yt-dlp Command Generator for X (Twitter)

Build a yt-dlp command for a video on X, with predictable file names and the options sensitive media requires.

Video, playlist or channel URL

Optional. Leave it empty and the command ends with URL for you to fill in.

Your command

yt-dlp --merge-output-format mp4 --no-playlist -o '%(uploader_id)s - %(id)s.%(ext)s' https://x.com/user/status/1234567890

Basics

What do you want

Video Audio only

Audio-only extracts the soundtrack and drops the video stream.

Video and quality

Maximum quality -f

Caps the height. yt-dlp still picks the best stream at or below it.

Container --merge-output-format needs ffmpeg

The file type separate video and audio streams are merged into.

Advanced options (3)

Custom format selector -f

Overrides the quality dropdown. For people who already know the format syntax.

Remux into --remux-video needs ffmpeg

Repackages the streams without re-encoding. Fast and lossless.

Re-encode into --recode-video needs ffmpeg

Re-encodes the video. Slow and lossy — only when remuxing will not do.

Audio

Audio format --audio-format needs ffmpeg

The file the audio is converted to.

Audio quality --audio-quality needs ffmpeg

VBR gives the best size-to-quality ratio; fixed bitrates are more predictable.

Subtitles

Embedding puts them inside the video; saving writes a separate .srt next to it.

Subtitle languages --sub-langs

Comma separated. Use all for every available language.

Auto-generated subtitles --write-auto-subs Include machine-generated captions when no human ones exist.

Playlists and channels

Playlist handling

What to do when the URL belongs to both a video and a playlist.

Which items -I

Ranges and lists both work, for example 1-10,15 or -5::2 for every second item from the end.

Advanced options (1)

Archive file --download-archive

Records what has been downloaded so re-running skips it. The way to keep a channel in sync.

Sections and chapters

Advanced options (2)

Download only part of it --download-sections needs ffmpeg

A time range like *00:01:30-00:03:00, or a chapter name. The leading asterisk means it is a timestamp.

Split into chapters --split-chapters needs ffmpeg Writes one file per chapter instead of a single long one.

Metadata and artwork

Embed thumbnail --embed-thumbnail needs ffmpeg Uses the video thumbnail as cover art.

Embed metadata --embed-metadata needs ffmpeg Writes title, uploader and date into the file itself.

Embed chapters --embed-chapters needs ffmpeg Adds chapter markers your player can jump between.

Advanced options (3)

Save thumbnail file --write-thumbnail Writes the cover image next to the video.

Save description --write-description Writes the description to a .description file.

Save metadata JSON --write-info-json Writes everything yt-dlp knows about the video to a .info.json file.

SponsorBlock

Remove segments --sponsorblock-remove needs ffmpeg

Cuts community-marked segments out of the file using SponsorBlock data.

Advanced options (1)

Mark segments as chapters --sponsorblock-mark

Keeps the segments but marks them, so you can skip them yourself.

Files and folders

File name template -o

Field names go in %(...)s. Slashes create folders.

Safe (ASCII) file names --restrict-filenames Strips accents, spaces and anything a stubborn filesystem might reject.

Overwrite existing files --force-overwrites Replaces files that are already there.

Resume partial downloads -c Picks up where an interrupted download stopped.

Advanced options (4)

Download folder -P

Where files are written. Combine with the template above for subfolders.

Windows-safe names --windows-filenames Removes characters Windows refuses even when running elsewhere.

Trim names to --trim-filenames

Maximum file name length in characters.

Never overwrite -w Skips anything already downloaded.

Filters

Advanced options (5)

Uploaded after --dateafter

YYYYMMDD, or a relative date like now-1month.

Uploaded before --datebefore

YYYYMMDD, or a relative date.

Minimum size --min-filesize

Skips anything smaller. Accepts 5M, 500K and similar.

Maximum size --max-filesize

Skips anything larger.

Stop after --max-downloads

Number of files to download before stopping.

Network

Speed limit -r

For example 2M or 500K. Useful when you need the rest of your bandwidth.

Advanced options (5)

Parallel fragments -N

Speeds up fragmented streams. Four is a sensible starting point.

Retries -R

How many times to retry a failed piece. infinite is allowed.

Proxy --proxy

HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS proxy URL.

Bypass geo-restriction --geo-bypass Fakes the request origin. Works on some sites, not all.

Impersonate a browser --impersonate

Makes requests look like a real browser. The usual fix for sudden 403 errors.

Cookies from browser --cookies-from-browser

Reads your logged-in session directly. Needed for private, age-restricted or members-only content.

Advanced options (1)

Cookies file --cookies

A Netscape-format cookies.txt exported from your browser.

Live streams

Advanced options (2)

Record from the start --live-from-start Starts a live stream from the beginning instead of the current moment.

Wait for the stream --wait-for-video

Polls until a scheduled stream begins. MIN-MAX seconds between checks.

Workarounds

Advanced options (3)

User agent --user-agent deprecated

Deprecated in favour of --add-headers. Kept because plenty of older guides still use it.

Referer --referer deprecated

Deprecated in favour of --add-headers.

Extractor arguments --extractor-args

Site-specific switches, for example youtube:player_client=web.

Output and debugging

List formats only -F Prints the available formats and exits without downloading.

Advanced options (2)

Keep going on errors -i Skips items that fail instead of stopping. Essential for large playlists.

Simulate -s Does everything except write the file.

Reset

The options that matter here

Maximum quality -f Caps the height. yt-dlp still picks the best stream at or below it.
Cookies from browser --cookies-from-browser Reads your logged-in session directly. Needed for private, age-restricted or members-only content.
File name template -o Field names go in %(...)s. Slashes create folders.

Notes for X

Both x.com and twitter.com URLs work. What people call GIFs on X are really short MP4 videos, so they download like anything else; convert afterwards if you need an actual GIF.

Sensitive-media posts require a logged-in session with the corresponding setting enabled. The default template names files by author and post id, which keeps a folder of them navigable.

X has changed its API surface several times, and the practical consequence is that extractor fixes arrive in yt-dlp updates within days — an install more than a few weeks old is where most "X is broken" reports actually live. Update before debugging: yt-dlp -U. Guest access comes and goes; when it is withdrawn, a logged-in session with cookies is the working route, and that is also the only route to sensitive media.

Threads and quote-posts are where URLs get confusing. A tweet containing a video embeds it; the same video on the profile media tab is a separate entry. For a whole account, the media tab URL fetches everything posted with media, paginated, and the archive file plus keep-going-on-errors handles the deleted posts an active account inevitably accumulates. Search-URL downloads are deliberately not supported here: results drift between requests, and an archive against a moving search is meaningless.

X serves video as HLS fragments with an MP4 fallback in most cases, so merges are common and ffmpeg is the dependency to check first. The "GIF" posts are the exception worth knowing: they arrive as MP4 like everything else, and converting to a real GIF afterwards is a job for ffmpeg, not for yt-dlp — a looping WebM is usually closer to what the sender meant anyway.

Age-restricted and sensitive posts are the hard wall: the setting lives in the account, not the command. Log in through the browser once, enable the sensitive-media setting, hand the cookies over, and it works — no cookie-free workaround exists, because X checks the session server-side. Deleted posts behave like anywhere else: gone is gone, and the mirrors that used to keep copies shut down years ago.

Frequently asked questions

› Why does an age-restricted post on X fail?

Sensitive-media posts require a logged-in session. Use --cookies-from-browser with an account that has the setting enabled.

› How do I download a GIF from X?

They are MP4 videos, not GIFs, and download like any other video. Convert afterwards if you need an actual GIF.

› Can I choose the video quality on X?

Yes. X publishes several renditions; cap the height with the quality dropdown or list them with -F first.