Skip to main content

A pythonic library for downloading YouTube Videos.

Project description

pytube logo

pypi

pytube

pytube is a very serious, lightweight, dependency-free Python library (and command-line utility) for downloading YouTube Videos.

Description

YouTube is the most popular video-sharing platform in the world and as a hacker you may encounter a situation where you want to script something to download videos. For this I present to you pytube.

pytube is a lightweight library written in Python. It has no third party dependencies and aims to be highly reliable.

pytube also makes pipelining easy, allowing you to specify callback functions for different download events, such as on progress or on complete.

Finally pytube also includes a command-line utility, allowing you to quickly download videos right from terminal.

Behold, a perfect balance of simplicity versus flexibility:

 >>> YouTube('https://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0').streams.first().download()
 >>> yt = YouTube('http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0')
 >>> yt.streams
  ... .filter(progressive=True, file_extension='mp4')
  ... .order_by('resolution')
  ... .desc()
  ... .first()
  ... .download()

Features

  • Support for Both Progressive & DASH Streams
  • Support for downloading complete playlist
  • Easily Register on_download_progress & on_download_complete callbacks
  • Command-line Interfaced Included
  • Caption Track Support
  • Outputs Caption Tracks to .srt format (SubRip Subtitle)
  • Ability to Capture Thumbnail URL.
  • Extensively Documented Source Code
  • No Third-Party Dependencies

Installation

Download using pip via pypi.

$ pip install pytube

Getting started

Let's begin with showing how easy it is to download a video with pytube:

>>> from pytube import YouTube
>>> YouTube('http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0').streams.first().download()

This example will download the highest quality progressive download stream available.

Next, let's explore how we would view what video streams are available:

>>> yt = YouTube('http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0')
>>> yt.streams.all()
 [<Stream: itag="22" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.64001F" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
 <Stream: itag="43" mime_type="video/webm" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp8.0" acodec="vorbis">,
 <Stream: itag="18" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.42001E" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
 <Stream: itag="36" mime_type="video/3gpp" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="mp4v.20.3" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
 <Stream: itag="17" mime_type="video/3gpp" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="mp4v.20.3" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
 <Stream: itag="137" mime_type="video/mp4" res="1080p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.640028">,
 <Stream: itag="248" mime_type="video/webm" res="1080p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
 <Stream: itag="136" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401f">,
 <Stream: itag="247" mime_type="video/webm" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
 <Stream: itag="135" mime_type="video/mp4" res="480p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401e">,
 <Stream: itag="244" mime_type="video/webm" res="480p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
 <Stream: itag="134" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401e">,
 <Stream: itag="243" mime_type="video/webm" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
 <Stream: itag="133" mime_type="video/mp4" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d4015">,
 <Stream: itag="242" mime_type="video/webm" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
 <Stream: itag="160" mime_type="video/mp4" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d400c">,
 <Stream: itag="278" mime_type="video/webm" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
 <Stream: itag="140" mime_type="audio/mp4" abr="128kbps" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
 <Stream: itag="171" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="128kbps" acodec="vorbis">,
 <Stream: itag="249" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="50kbps" acodec="opus">,
 <Stream: itag="250" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="70kbps" acodec="opus">,
 <Stream: itag="251" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="160kbps" acodec="opus">]

You may notice that some streams listed have both a video codec and audio codec, while others have just video or just audio, this is a result of YouTube supporting a streaming technique called Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH).

In the context of pytube, the implications are for the highest quality streams; you now need to download both the audio and video tracks and then post-process them with software like FFmpeg to merge them.

The legacy streams that contain the audio and video in a single file (referred to as "progressive download") are still available, but only for resolutions 720p and below.

To only view these progressive download streams:

 >>> yt.streams.filter(progressive=True).all()
  [<Stream: itag="22" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.64001F" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="43" mime_type="video/webm" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp8.0" acodec="vorbis">,
  <Stream: itag="18" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.42001E" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="36" mime_type="video/3gpp" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="mp4v.20.3" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="17" mime_type="video/3gpp" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="mp4v.20.3" acodec="mp4a.40.2">]

Conversely, if you only want to see the DASH streams (also referred to as "adaptive") you can do:

>>> yt.streams.filter(adaptive=True).all()
 [<Stream: itag="137" mime_type="video/mp4" res="1080p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.640028">,
  <Stream: itag="248" mime_type="video/webm" res="1080p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
  <Stream: itag="136" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401f">,
  <Stream: itag="247" mime_type="video/webm" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
  <Stream: itag="135" mime_type="video/mp4" res="480p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401e">,
  <Stream: itag="244" mime_type="video/webm" res="480p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
  <Stream: itag="134" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401e">,
  <Stream: itag="243" mime_type="video/webm" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
  <Stream: itag="133" mime_type="video/mp4" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d4015">,
  <Stream: itag="242" mime_type="video/webm" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
  <Stream: itag="160" mime_type="video/mp4" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d400c">,
  <Stream: itag="278" mime_type="video/webm" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="vp9">,
  <Stream: itag="140" mime_type="audio/mp4" abr="128kbps" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="171" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="128kbps" acodec="vorbis">,
  <Stream: itag="249" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="50kbps" acodec="opus">,
  <Stream: itag="250" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="70kbps" acodec="opus">,
  <Stream: itag="251" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="160kbps" acodec="opus">]

You can also download a complete Youtube playlist:

>>> from pytube import Playlist
>>> pl = Playlist("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edpy1szoG80&list=PL153hDY-y1E00uQtCVCVC8xJ25TYX8yPU")
>>> pl.download_all()
>>> # or if you want to download in a specific directory
>>> pl.download_all('/path/to/directory/')

This will download the highest progressive stream available (generally 720p) from the given playlist. Later more options would be given for user's flexibility to choose video resolution.

Pytube allows you to filter on every property available (see the documentation for the complete list), let's take a look at some of the most useful ones.

To list the audio only streams:

>>> yt.streams.filter(only_audio=True).all()
  [<Stream: itag="140" mime_type="audio/mp4" abr="128kbps" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="171" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="128kbps" acodec="vorbis">,
  <Stream: itag="249" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="50kbps" acodec="opus">,
  <Stream: itag="250" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="70kbps" acodec="opus">,
  <Stream: itag="251" mime_type="audio/webm" abr="160kbps" acodec="opus">]

To list only mp4 streams:

>>> yt.streams.filter(subtype='mp4').all()
 [<Stream: itag="22" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.64001F" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="18" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.42001E" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="137" mime_type="video/mp4" res="1080p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.640028">,
  <Stream: itag="136" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401f">,
  <Stream: itag="135" mime_type="video/mp4" res="480p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401e">,
  <Stream: itag="134" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d401e">,
  <Stream: itag="133" mime_type="video/mp4" res="240p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d4015">,
  <Stream: itag="160" mime_type="video/mp4" res="144p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.4d400c">,
  <Stream: itag="140" mime_type="audio/mp4" abr="128kbps" acodec="mp4a.40.2">]

Multiple filters can also be specified:

>>> yt.streams.filter(subtype='mp4', progressive=True).all()
>>> # this can also be expressed as:
>>> yt.streams.filter(subtype='mp4').filter(progressive=True).all()
  [<Stream: itag="22" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.64001F" acodec="mp4a.40.2">,
  <Stream: itag="18" mime_type="video/mp4" res="360p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.42001E" acodec="mp4a.40.2">]

You also have an interface to select streams by their itag, without needing to filter:

>>> yt.streams.get_by_itag(22)
  <Stream: itag="22" mime_type="video/mp4" res="720p" fps="30fps" vcodec="avc1.64001F" acodec="mp4a.40.2">

If you need to optimize for a specific feature, such as the "highest resolution" or "lowest average bitrate":

>>> yt.streams.filter(progressive=True).order_by('resolution').desc().all()

Note that order_by cannot be used if your attribute is undefined in any of the Stream instances, so be sure to apply a filter to remove those before calling it.

If your application requires post-processing logic, pytube allows you to specify an "on download complete" callback function:

 >>> def convert_to_aac(stream, file_handle):
         return  # do work

 >>> yt.register_on_complete_callback(convert_to_aac)

Similarly, if your application requires on-download progress logic, pytube exposes a callback for this as well:

 >>> def show_progress_bar(stream, chunk, file_handle, bytes_remaining):
         return  # do work

 >>> yt.register_on_progress_callback(show_progress_bar)

Command-line interface

pytube also ships with a tiny cli interface for downloading and probing videos.

Let's start with downloading:

$ pytube http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 --itag=22

To view available streams:

$ pytube http://youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 --list

Finally, if you're filing a bug report, the cli contains a switch called --build-playback-report, which bundles up the state, allowing others to easily replay your issue.

Project details


Release history Release notifications | RSS feed

Download files

Download the file for your platform. If you're not sure which to choose, learn more about installing packages.

Source Distribution

pytube-9.3.2.tar.gz (32.7 kB view details)

Uploaded Source

Built Distribution

pytube-9.3.2-py3-none-any.whl (30.4 kB view details)

Uploaded Python 3

File details

Details for the file pytube-9.3.2.tar.gz.

File metadata

  • Download URL: pytube-9.3.2.tar.gz
  • Upload date:
  • Size: 32.7 kB
  • Tags: Source
  • Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? No
  • Uploaded via: twine/1.12.1 pkginfo/1.4.2 requests/2.20.0 setuptools/40.2.0 requests-toolbelt/0.8.0 tqdm/4.27.0 CPython/3.6.6

File hashes

Hashes for pytube-9.3.2.tar.gz
Algorithm Hash digest
SHA256 5187d24f347267b23482336e65303384eac6c9b33b79e31b28cf8b9906b47dd0
MD5 515a2619521f498c38e9e08b0f64a41b
BLAKE2b-256 6cf0020ad4230389db23df5d65a5eb68bc4f8b3047277971e6cc043e417b5e12

See more details on using hashes here.

File details

Details for the file pytube-9.3.2-py3-none-any.whl.

File metadata

  • Download URL: pytube-9.3.2-py3-none-any.whl
  • Upload date:
  • Size: 30.4 kB
  • Tags: Python 3
  • Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? No
  • Uploaded via: twine/1.12.1 pkginfo/1.4.2 requests/2.20.0 setuptools/40.2.0 requests-toolbelt/0.8.0 tqdm/4.27.0 CPython/3.6.6

File hashes

Hashes for pytube-9.3.2-py3-none-any.whl
Algorithm Hash digest
SHA256 fd688b02d1bd6b61a4b75b544f1675c3c0976ddb1e646a34aacd8acc9155a0fe
MD5 002fdc402b01993e50a6a6103ab6cb64
BLAKE2b-256 47b722ab49be41002f9db817936cf887ef14f72b2fec4a8f8c03d8dabf21d789

See more details on using hashes here.

Supported by

AWS Cloud computing and Security Sponsor Datadog Monitoring Fastly CDN Google Download Analytics Pingdom Monitoring Sentry Error logging StatusPage Status page