squid-dl is a massively parallel
yt-dlp-based YouTube downloader useful for
downloading large video playlists. The faster your internet connection, the
more fun you can have!
Run the setup.py, which will install squid-dl and its two dependencies:
linode-cli and yt-dlp.
$ python3 setup.py install
If that fails, you may have to install setuptools. You can get it by
invoking:
$ python3 -m pip install setuptools
If you want to use the Linode SOCKS proxy feature, be sure to configure the
linode-cli first:
$ linode-cli configure --token
Follow the onscreen instructions and be sure to set sensible defaults. The default region for new Linodes that you pick here is where your proxies will live. For more information, see this page on Linode's website.
To download a playlist, first fetch its metadata with squidson:
(.venv) $ squidson 'https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhI42_YpLVHvYqvjniSp7lhAM55K4fllO'
[youtube:tab] PLhI42_YpLVHvYqvjniSp7lhAM55K4fllO: Downloading webpage
[youtube:tab] PLhI42_YpLVHvYqvjniSp7lhAM55K4fllO: Downloading API JSON with unavailable videos
[download] Downloading playlist: Programming
[youtube:tab] playlist Programming: Downloading 12 videos
[download] Downloading video 1 of 12
[youtube] Wp9XD5FKZ2c: Downloading webpage
[youtube] Wp9XD5FKZ2c: Downloading android player API JSON
...
[download] Downloading video 12 of 12
[youtube] CIpfoMKqPAg: Downloading webpage
[youtube] CIpfoMKqPAg: Downloading android player API JSON
[youtube] CIpfoMKqPAg: Downloading MPD manifest
[youtube] CIpfoMKqPAg: Downloading MPD manifest
[download] Finished downloading playlist: Programming
[INFO]: Writing JSON-ified playlist info_dict to "Programming.json"
Now that you have the playlist .json file, you can download it with
squid-dl. Use the -n flag to tell squid-dl how many workers you'd like to
spawn downloading videos at once (the default is 8 workers). In this 12-video
playlist example, we'll spawn 12 workers:
(.venv) $ squid-dl -n 12 Programming.json
[INFO]: Starting squid-dl...
[INFO]: saving videos to "Programming" directory
...
[download] Download completed
[download] Download completed
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 80214 done...
[INFO]: Worker 80319 done...
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 80150 done...
[INFO]: Worker 80248 done...
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 80219 done...
[INFO]: Worker 80109 done...
[INFO]: Worker 80341 done...
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 80193 done...
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 80117 done...
[INFO]: All done!
For more information see the built-in help by running squid-dl -h.
For those with access to a dedicated SOCKS proxy already, you can use
squid-dl's -S and a fully-qualified SOCKS4, SOCKS4A, or SOCKS5 proxy URL
to download your playlists through a proxy! Here's an example using NordVPN's
SOCKS5 proxy:
(.venv) $ squid-dl -S socks5://us.socks.nordhold.net:1080 -n 12 Mems.json
[INFO]: Starting squid-dl...
[INFO]: saving videos to "Mems" directory
SOCKS username: 0asFVrZt0bw1ucPvQRKiUe87
SOCKS password:
...
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 1667326 done...
[INFO]: Worker 1667396 done...
[INFO]: Worker 1667484 done...
[download] Download completed
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Worker 1667352 done...
[INFO]: Worker 1667421 done...
[INFO]: All done!
You can also add a username and password to SOCKS5 and SOCKS4A proxy URLs in a format like this:
socks5://username:password@hostname:port
SECURITY NOTE: typing in usernames and passwords this way is considered
insecure, as they will likely end up in your shell's history file completely
unprotected and in the clear (☹). It is generally recommended to input the
username and password interactively unless you are scripting squid-dl.
With the -L option, you can run each worker through its own Linode-powered
SSH-tunneled SOCKSv5 proxy! squid-dl will make an temporary SSH key in
the current working directory and then get to work spinning up Linodes and
downloading your videos:
(.venv) anon@fire-crotch:~/butter/youtube/btr$ squid-dl -L Mem.json
[INFO]: Creating SSH key for Linode proxying...
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Your identification has been saved in /home/anon/fuse/butter-anon/youtube/btr/proxy
_key
Your public key has been saved in /home/anon/fuse/butter-anon/youtube/btr/proxy_key
.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:cSns+aK0l7xS+fRSXRdqmc5DXkT5pIQsDV8/Ql526vg anon@fire-crotch
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 3072]----+
| .+ oo+o|
| . .o*.+*o|
| + o..+*++|
| . = Oo.=|
| S. B.o..|
| o.. .*. |
| .o.+.o E |
| ..o+.o . |
| oo.. . |
+----[SHA256]-----+
[INFO]: Starting squid-dl...
[INFO]: saving videos to "Mems" directory
[INFO]: Created Linode 30970792.
[INFO]: Waiting for Linodes to come online...........................
[INFO]: Starting proxy on port 1337 with Linode 30970792
Warning: Permanently added '45.79.47.110' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
[INFO]: SOCKS validation succeeded on port 1337 from ID 30970792
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading android player API JSON
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading iframe API JS
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading player 03869671
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading web player API JSON
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading MPD manifest
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading MPD manifest
[youtube] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading initial data API JSON
[info] fIdfGtG7Isg: Downloading 1 format(s): 22
[info] Downloading video thumbnail ...
[info] Writing video thumbnail to: Plankton goes to an anime convention [fIdfGtG7Is
g].webp
[download] Destination: Plankton goes to an anime convention [fIdfGtG7Isg].mp4
[download] Download completed
[INFO]: Cleaning up worker 83832's exclusive proxy
[CLEANUP]: Deleted Linode 30970792.
[INFO]: Worker 83832 done...
[INFO]: All done!
[CLEANUP]: Deleting Linode proxies...
If you encounter any issues running squid-dl, please create an issue
on GitHub.
This software has only tested on Linux so far (patches welcome).
Submit your patches as GitHub pull requests.
Feel free to holler at me on #squid-dl on
Libera.chat.
I am an 80 column stickler. I run all Python code in this repository through
black -l 80.