Video Downloader
For PowerToys
<b>A Command Palette extension for downloading videos and playlists using yt-dlp</b>
<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/DevLGuilherme/CmdPal-VideoDownloader/total" />
<img src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/DevLGuilherme/CmdPal-VideoDownloader/latest/total" />
> [!NOTE]
> This extension is currently in development, and is my first experience with the language.
> Bugs are expected
đ Effortless Video Downloads with PowerToys!
Download and trim videos, audios, playlists, captions and subtitles directly from the PowerToys Command Palette using yt-dlp.
⨠Key Features
- Download videos from hundreds of websites (supported websites).
- Simplified management: Choose output directories, set formats, and monitor progress directly from the interface.
- Parallel download: Download each video format individually with progress tracking.
- Quick audio download: Download audio with a single command.
- Playlist download support!
- Video trimming: Trim videos by setting start and end times before download
- Captions and subtitles: Download auto-captions or subtitles from a video
- Customized output format and merging support
- Quick merging using yt-dlp's format selector expressions
- Partial Livestream download support
đĻ Installation and Requirements
Requirements
- PowerToys v0.90 or later
Install with:
winget install "Microsoft.PowerToys"
- yt-dlp (any version, recommended:
Latest)
Install with:
winget install "yt-dlp.yt-dlp"
> [!NOTE]
> If yt-dlp is not installed, the extension will show an error message and offer an option to Install yt-dlp (winget)
Installation Methods
Microsoft Store
Install from the Microsoft Store's CmdPal Video Downloader page
Winget
You can install the extension through windows package manager (winget) with the following command:
winget install "DevLG.CmdPalVideoDownloader"
GitHub with MsiX
Go to the releases page, click on Assets at the bottom to show the files available in the release and download the installer for your specific platform.
âī¸ Settings
Mode: Two modes are available Simple and Advanced (default: Simple)Download location: the destination directory to download (default: User Downloads folder)Video Output format: the output format (Container) of all downloaded videos (default: mp4)Audio Output format: the output format of all downloaded audios (default: mp3)Custom format selector: sets a custom yt-dlp format selector expression string. If a custom string is set, the audio and video output setting will be ignored. (default: blank)Download on Paste: When a custom format selector is set, and this option is checked, the download will start automatically when pasting an URL. (default unchecked)Embed thumbnail: Embeds thumbnail into the file's metadata. (default checked)cookies.txt file location: the location of your exported cookies file. (default: blank)
> [!TIP]
> Leave Custom format selector blank if you don't need a specific video or audio codec
> Editing software like Premiere, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, may not recognize videos encoded with VP9 or AV1, prefer videos encoded with AVC1 for broader compatibility.
đšī¸ Modes
đ Simple
It will only show available resolutions, making it easier to download without worrying about the technical details of the video.
> [!TIP]
> Download videos without worrying with codecs. (This mode will always prefer compatibility over quality)
đ ī¸ Advanced
This mode has all the features enabled such as QuickMerge and the full list of available formats and metadata of each format.
đ How to use
Playlist
- Paste an
YouTube Playlist URL or a Videos Tab URL from a channel.
- Wait the data to be fetched (can take longer depending of the playlist video count).
- Click the first item on the list
Download full playlist
- On the Playlist Download Page, you can:
- Select a resolution (if available for the video).
- Set the start and end video.
- Check if you want just the audio.
- Or set a custom format selector by clicking
Advanced Options
- Click
Download to start
Parallel Downloads
- Each download runs independently.
- You can download different formats, videos, audios â and monitor each download's progress in real time.
> [!WARNING]
> The only limitation applies to video trimming and livestreams, since FFmpeg cannot handle multiple simultaneous m3u8 streams.
QuickMerge
- Once the list of available formats appears, you can select the formats you want to merge using the format ID present in each item in the list, typed in the URL input. For example
299+140-drc.
- Alternatively, you can select a video and an audio using the
Select Command in the Context menu button (3 dots).
> [!NOTE]
> This feature will only work if you select exactly one video format and one audio format
Video Trimming
- Select any video format from the list, click the 3 dots on the bottom right and select
Trim Video.
- Set the start and end times (hh:mm:ss) and click
download.
This yt-dlp feature will basically watch the video and most of the time it will take the same amount of time to complete the download.
> [!TIP]
> In Advanced Mode you can make a custom selection by selecting 1 audio and 1 video with the Select Command before clicking Trim Video
Captions and Subtitles
- If available for the video, both options will be displayed on the
Context menu on the bottom right.
Livestreams
Currently, there's a partial support for livestreams.
- Paste and Livestream URL
- Select the format and click download
- You'll be prompted with a message saying that a terminal window will open.
- The download will start and you have to manually interrupt the process with a Ctrl + C to close the file
Cookies
Since --cookies-from-browser flag is not working on Windows (see),
the only way to download videos that require authentication, is to export and pass a cookies.txt file to yt-dlp, here is how to do it.
đ¤ Contributing
This is my first open source project, so I'm especially open to feedback, ideas, and contributions.
Feel free to share suggestions or improvements!
đŧ TODO
