diff --git a/lib/pinchflat/downloader_backends/yt_dlp/command_runner.ex b/lib/pinchflat/downloader_backends/yt_dlp/command_runner.ex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..134256f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/pinchflat/downloader_backends/yt_dlp/command_runner.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+defmodule Pinchflat.DownloaderBackends.YtDlp.CommandRunner do
+  @moduledoc """
+  Runs yt-dlp commands using the `System.cmd/3` function
+  """
+
+  alias Pinchflat.Utils.StringUtils
+
+  @doc """
+  Runs a yt-dlp command and returns the output and status
+
+  TODO: look into using a behavior for this (if I ever add other backends)
+  """
+  def run(url, command_options, config_options \\ []) do
+    default_command = System.find_executable("yt-dlp")
+    base_command = Keyword.get(config_options, :base_command, default_command)
+    formatted_command_options = parse_options(command_options) ++ [url]
+
+    case System.cmd(base_command, formatted_command_options, stderr_to_stdout: true) do
+      {output, 0} -> {:ok, output}
+      {output, status} -> {:error, output, status}
+    end
+  end
+
+  # We want to satisfy the following behaviours:
+  #
+  # 1. If the key is an atom, convert it to a string and convert it to kebab case (for convenience)
+  # 2. If the key is a string, assume we want it as-is and don't convert it
+  # 3. If the key is accompanied by a value, append the value to the list
+  # 4. If the key is not accompanied by a value, assume it's a flag and PREpend it to the list
+  defp parse_options(command_options) do
+    Enum.reduce(command_options, [], &parse_option/2)
+  end
+
+  defp parse_option({k, v}, acc) when is_atom(k) do
+    stringified_key = StringUtils.to_kebab_case(Atom.to_string(k))
+
+    parse_option({"--#{stringified_key}", v}, acc)
+  end
+
+  defp parse_option({k, v}, acc) when is_binary(k) do
+    acc ++ [k, to_string(v)]
+  end
+
+  defp parse_option(arg, acc) when is_atom(arg) do
+    stringified_arg = StringUtils.to_kebab_case(Atom.to_string(arg))
+
+    parse_option("--#{stringified_arg}", acc)
+  end
+
+  defp parse_option(arg, acc) when is_binary(arg) do
+    [arg | acc]
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/utils/string_utils.ex b/lib/utils/string_utils.ex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f52bcfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/utils/string_utils.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+defmodule Pinchflat.Utils.StringUtils do
+  @moduledoc """
+  Utility functions for working with strings
+  """
+
+  @doc """
+  Converts a string to kebab-case (ie: `hello world` -> `hello-world`)
+  """
+  def to_kebab_case(string) do
+    string
+    |> String.replace(~r/[\s_]/, "-")
+    |> String.downcase()
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/pinchflat/downloader_backends/yt_dlp/command_runner_test.exs b/test/pinchflat/downloader_backends/yt_dlp/command_runner_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4a2874
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pinchflat/downloader_backends/yt_dlp/command_runner_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+defmodule Pinchflat.DownloaderBackends.YtDlp.CommandRunnerTest do
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: true
+
+  alias Pinchflat.DownloaderBackends.YtDlp.CommandRunner, as: Runner
+
+  @cmd "echo"
+  @video_url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0"
+
+  describe "run/3" do
+    test "it returns the output and status when the command succeeds" do
+      assert {:ok, _output} = Runner.run(@video_url, [], base_command: @cmd)
+    end
+
+    test "it converts symbol k-v arg keys to kebab case" do
+      assert {:ok, output} = Runner.run(@video_url, [buffer_size: 1024], base_command: @cmd)
+
+      assert String.contains?(output, "--buffer-size 1024")
+    end
+
+    test "it keeps string k-v arg keys untouched" do
+      assert {:ok, output} = Runner.run(@video_url, [{"--under_score", 1024}], base_command: @cmd)
+
+      assert String.contains?(output, "--under_score 1024")
+    end
+
+    test "it converts symbol arg keys to kebab case" do
+      assert {:ok, output} = Runner.run(@video_url, [:ignore_errors], base_command: @cmd)
+
+      assert String.contains?(output, "--ignore-errors")
+    end
+
+    test "it keeps string arg keys untouched" do
+      assert {:ok, output} = Runner.run(@video_url, ["-v"], base_command: @cmd)
+
+      assert String.contains?(output, "-v")
+      refute String.contains?(output, "--v")
+    end
+
+    test "it places arg keys (flags) at the beginning of the command" do
+      assert {:ok, output} =
+               Runner.run(@video_url, [{"--under_score", 1024}, :ignore_errors], base_command: @cmd)
+
+      assert String.contains?(output, "--ignore-errors --under_score 1024")
+    end
+
+    test "it includes the video url as the last argument" do
+      assert {:ok, output} = Runner.run(@video_url, [:ignore_errors], base_command: @cmd)
+
+      assert String.contains?(output, "--ignore-errors #{@video_url}\n")
+    end
+
+    test "it returns the output and status when the command fails" do
+      assert {:error, "", 1} = Runner.run(@video_url, [], base_command: "/bin/false")
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/pinchflat/utils/string_utils_test.exs b/test/pinchflat/utils/string_utils_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59ebbfc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/pinchflat/utils/string_utils_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+defmodule Pinchflat.Utils.StringUtilsTest do
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: true
+
+  alias Pinchflat.Utils.StringUtils, as: StringUtils
+
+  describe "to_kebab_case/1" do
+    test "converts a space-delimited string to kebab-case" do
+      assert StringUtils.to_kebab_case("hello world") == "hello-world"
+    end
+
+    test "converts an underscore-delimited string to kebab-case" do
+      assert StringUtils.to_kebab_case("hello_world") == "hello-world"
+    end
+  end
+end