities you want
	to be selected for download, from most to least wanted. If not
	provided, you will be prompted for one, with a list of available
	qualities to choose from. The following values are valid:
	audio_only, 144p, 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 720p60, 1080p, 1080p60, 1440p, 1440p60, 2160p, 2160p60, best

Options:
	-h
	--help
		Show this help message.

	-4
	--ipv4
		Make all connections using IPv4.

	-6
	--ipv6
		Make all connections using IPv6.

	--info-only
		Print stream information such as Video title, Selected quality
		Stream start time and duration and then exits.

	--add-metadata
		Write some basic metadata information to the final file.

	--audio-url GOOGLEVIDEO_URL
		Pass in the given url as the audio fragment url. Must be a
		Google Video url with an itag parameter of 140.

	--capture-duration DURATION or TIMESTRING
		Captures a livestream for the specified length of time 
		and then exits and finalizes the video.
		Supports time durations (e.g. 1d8h10m) or time strings (e.g. 12:30:05).

	-c
	--cookies COOKIES_FILE
		Give a cookies.txt file that has your youtube cookies. Allows
		the script to access members-only content if you are a member
		for the given stream's user. Must be netscape cookie format.

	--debug
		Print a lot of extra information.

	--disable-save-state
		Disable saving state for resumable downloads. Useful if you are
		archiving the same stream multiple times in the same directory
		for some reason.

	-dp
	--directory-permissions PERMISSIONS
		Set the filesystem permissions for created directories. Uses unix
		numeric notation. Be aware of umask settings for your directory.
		Default is 0755.

	--error
		Print only errors and general information.

	--ffmpeg-path FFMPEG_PATH
		Set a specific ffmpeg location, including program name.
		e.g. "C:\ffmpeg\ffmpeg.exe" or "/opt/ffmpeg/ffmpeg"

	-fp
	--file-permissions PERMISSIONS
		Set the filesystem permissions for created files. Uses unix
		numeric notation. Be aware of umask settings for your directory.
		Default is 0644.

	--h264
		Only download h264 video, skipping VP9 if it would have been used.

	-k
	--keep-ts-files
		Keep the final stream audio and video files after muxing them
		instead of deleting them.

	-l
	--lookalike-chars
		Use lookalikes for forbidden characters in the filename output format.
		Emulates forbidden characters by using the same replacement characters as yt-dlp.
		This will make the filenames look closer to the original titles.

	--members-only
		Only download members-only streams. Can only be used with channel URLs
		such as /live, /streams, etc, and requires cookies.
		Useful when monitoring channels and you only want membership streams.

	--merge
		Automatically run the ffmpeg command for the downloaded streams
		when manually cancelling the download. You will be prompted otherwise.

	--metadata KEY=VALUE
		If writing metadata, overwrite/add metadata key-value entry.
		KEY is a metadata key that ffmpeg recognizes. If invalid, ffmpeg may ignore it or error.
		VALUE is a format template. If empty string (''), omit writing metadata for the key.
		See FORMAT TEMPLATE OPTIONS below for a list of available format keys.
		Can be used multiple times.

	--mkv
		Mux the final file into an mkv container instead of an mp4 container.
		Ignored when downloading audio only.

	--monitor-channel
		Continually monitor a channel for streams. Requires using a /live URL.
		This will go back to checking for a stream after it finishes downloading
		the current one. Implies '-r 60 --merge' unless set separately. Minimum
		30 second wait time, 60 or more recommended. Using 'best' for quality or
		setting a decently exhaustive list recommended to prevent waiting for
		input if selected quality is not available for certain streams.
		Be careful to monitor your disk usage when using this to avoid filling
		your drive while away.

	--newline
		Print every message to a new line, instead of some messages reusing one
		line.

	--no-audio
		Do not download the audio stream

	--no-frag-files
		Keep fragment data in memory instead of writing to an intermediate file.
		This has the possibility to drastically increase RAM usage if a fragment
		downloads particularly slowly as more fragments after it finish first.
		This is only an issue when --threads >1
		Highly recommended if you don't have strict RAM limitations. Especially
		on Wangblows, which has caused issues with file locking when trying to
		delete fragment files.

	--no-merge
		Do not run the ffmpeg command for the downloaded streams
		when manually cancelling the download. You will be prompted otherwise.

	--no-save
		Do not save any downloaded data and files if not having ffmpeg
		run when manually cancelling the download. You will be prompted otherwise.
		Does nothing if --merge is set.

	--no-save-state
		Do not leave files required for resuming downloads when manually
		cancelling the download. You will be prompted otherwise.
		Does nothing if --merge or --save are set.

	--no-video
		If a googlevideo url is given or passed with --audio-url, do not
		prompt for a video url. If a video url is given with --video-url
		then this is effectively ignored.

	-n
	--no-wait
		Do not wait for a livestream if it's a future scheduled stream.

	-o
	--output FILENAME_FORMAT
		Set the output file name EXCLUDING THE EXTENSION. Can include
		formatting similar to youtube-dl, albeit much more limited.
		See FORMAT OPTIONS below for a list of available format keys.
		Default is '%(title)s-%(id)s'

	--proxy <SCHEME>://[<USER>:<PASS>@]<HOST>:<PORT>
		Specify a proxy to use for downloading. e.g.
			- socks5://127.0.0.1:1080
			- http://192.168.1.1:8080
			- http://user:[email protected]:8080

		HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 proxy servers are supported.

	-q
	--quiet
		Print nothing to the console except information relevant for user input.

	--retry-frags ATTEMPTS
		Set the number of attempts to make when downloading a stream fragment.
		Set to 0 to retry indefinitely, or until we are completely unable to.
		Default is 10.

	-r
	--retry-stream SECONDS
		If waiting for a scheduled livestream, re-check if the stream is
		up every SECONDS instead of waiting for the initial scheduled time.
		If SECONDS is less than the poll delay youtube gives (typically
		15 seconds), then this will be set to the value youtube provides.

	--save
		Automatically save any downloaded data and files if not having
		ffmpeg run when manually cancelling the download. You will be prompted
		otherwise. Does nothing if --merge is set.

	--save-state
		Automatically leave files alone and do not delete anything when manually
		cancelling the download, allowing for resuming a download later when
		possible. You will be prompted otherwise.
		Resuming requires the stream be available to download as normal.
		Does nothing if --merge or --save are set.

	--separate-audio
		Save the audio to a separate file, similar to when downloading
		audio_only, alongside the final muxed file. This includes embedding
		metadata and the thumbnail if set.

	--start-delay DURATION or TIMESTRING
		Waits for a specified length of time before starting to capture a stream from that time.
		Supports time durations (e.g. 1d8h10m) or time strings (e.g. 12:30:05).
		
		Note: * NOT supported when using also using '--live-from'.
		      * If the stream is scheduled and has not yet begun then
		        the delay does not start counting until the stream has begun.
		      * Ignored when resuming a download.

	-td
	--temporary-dir DIRECTORY
		Set the working directory for the download. This is where the
		temporary files will be stored. If not set, the output directory
		will be used.

	--threads THREAD_COUNT
		Set the number of threads to use for downloading audio and video
		fragments. The total number of threads running will be
		THREAD_COUNT * 2 + 3. Main thread, a thread for each audio and
		video download, and THREAD_COUNT number of fragment downloaders
		for both audio and video.
		
		Setting this to a large number has a chance at causing the download
		to start failing with HTTP 401. Restarting the download with a smaller
		thread count until you no longer get 401s should work. Default is 1.

	-t
	--thumbnail
		Download and embed the stream thumbnail in the finished file.
		Whether the thumbnail shows properly depends on your file browser.
		Windows' seems to work. Nemo on Linux seemingly does not.

	--trace
		Print just about any information that might have reason to be printed.
		Very spammy, do not use this unless you have good reason.

	-v
	--verbose
		Print extra information.

	-V
	--version
		Print the version number and exit.

	--video-url GOOGLEVIDEO_URL
		Pass in the given url as the video fragment url. Must be a
		Google Video url with an itag parameter that is not 140.

	--vp9
		If there is a VP9 version of your selected video quality,
		download that instead of the usual h264.

	-w
	--wait
		Wait for a livestream if it's a future scheduled stream.
		If this option is not used when a scheduled stream is provided,
		you will be asked if you want to wait or not.

	--warn
		Print warning, errors, and general information. This is the default log
		level.

	--write-description
		Write the video description to a separate .description file.
	
	--write-mux-file
		Write the ffmpeg command that would mux audio and video or put audio
		into an mp4 container instead of running the command automatically.
		Useful if you want to tweak the command, want a higher log level, etc.

	--write-thumbnail
		Write the thumbnail to a separate file.

	--live-from DURATION, TIMESTRING or NOW
		Starts the download from the specified time in the future, the past or 'now'.
		Use a negative time value to skip back in time from now.
		Use a positive time value to specify the timestamp in the stream to start 
		capturing from (from the start of the stream).

		Supports time durations (e.g. 1d8h30m5s) or time strings (e.g. 32:30:05).
		Examples: * '--live-from -01:10:00' will seek backwards 1 hour and 10 minutes from now
					and then start downloading from that time.
		          * '--live-from 1h10mm00s' will begin downloading from 1 hour 10 minutes 
				    after the stream started.
		          * '--live-from now' will start recording from the current stream time.

Examples:
	ytarchive -w
		Waits for a stream. Will prompt for a URL and quality.

	ytarchive -w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnWDmKx9cQQ 1080p60/best
		Waits for the given stream URL. Will prioritize downloading in 1080p60.
		If 1080p60 is not an available quality, it will choose the best of what
		is available.

	ytarchive --threads 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK1GXnz-1Lw best
		Downloads the given stream with 3 threads in the best available quality.
		Will ask if you want to wait if the stream is scheduled but not started.

	ytarchive -r 30 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZlDXzGoo7d44bwdNObFacg/live best
		Will wait for a livestream at the given URL, checking every 30 seconds.

	ytarchive -c cookies-youtube-com.txt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_touw1GND-M best
		Loads the given cookies file and attempts to download the given stream.
		Will ask if you want to wait.

	ytarchive --no-wait --add-metadata https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaTdHTWBGv3MKj3KVqJVCw/live best
		Attempts to download the given stream, and will add metadata to the
		final muxed file. Will not wait if there is no stream or if it has not
		started.

	ytarchive -o '%(channel)s/%(upload_date)s_%(title)s' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxV9UAMN12o best
		Download the given stream to a directory with the channel name, and a
		file that will have the upload date and stream title. Will prompt to
		wait.

	ytarchive -w -k -t --vp9 --merge --no-frag-files https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE8V5iNemBA best
		Waits, keeps the final .ts files, embeds the stream thumbnail, merges
		the downloaded files if download is stopped manually, and keeps
		fragments in memory instead of writing to intermediate files.
		Downloads the stream video in VP9 if available. This set of flags will
		not require any extra user input if something goes wrong.

	ytarchive -k -t --vp9 --monitor-channel --no-frag-files https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaTdHTWBGv3MKj3KVqJVCw/live best
		Same as above, but waits for a stream on the given channel, and will
		repeat the cycle after downloading each stream.

	ytarchive --proxy http://127.0.0.1:9050 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aIdHTuyYMA best
		Downloads the given stream with a local HTTP proxy.

FORMAT TEMPLATE OPTIONS
	Format template keys provided are made to be the same as they would be for
	youtube-dl. See https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl#output-template

	For file names, each template substitution is sanitized by replacing invalid file name
	characters with an underscore (_). If '--lookalike-chars' is used, invalid file name
	characters get replaced by the same lookalike characters that yt-dlp uses instead.

	id (string): Video identifier
	url (string): Video URL
	title (string): Video title
	channel_id (string): ID of the channel
	channel (string): Full name of the channel the livestream is on
	upload_date (string: YYYYMMDD): Technically stream start date, UTC timezone - see note below
	start_date (string: YYYYMMDD): Stream start date, UTC timezone
	publish_date (string: YYYYMMDD): Stream publish date, UTC timezone
	description (string): Video description [disallowed for file name format template]

	Note on upload_date: rather than the actual upload date, stream start date is used to
	provide a better default date for youtube-dl output templates that use upload_date.
	To get the actual upload date, publish date seems to be the same as upload date for streams.