yvm-yt

Terminal UI for downloading YouTube videos with yt-dlp.

Install And Run

This section is for someone who just wants to use the app.

1. Install Node.js

You need Node.js 18 or newer because the app is launched with npx.

Download Node.js from https://nodejs.org/.

2. Install ffmpeg

ffmpeg is required for:

• 4K / UHD
• Best quality
• MP4 1080p
• MP4 720p
• Audio MP3

Install it with one of these:

# Windows (winget)
winget install Gyan.FFmpeg

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install ffmpeg

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install ffmpeg

3. Run the app

npx yvm-yt

If you use Bun instead of Node:

bunx yvm-yt

4. Use it

1. Paste a YouTube URL.
2. Pick a format.
3. Wait for the download to finish.

Downloads are saved to your default Downloads folder.

Available formats

• Best quality: highest available quality with merge when needed
• 4K / UHD: up to 2160p, merged to mkv
• MP4 1080p: MP4-friendly video/audio up to 1080p
• MP4 720p: MP4-friendly video/audio up to 720p
• Audio MP3: extracts audio and converts to MP3
• Original audio: best audio-only stream without conversion

Notes

• The app accepts only http(s) YouTube URLs.
• If yt-dlp is not installed globally, the app downloads its own binary automatically.
• You must run it in an interactive terminal.

Developer Guide

This section is for working on the project itself.

Install dependencies

bun install
npm install

bun install maintains bun.lock.

npm install maintains package-lock.json so npm audit and npm-based packaging work correctly.

Local development

bun run dev

Validate the project

npm run check
npm run build
npm run audit

Test the packaged CLI locally

Register the package globally on your machine:

npm link
bun link

Then run it from any directory:

npx yvm-yt
bunx yvm-yt

Package and publish

Build output is created automatically when you pack or publish.

npm pack
npm publish