aytube 🚀

Ultra-fast YouTube Video & Audio Downloader and Direct Stream Extractor in Python.
A modern, lightweight alternative to pytube and yt-dlp that works cleanly without HTTP 403 Forbidden errors, without heavy dependencies, and with full cookie support.

⚡ Why AyTube? (Comparison)

If you've used pytube recently, you know it constantly breaks with HTTP 403 Forbidden and cipher errors. If you've used yt-dlp, it is a 15+ MB package that requires external JavaScript challenge solver scripts and complex setups.

AyTube is designed to be the fastest, simplest, and most reliable Python YouTube extractor:

📦 Installation

Install aytube from PyPI:

pip install aytube

Or install the latest version from source:

git clone https://github.com/Sinchu-xD/AyTube.git
cd AyTube
pip install -e .

Requirements: Python 3.10+ (and optional Node.js for signature cipher fallback).

🚀 Quick Start (Python)

1. Extract Direct Playable Stream URL

from aytube import get_stream_url

# Extract highest available quality (e.g. 4K / 1080p)
result = get_stream_url("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ")

print(result.url)        # Direct playable Google Video CDN URL
print(result.quality)    # e.g., "2160p" or "1080p"
print(result.size)       # File size in bytes
print(result.title)      # Video title

2. Specific Video Quality (1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p)

from aytube import get_stream_url

# Pick 1080p stream
res_1080p = get_stream_url("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", quality="1080p")
print(res_1080p.url)

# Pick 720p stream
res_720p = get_stream_url("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", quality="720p")
print(res_720p.url)

3. Extract Audio Stream (Opus / AAC)

from aytube import get_stream_url

audio = get_stream_url("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", audio_only=True, quality="high")
print(f"Codec: {audio.audio_codec}, Quality: {audio.quality}, URL: {audio.url}")

4. Download Video or Audio

from aytube import download

# Download 1080p video
path = download("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", quality="1080p", output="video.mp4")

# Download audio only
audio_path = download("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", audio_only=True, output="audio.m4a")

5. Using Cookies (Bypass Age Verification & Protected Streams)

AyTube automatically detects cookies_file in your working directory, or you can provide the path explicitly:

from aytube import get_stream_url, download

# Provide Netscape-format cookies
result = get_stream_url(
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    cookies_file="cookies_file",
    quality="1080p"
)

💻 CLI Commands

AyTube includes a full-featured, zero-dependency command line interface:

# 1. Get direct stream URL (1080p)
aytube get "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 1080p

# 2. Get direct stream URL as JSON
aytube get "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -j

# 3. List all available 27 video/audio formats with itag, resolution, and sizes
aytube list "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

# 4. Download video with progress bar
aytube download "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 1080p -o my_video.mp4

# 5. Download audio only
aytube download "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -a -o song.m4a

# 6. Resume interrupted download using HTTP Range requests
aytube resume "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -o my_video.mp4

# 7. Search YouTube directly
aytube search "lofi hip hop" -N 5

# 8. Download HD thumbnail (1280x720)
aytube thumb "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -o thumbnail.jpg

# 9. Get video metadata
aytube info "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

# 10. List video subtitles / captions
aytube subs "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

# 11. Batch download from URL list
aytube batch urls.txt -q 720p -n 4

CLI Flags Reference

🎯 Supported Stream Formats (Itags)

🛡️ Cookie Protection & Privacy

AyTube respects your privacy. Cookie files are never bundled or published. AyTube reads standard Netscape cookie files exported from your browser, allowing access to age-restricted videos and higher rate limits without sharing your credentials.

📄 License

Released under the MIT License. Created and maintained by ABHISHEK THAKUR.