Youtube-dl: The best tool for downloading YouTube videos in Ubuntu, Period.

In the earlier days, downloading of YouTube videos in Ubuntu required nothing more than a simple copy and paste action. But those clever hacks won't work in newer versions of Firefox or Chrome. That's were dedicated tools come in. And when it comes to the downloading of YouTube videos in Ubuntu, nothing beats Youtube-dl, a powerful command line tool for easy downloading of high quality videos from YouTube.

youtube-dl youtube downloader for ubuntu

Youtube-dl: Perfect tool for downloading YouTube videos in Ubuntu
Youtube-dl is a command line tool, and that fact alone is a deterrent to many for ever using it. But don't under estimate this powerful little tool. With Youtube-dl, it is much easier to download videos from YouTube than any other application with a GUI at the moment. Moreover, Youtube-dl is available for download from default Ubuntu repositories. So installation is very easy too. Just click the button below and it will take you to the specific Software Center page.

best youtube downloader app for ubuntu
  • OR simply copy-paste the following command into your Terminal. 
sudo apt-get install youtube-dl
  • Done. YouTube downloader is installed and ready to go.
How to use Youtube-dl in Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 12.10 and Ubuntu 13.04?
  • As I said, it is a very simple tool to use and configure. If you want to download a video from YouTube, just type youtube-dl and then the link pointing to the actual video. And that's it! By default, youtube-dl will download the highest quality version of that video.
  • Refer to screenshot above for further clarification. 
  • If you want the lowest quality version of that video instead, try this:
youtube-dl -f worst [link to the video]
  • Done. Wasn't that easy? Similary, there are a number of other customizations possible. For example, you can specify the format quality of the video or even extract audio from the downloaded file. Check youtube-dl manpage for your further needs.
  • And don't let the name fool you, it is not an YouTube only application. Currently supported sites include many popular names such as Comedy Central, Dailymotion, Facebook, Metacafe, MyVideo, Photobucket, Vimeo, Yahoo!, blip.tv, Soundcloud, InfoQ, Mixcloud, OpenClassRoom among others.
Recommended: 5 Ways to Download YouTube Videos in Ubuntu