youtube-hq-downloader

Youtube Highest Quality Downloader - Download highest quality silent video and pure audio from YouTube, then merge into video with sound

3,891 stars

Best use case

youtube-hq-downloader is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.

Youtube Highest Quality Downloader - Download highest quality silent video and pure audio from YouTube, then merge into video with sound

Teams using youtube-hq-downloader should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.

When to use this skill

  • You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.

When not to use this skill

  • You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
  • You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.

Installation

Claude Code / Cursor / Codex

$curl -o ~/.claude/skills/youtube-hq-downloader/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openclaw/skills/main/skills/accidwar/youtube-hq-downloader/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

  1. Download SKILL.md from GitHub
  2. Place it in .claude/skills/youtube-hq-downloader/SKILL.md inside your project
  3. Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill

How youtube-hq-downloader Compares

Feature / Agentyoutube-hq-downloaderStandard Approach
Platform SupportNot specifiedLimited / Varies
Context Awareness High Baseline
Installation ComplexityUnknownN/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this skill do?

Youtube Highest Quality Downloader - Download highest quality silent video and pure audio from YouTube, then merge into video with sound

Where can I find the source code?

You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.

Related Guides

SKILL.md Source

# YouTube Highest Quality Downloader

Download the highest quality silent video and pure audio from YouTube, then merge into a video with sound using ffmpeg.
从YouTube下载视频的最高清无声版本和纯音频,然后使用ffmpeg合并为有声视频。

## Features / 功能

- 🎬 Download highest quality silent video from YouTube (bestvideo) / 下载YouTube视频最高清无声版本
- 🎵 Download pure audio from YouTube (bestaudio) / 下载YouTube视频纯音频
- 🔧 Merge video and audio using ffmpeg / 使用ffmpeg合并视频和音频
- 🖥️ Runs independently, no dependencies on other skills / 独立运行,无需依赖其他技能

## Usage / 使用方法

### Quick Start

```bash
# Run the download script directly
python3 ~/clawd/skills/youtube-hq-downloader/download.py "YouTube_URL" [output_directory]
```

### Full Workflow

```bash
# 1. Enter the skill directory
cd ~/clawd/skills/youtube-hq-downloader

# 2. Create virtual environment (first run)
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install yt-dlp

# 3. Run download and merge
python3 download.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx"

# Or run step by step manually
./download.sh "YouTube_URL"
```

### Manual Commands

```bash
# Activate environment
cd ~/clawd/skills/youtube-hq-downloader
source .venv/bin/activate

# Download video (highest quality, silent)
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[ext=mp4]" "YouTube_URL" -o "%(title)s_video.%(ext)s"

# Download audio
yt-dlp -x --audio-format m4a "YouTube_URL" -o "%(title)s_audio.%(ext)s"

# Merge video and audio
ffmpeg -i "*.mp4" -i "*.m4a" -c:v copy -c:a aac -shortest "output.mp4" -y
```

## Parameters / 参数说明

### yt-dlp Video Download
- `-f "bestvideo"`: Download highest quality video format (may be WebM or MP4)
- Output template: `%(title)s_video.%(ext)s`

### yt-dlp Audio Download
- `-x`: Extract audio
- `--audio-format m4a`: Output as M4A format

### ffmpeg Merge
- `-i "video.mp4" -i "audio.m4a"`: Input files
- `-c:v copy`: Copy video stream, no re-encoding
- `-c:a aac`: Convert audio to AAC encoding
- `-shortest`: Use shorter duration
- `-y`: Overwrite output file

## Dependencies / 依赖

- **ffmpeg**: Video processing tool (macOS: `brew install ffmpeg`)
- **Python 3.8+**: Runtime environment
- **yt-dlp**: Will be auto-installed on first run

## Auto Install / 自动安装

The script will automatically detect and use system-installed yt-dlp. If not found:

```bash
# Manual install yt-dlp
pip install yt-dlp

# Or use uv
pip install uv && uv pip install yt-dlp
```

## FAQ / 常见问题

### Q: Downloaded video has no sound?
A: This is normal. Using `bestvideo` only downloads the video track. You need to download audio separately and merge.

### Q: Video resolution is too low?
A: YouTube may have regional or quality restrictions on certain videos. Try other formats like `best` instead of `bestvideo`.

### Q: ffmpeg error "No such file"?
A: Make sure ffmpeg is installed: `brew install ffmpeg`

### Q: How to specify output directory?
A: Pass the second parameter as output directory when running the script, or modify the OUTPUT_DIR variable in the script.

Related Skills

openclaw-youtube

3891
from openclaw/skills

YouTube SERP Scout for agents. Search top-ranking videos, channels, and trends for content research and competitor tracking.

Content & Documentation

youtube-search

3891
from openclaw/skills

YouTube Search API via AIsa unified endpoint. Search YouTube videos, channels, and playlists with a single AIsa API key — no Google API key or OAuth required. Use this skill when users want to search YouTube content. For other AIsa capabilities (LLM, financial data, Twitter, web search), see the aisa-core skill.

Data & Research

bing-keyword-image-downloader

3891
from openclaw/skills

当用户需要按关键词从 Bing 公开图片搜索结果中批量下载图片时使用。遇到类似“帮我从 Bing 按关键词下载 10 张图片”“批量抓取 Bing 图片”“按关键词保存 Bing 图片到本地”这类请求时,应主动使用这个 skill。它专门处理基于关键词的 Bing 图片搜索、分页收集候选链接、跳过失败源站并保存到本地目录的工作流。

custom-youtube-summarize

3891
from openclaw/skills

Extract transcript from a YouTube video using Python and summarize it.

youtube-shorts-research

3891
from openclaw/skills

Find viral YouTube Shorts channels that started recently and are doing really well. Use when Abdullah asks to find shorts niches, find channels, research YouTube Shorts, or find me channels. Runs the youtube-research.js script with criteria (≤60 days old, ≥15M total views) and returns qualifying channels with links. Uses a subagent (2.5-flash-lite) to process results.

instagram-reel-downloader-whatsapp

3891
from openclaw/skills

Download an Instagram Reel via sssinstagram.com and return it as a WhatsApp-ready video file. Use when a reel URL is provided and yt-dlp is blocked or not preferred.

youtube-archiver

3891
from openclaw/skills

Archive YouTube playlists into markdown notes with metadata, transcripts, AI summaries, and tags. Use when a user asks to import/sync YouTube playlists, archive Watch Later or Liked videos, enrich YouTube notes, batch process video notes, or automate recurring YouTube-to-markdown sync jobs with cron.

youtube-digest

3891
from openclaw/skills

Understand, summarize, translate, and extract key points from YouTube videos. Use when a user provides a YouTube URL and wants: (1) a Chinese summary, (2) a transcript or subtitle extraction, (3) translation of spoken content, (4) timestamps / chapter notes, (5) visual understanding via key frames, or (6) question answering about a video. Prefer this skill for transcript-first workflows.

bilibili-downloader

3891
from openclaw/skills

Download videos, audio, subtitles, and covers from Bilibili using bilibili-api. Use when working with Bilibili content for downloading videos in various qualities, extracting audio, getting subtitles and danmaku, downloading covers, and managing download preferences.

youtube-content-manager

3891
from openclaw/skills

YouTube内容管理后台,支持AI选题生成、脚本创作、标题优化、SEO描述生成、缩略图文案建议、发布记录管理和数据分析。集成SkillPay支付接口,每次调用收0.001USDT。

youtube-content-manager-pro

3891
from openclaw/skills

All-in-one YouTube Content Management Tool, AI generate topics, scripts, titles, SEO descriptions, tags, thumbnails, analytics. $0.005 USDT per use.

youtube-audio-download

3891
from openclaw/skills

Download YouTube video audio and convert to MP3. Supports age-restricted videos with cookies.