Question 1

How to deploy youtube-dl-server using Docker Compose?

Accepted Answer

The README provides a Docker Compose example: define a service with the image, volume mounts for config and output, and port mapping in a docker-compose.yml file, then run 'docker-compose up' to start the server.

Question 2

youtube-dl-server or yt-dlp: which is better for automation?

Accepted Answer

youtube-dl-server adds a web UI and REST API on top of yt-dlp or youtube-dl. Use youtube-dl-server for server-based automation with remote management, and yt-dlp directly for command-line scripting without the overhead of a web interface.

Question 3

Can youtube-dl-server download entire YouTube playlists?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it supports playlist downloads through the output_playlist template in configuration, and you can queue multiple URLs as one job via the API or UI for batch processing.

Question 4

How to set up audio-only downloads in youtube-dl-server?

Accepted Answer

Create a profile in config.yml with ydl_options like format: bestaudio/best and extract-audio: True, then select it in the UI or specify the profile name in API calls to convert videos to audio formats.

Question 5

Does youtube-dl-server embed subtitles and metadata?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by configuring ydl_options such as write-sub, sub-lang, write-thumbnail, embed-thumbnail, and add-metadata in profiles or global settings, it can handle subtitles and metadata embedding during downloads.

Question 6

Is it legal to use youtube-dl-server for downloading videos?

Accepted Answer

Legality varies by jurisdiction and usage; it's a tool for personal archiving under fair use in some cases, but downloading copyrighted content without permission may violate terms of service or laws, so users should ensure compliance.

Question 7

How to handle multiple users with youtube-dl-server?

Accepted Answer

The basic setup lacks multi-user features; for shared access, implement authentication via a reverse proxy like Nginx with basic auth or wait for community plugins, as it's not natively supported in the core project.

YoutubeDL-Server

What is YoutubeDL-Server?

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