video-downloader
Video Downloader: Using yt-dlp to download videos from YouTube, Bilibili, Twitter, and thousands of other sites
Profile →npx skills add cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills --skill video-downloader --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Video Downloader Download videos from thousands of sites using yt-dlp — the most powerful and actively maintained video downloading tool. This skill covers installation, configuration, format selection, playlist management, and optimization techniques. ## Core Principles ### 1. Choose the Right Tool yt-dlp is the successor to youtube-dl and is actively maintained with support for over 1,000 sites. It handles YouTube, Bilibili, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo, Twitch, and countless others through extractors. ### 2. Understand Format Selection Video and audio are often delivered as separate streams (DASH). yt-dlp can merge them automatically with ffmpeg, or you can download them individually. Understanding formats means you get exactly the quality you need without wasting bandwidth. ### 3. Respect Rate Limits and Servers Don't hammer servers with concurrent downloads. Use rate limiting, randomized delays, and reasonable thread counts to avoid IP blocks and maintain access. ### 4. Handle Authentication Properly Some content requires authentication. Use cookies from your browser session rather than passing passwords directly. This is more reliable and avoids credential exposure i
- Core Principles
- 1. Choose the Right Tool
- 2. Understand Format Selection
- 3. Respect Rate Limits and Servers
- 4. Handle Authentication Properly
- Installation and Setup
- macOS (Homebrew)
- Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
- Windows
- Verify Installation
- Basic Download Commands
- Simple Video Download
- Format Selection
- Output Templates
Install yt-dlp brew install yt-dlp Install ffmpeg for post-processing (merging, conversion) brew install ffmpeg Latest version via pip (recommended) python3 -m pip install -U yt-dlp Or via apt (may be outdated) sudo apt install yt-dlp ffmpeg yt-dlp --version yt-dlp --help | head -20
What does the video-downloader skill do?
Video Downloader: Using yt-dlp to download videos from YouTube, Bilibili, Twitter, and thousands of other sites
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills --skill video-downloader --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills, a repository with 364 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.