No description
Find a file
Ross Patterson 3c45e2217e
[DOCS] Clarify Docker container image install (#1282)
* docs(install): Redundant platform-specific mention

I'm guessing this is a remnant from before it got it's own page.

* docs(docker): Clarify container image install

Capturing my changes thus far while I go off to educate myself about rST/Sphinx refs vs
links. As such, this duplicates a reference link in a way I don't like:

    :ref:`Automating Downloads <guides/getting_started/automating_downloads:docker and
    unraid>`

If you want to fix that or are OK with the duplication, this should be ready to
go. Otherwise, I'll fix and force push once I've learned how to do this correctly.

A matter of opinion in this change, I did away with the tabbed GUI vs headless code
blocks and the separate CPU/GPU passthrough code blocks because I find comments in
example code to be more clear, more readable, and more approachable. This also has the
benefit of putting informative comments in the resulting user's configuration. For
example, imagine a user that learns only later that they require GPU passthrough, their
configuration is already ready to get them started. This comes at the cost some repeated
comments (`environment:` and `deploy:` for GPU passthrough) and the fancy Sphinx
highlighting of relevant lines. I think the trade-off is a net benefit for users.

* docs(sphinx): Fix extlinks LSIO reference usage

* docs(sphinx): Address inline literal warning

Addresses:

    ./docs/source/config_reference/plugins.rst:848: WARNING: Inline literal start-string
    without end-string. [docutils]

* docs(start): Clarify prerequisite tech knowledge
2025-08-17 08:09:21 -07:00
.github [BUILD] Use windows-latest for build (#1254) 2025-07-02 00:58:07 -07:00
docker [DOCKER] Update yt-dlp, fix phantomjs (#1240) 2025-06-11 23:25:56 -07:00
docs [DOCS] Clarify Docker container image install (#1282) 2025-08-17 08:09:21 -07:00
examples [FEATURE] Emby prebuilt presets (#1232) 2025-06-01 09:56:48 -07:00
src/ytdl_sub [DOCS] Clarify Docker container image install (#1282) 2025-08-17 08:09:21 -07:00
tests [FEATURE] Filter Duration prebuilt preset (#1259) 2025-07-04 13:41:54 -07:00
tools [DOCS] Add warning for auto-generated docs (#1285) 2025-08-17 07:07:25 -07:00
.gitignore [DOCS] Tooling to auto-generate custom sphinx docs (#849) 2023-12-28 22:39:59 -08:00
.readthedocs.yaml [DOCS] Begin complete overhaul of readthedocs (#847) 2023-12-27 10:27:40 -08:00
codecov.yml [BACKEND] Informational codecov only (#170) 2022-08-12 11:34:22 -07:00
LICENSE Initial commit 2021-09-08 21:44:33 -07:00
Makefile [DEV] Makefile improvements (#1283) 2025-08-16 12:04:49 -07:00
pyproject.toml [DEV] Bump pylint from 3.3.7 to 3.3.8 (#1272) 2025-08-14 19:59:25 -07:00
README.md [FEATURE] Emby prebuilt presets (#1232) 2025-06-01 09:56:48 -07:00
ytdl-sub.spec [BUGFIX] Include music prebuilt presets (and all future ones) in executables (#814) 2023-11-11 10:55:05 -08:00

ytdl-sub

Automate downloading and metadata generation with YoutubeDL.

codecov Code Qaulity Checks License

ytdl-sub is a command-line tool that downloads media via yt-dlp and prepares it for your favorite media player, including Kodi, Jellyfin, Plex, Emby, and modern music players. No additional plugins or external scrapers are needed.

We recognize that everyone stores their media differently. Our approach for file and metadata formatting is to provide maximum flexibility while maintaining simplicity.

YouTube Channels as TV Shows

Plex

unknown

Jellyfin

jellyfin

Music Videos and Concerts

Kodi

kodi

Jellyfin

jelly_mv

SoundCloud Discography

Writes proper music-tags via beets API

sc_mb

Bandcamp Discography

bc_nav

How it Works

ytdl-sub uses YAML files to define subscriptions. Each subscription imports presets that define how to handle and output media files. ytdl-sub comes packaged with many prebuilt presets that do the work of config-building, so you can start downloading immediately.

# subscriptions.yaml:
# Everything in here can be downloaded using the command:
#   ytdl-sub sub subscriptions.yaml

# __preset__ is a place to define global overrides for all subscriptions
__preset__:
  overrides:
    # Root folder of all ytdl-sub TV Shows
    tv_show_directory: "/tv_shows"
    
    # Root folder of all ytdl-sub Music
    music_directory: "/music"
    
    # Root folder of all ytdl-sub Music Videos
    music_video_directory: "/music_videos"
    
    # For 'Only Recent' preset, only keep vids within this range and limit
    only_recent_date_range: "2months"
    only_recent_max_files: 30
    
  # Pass any arg directly to yt-dlp's Python API
  ytdl_options:
    cookiefile: "/config/cookie.txt" 

###################################################################
# TV Show Presets. Can replace Plex with Plex/Jellyfin/Emby/Kodi

Plex TV Show by Date:

  # Sets genre tag to "Documentaries"
  = Documentaries:
    "NOVA PBS": "https://www.youtube.com/@novapbs"
    "National Geographic": "https://www.youtube.com/@NatGeo"
    "Cosmos - What If": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJno6oFF9nLGuwXNGYHmE8U"

  # Sets genre tag to "Kids", "TV-Y" for content rating
  = Kids | = TV-Y:
    "Jake Trains": "https://www.youtube.com/@JakeTrains"
    "Kids Toys Play": "https://www.youtube.com/@KidsToysPlayChannel"

  = Music:
    # TV show subscriptions can support multiple urls and store in the same TV Show
    "Rick Beato":
      - "https://www.youtube.com/@RickBeato"
      - "https://www.youtube.com/@rickbeato240"

  # Set genre tag to "News", use `Only Recent` preset to only store videos uploaded recently
  = News | Only Recent:
    "BBC News": "https://www.youtube.com/@BBCNews"

Plex TV Show Collection:
  = Music:
    # Prefix with ~ to set specific override variables
    "~Beyond the Guitar":
      s01_name: "Videos"
      s01_url: "https://www.youtube.com/c/BeyondTheGuitar"
      s02_name: "Covers"
      s02_url: "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE62gWlWZk5NWVAVuf0Lm9jdv_-_KXs0W"

###################################################################
# Music Presets.

YouTube Releases:
  = Jazz:  # Sets genre tag to "Jazz"
    "Thelonious Monk": "https://www.youtube.com/@theloniousmonk3870/releases"

YouTube Full Albums:
  = Lofi:
    "Game Chops": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBsm_SagFMmdWnCnrNtLjA9kzfrRkto4i"

SoundCloud Discography:
  = Chill Hop:
    "UKNOWY": "https://soundcloud.com/uknowymunich"
  = Synthwave:
    "Lazerdiscs Records": "https://soundcloud.com/lazerdiscsrecords"
    "Earmake": "https://soundcloud.com/earmake"

Bandcamp:
  = Lofi:
    "Emily Hopkins": "https://emilyharpist.bandcamp.com/"

###################################################################
# Music Video Presets. Can replace Plex with Plex/Jellyfin/Kodi
"Plex Music Videos":
  = Pop:  # Sets genre tag to "Pop"
    "Rick Astley": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlaN88a7y2_plecYoJxvRFTLHVbIVAOoc"
    "Michael Jackson": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mnY03zP6abNWH929q2XhGzWD_2uKJ_n8E"

All of this can be downloaded and ready to import to your favorite player using the command

ytdl-sub sub subscriptions.yaml

See our example subscriptions for more detailed examples and use-cases.

Output

After ytdl-sub runs, the end result will download and format the files into something ready to be consumed by your favorite media player/server.

tv_shows/
  Jake Trains/
    Season 2021/
      s2021.e031701 - Pattys Day Video-thumb.jpg
      s2021.e031701 - Pattys Day Video.mp4
      s2021.e031701 - Pattys Day Video.nfo
      s2021.e031702 - Second Pattys Day Video-thumb.jpg
      s2021.e031702 - Second Pattys Day Video.mp4
      s2021.e031702 - Second Pattys Day Video.nfo
    Season 2022/
      s2022.e122501 - Merry Christmas-thumb.jpg
      s2022.e122501 - Merry Christmas.mp4
      s2022.e122501 - Merry Christmas.nfo
    poster.jpg
    fanart.jpg
    tvshow.nfo

music/
  Artist/
    [2022] Some Single/
      01 - Some Single.mp3
      folder.jpg
    [2023] Latest Album/
      01 - Track Title.mp3
      02 - Another Track.mp3
      folder.jpg

music_videos/
  Elton John/
    Elton John - Rocketman.jpg
    Elton John - Rocketman.mp4

Custom Configs

Any part of this process is modifiable by using custom configs. See our walk-through guide on how to build your first config from scratch. Ready-to-use example configurations can be found here alongside our readthedocs for detailed information on all config fields.

Installation

ytdl-sub can be installed on the following platforms.

Docker Installation

Docker installs can be either headless or use the Web-GUI image, which comprises LSIO's code-server Docker image with ytdl-sub preinstalled. This is the recommended way to use ytdl-sub.

image

Contributing

There are many ways to contribute, even without coding. Please take a look in our GitHub Issues to submit a feature request, or pick up a bug.

Support

We are pretty active in our Discord channel if you have any questions. Also see our FAQ for commonly asked questions.