YoutubeExplode.Converter

YoutubeExplode.Converter

YoutubeExplode.Converter is an extension package for YoutubeExplode that provides the capability to download YouTube videos by muxing separate streams into a single file. This package relies on FFmpeg under the hood.

Install

• 📦 NuGet: dotnet add package YoutubeExplode.Converter

Important: This package requires the FFmpeg CLI to work, which can be downloaded here. Ensure that it's located in your application's probe directory or on the system's PATH, or provide a custom location yourself using one of the available method overloads.

Usage

YoutubeExplode.Converter exposes its functionality by enhancing YoutubeExplode's clients with additional extension methods. To use them, simply add the corresponding namespace and follow the examples below.

Downloading videos

You can download a video directly to a file through one of the extension methods provided on VideoClient. For example, to download a video in the specified format using the highest quality streams, simply call DownloadAsync(...) with the video ID and the destination path:

using YoutubeExplode;
using YoutubeExplode.Converter;

var youtube = new YoutubeClient();

var videoUrl = "https://youtube.com/watch?v=u_yIGGhubZs";
await youtube.Videos.DownloadAsync(videoUrl, "video.mp4");

Under the hood, this resolves the video's media streams, downloads the best candidates based on format, bitrate, framerate, and quality, and muxes them together into a single file.

Note: If the specified output format is a known audio-only container (e.g. mp3 or ogg) then only the audio stream is downloaded.

Warning: Stream muxing is a resource-intensive process, especially when transcoding is involved. To avoid transcoding, consider specifying either mp4 or webm for the output format, as these are the containers that YouTube uses for most of its streams.

Customizing the conversion process

To configure various aspects of the conversion process, use the following overload of DownloadAsync(...):

using YoutubeExplode;
using YoutubeExplode.Converter;

var youtube = new YoutubeClient();
var videoUrl = "https://youtube.com/watch?v=u_yIGGhubZs";

await youtube.Videos.DownloadAsync(videoUrl, "video.mp4", o => o
    .SetContainer("webm") // override format
    .SetPreset(ConversionPreset.UltraFast) // change preset
    .SetFFmpegPath("path/to/ffmpeg") // custom FFmpeg location
);

Manually selecting streams

If you need precise control over which streams are used for the muxing process, you can also provide them yourself instead of relying on the automatic resolution:

using YoutubeExplode;
using YoutubeExplode.Videos.Streams;
using YoutubeExplode.Converter;

var youtube = new YoutubeClient();

// Get stream manifest
var videoUrl = "https://youtube.com/watch?v=u_yIGGhubZs";
var streamManifest = await youtube.Videos.Streams.GetManifestAsync(videoUrl);

// Select best audio stream (highest bitrate)
var audioStreamInfo = streamManifest
    .GetAudioStreams()
    .Where(s => s.Container == Container.Mp4)
    .GetWithHighestBitrate();

// Select best video stream (1080p60 in this example)
var videoStreamInfo = streamManifest
    .GetVideoStreams()
    .Where(s => s.Container == Container.Mp4)
    .First(s => s.VideoQuality.Label == "1080p60");

// Download and mux streams into a single file
var streamInfos = new IStreamInfo[] { audioStreamInfo, videoStreamInfo };
await youtube.Videos.DownloadAsync(streamInfos, new ConversionRequestBuilder("video.mp4").Build());

Warning: Stream muxing is a resource-intensive process, especially when transcoding is involved. To avoid transcoding, consider prioritizing streams that are already encoded in the desired format (e.g. mp4 or webm).