Install yt-dlp on Linux

Install yt-dlp and ffmpeg on Linux from your package manager, pipx or the official binary.

1. Install yt-dlp

Distribution packages are convenient but often lag by months, and yt-dlp is a tool where being three months behind means extractors that no longer work. pipx or the official binary keep you current.

pipx install yt-dlp

Or the standalone binary, which bundles everything and self-updates:

sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

2. Install ffmpeg

sudo apt install ffmpeg      # Debian, Ubuntu
sudo dnf install ffmpeg      # Fedora
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg        # Arch

On Fedora, ffmpeg lives in RPM Fusion; enable that repository first if the package is not found.

3. Check it worked

yt-dlp --version
ffmpeg -version

Cookies on a headless machine

--cookies-from-browser needs a browser profile on the same machine, so on a server it is not an option. Export a Netscape-format cookies.txt on your desktop, copy it across and point at it with --cookies. Treat that file as a credential — it is a live session.

Updating

yt-dlp -U               # standalone binary
pipx upgrade yt-dlp     # pipx

Installed from your distribution's repository, update it with the package manager; -U will refuse to touch a file it does not own.

Frequently asked questions

› Should I use my distribution's yt-dlp package?

It works, but distribution packages are often months behind, and an out-of-date yt-dlp means extractors that have stopped working. pipx or the official binary keep you current.

› ffmpeg is not in my repository.

On Fedora it lives in RPM Fusion, which has to be enabled first. Most other distributions ship it in the main repository.

› How do I update yt-dlp?

A standalone binary updates itself with yt-dlp -U. Installed through a package manager, update it with that manager instead; self-update refuses to modify a file it does not own. Updating fixes more problems than any single flag.