Interactive PowerShell wrapper for yt-dlp with cookie support, download archive, VLC streaming, and smart controls.
Script file: yt-dlp-enhance.ps1
yt-playlist, yt-cookies, yt-help# Interactive mode (easiest)
yt-dlp
# With URL
yt-dlp "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."
# Quick download (best video)
yt-video "URL"
# Quick audio extraction
yt-audio "URL"
# Download playlist with archive (NEW)
yt-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Download with browser cookies (NEW)
yt-cookies "URL" chrome
# Show help (NEW)
yt-help
| Option | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best Video | Downloads highest quality MP4 |
| 2 | Audio Only | Extracts and converts to MP3 |
| 3 | Choose Quality | Select from 360p to 4K |
| 4 | Playlist Video | Downloads entire playlist |
| 5 | Playlist Audio | Downloads playlist as MP3s |
| 6 | List Formats | Shows all available formats |
| 7 | With Subtitles | Embeds subtitles in video |
| 8 | With Thumbnail | Embeds thumbnail image |
| 9 | Fast Download | Quick 720p download |
| 10 | 🆕 Stream to VLC | Stream video to VLC player |
| 11 | Advanced | Speed limit, dates, metadata, proxy, IP |
| 12 | Custom Command | Enter your own yt-dlp flags |
Before downloading, you can now configure cookies and user-agent to bypass blocks:
Track downloaded videos to avoid re-downloading:
# Enable during interactive mode
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Select archive option: 2
# Or use the quick alias
yt-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"
How it works:
download-archive.txt in download folderyt-dlp "URL"
# Select option 1
yt-audio "URL"
# Or: yt-dlp "URL" → option 2
# Method 1: Interactive
yt-dlp "URL"
# Select cookie option (2-4)
# Select user-agent (2 for Chrome)
# Method 2: Quick alias
yt-cookies "URL" chrome
yt-dlp "URL"
# When prompted: Choose option 2 for custom naming
# Enter: "my-video-name"
# With archive (recommended)
yt-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Or interactive
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Enable archive: option 2
# Option 4: Video playlist
# Option 5: Audio playlist
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 10: Stream to VLC
# Plays instantly without downloading
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 3 → Select quality:
# 1080p, 720p, 480p, etc.
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 11 → 2
# Enter: 500K (or 1M, 2M, etc.)
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Option 11 → 3
# Enter start date: 20240101
# Enter end date: 20241231
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 6 to list formats
# Note format code (e.g., "137+140")
# Option 11 → 1
# Enter: 137+140
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 11 → 4
# Downloads with thumbnail + metadata + subtitles embedded
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 11 → 5
# Enter: http://proxy.example.com:8080
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 11 → 6
# Enter: 192.168.1.100
# Useful for multi-IP systems
Downloads save to:
C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\youtube\~/Downloads/youtube/Download archive:
C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\youtube\download-archive.txtExported cookies:
C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\youtube\cookies.txtyt-dlp.exe auto-detected from:
%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\yt-dlp.exe%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\yt-dlp\yt-dlp.exeInstall yt-dlp first:
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe" -OutFile "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\yt-dlp.exe"
This means the site is blocking yt-dlp. Solution:
yt-dlp "URL"
# Select cookie option: 2 (Chrome) or 3 (Firefox)
# Select user-agent: 2 (Chrome)
# Try download again
The script will auto-detect 403 errors and suggest this fix!
Rate limited. Solutions:
C:\MyVideos\ not MyVideos\yt-dlp needs ffmpeg for conversion:
# Download ffmpeg and add to PATH
# Or use option 2 which handles it automatically
The script will auto-detect ffmpeg issues and suggest installation!
# Install VLC Media Player
# Download from: https://www.videolan.org/
# Script will auto-detect VLC location
Batch Downloads:
# Create a text file with URLs (one per line)
Get-Content urls.txt | ForEach-Object { yt-audio $_ }
Playlist Sync (NEW):
# First time: downloads all
yt-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Next time: only new videos
yt-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"
Quick Playlist Audio:
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Enable archive: 2
# Option 5 for all as MP3
Preview Before Download:
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 6 to see all formats
# Then exit and decide
Best Quality Everything:
yt-video "URL" # Fastest way
Download Age-Restricted Videos (NEW):
# Login to YouTube in your browser first
yt-cookies "URL" chrome
Stream Without Disk Space (NEW):
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 10: Stream to VLC
# Watch instantly, no storage needed
Bypass Cloudflare (NEW):
yt-dlp "URL"
# Cookie: 2 (Chrome)
# User-Agent: 2 (Chrome)
# This combo works best for Cloudflare
Music Video Download:
yt-dlp "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."
# Option 2 (Audio Only)
Tutorial Playlist:
yt-dlp "https://youtube.com/playlist?list=..."
# Archive: 2 (to skip already downloaded)
# Option 4 (Playlist Video)
Quick News Clip:
yt-dlp "URL"
# Option 9 (Fast Download)
Age-Restricted Video (NEW):
yt-cookies "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..." chrome
Blocked Region Video (NEW):
yt-dlp "URL"
# Cookie: 2 (Chrome)
# User-Agent: 2 (Chrome)
# Advanced → 5 (Use proxy)
# Enter proxy URL
Live Stream Recording (NEW):
yt-dlp "LIVE_STREAM_URL"
# Option 10: Stream to VLC (watch live)
# Or Option 1: Download (saves to file)
Cookie Safety:
cookies.txt file)Best Practices:
yt-dlp # Interactive mode
yt-video <url> # Best video
yt-audio <url> # Extract MP3
yt-playlist <url> # Playlist with archive
yt-cookies <url> # With browser cookies
yt-help # Show all commands
Need help? Open an issue at github.com/mini-page/TheSecretJuice