Overview
yt-dlp can extract audio from videos and convert it to your preferred format. This requires ffmpeg and ffprobe to be installed on your system.
The simplest way to extract audio is using the -x flag:
yt-dlp -x "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc"
By default, audio is extracted in the best available format. yt-dlp will choose the optimal format automatically.
Choose your format
Select from supported formats: mp3, aac, flac, m4a, opus, vorbis, wav, alac, or best.
Extract with format conversion
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 URL
Set quality level
# Quality 0 (best) to 10 (worst) for VBR
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 URL
# Or specify bitrate directly
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 320K URL
# High quality MP3
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 URL
# Standard quality MP3 (192K)
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 192K URL
# Using preset alias
yt-dlp -t mp3 URL
# Download best audio-only format without conversion
yt-dlp -f 'ba' URL
# Prefer specific codec
yt-dlp -f 'ba[acodec^=opus]/ba[acodec^=mp4a]/ba' URL
Multiple audio quality rules
Convert based on source format:
# Similar to --remux-video syntax
yt-dlp -x --audio-format "opus>mp3/best" URL
- Convert opus to mp3
- Keep other formats in their best available quality
Audio-Only Downloads
Best audio quality
# Best quality from YouTube Music
yt-dlp -f 'ba' "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=..."
# Extract MP3 from all videos in playlist
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
-o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
PLAYLIST_URL
# Skip already downloaded
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
--download-archive downloaded.txt \
PLAYLIST_URL
Metadata embedding requires either mutagen (Python package) or ffmpeg to be installed.
Basic metadata embedding
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
--embed-metadata \
--embed-thumbnail \
URL
Custom metadata
# Parse artist from title
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
--parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s" \
--embed-metadata \
URL
Complete music file
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 \
--embed-metadata \
--embed-thumbnail \
--parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" \
-o "%(artist,uploader)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
URL
Audio Processing Options
Normalize audio
Use ffmpeg postprocessor arguments:
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
--ppa "ffmpeg:-af loudnorm" \
URL
Split by chapters
Extract each chapter as separate audio file:
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
--split-chapters \
-o "chapter:%(title)s - %(section_number)s %(section_title)s.%(ext)s" \
URL
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
--sponsorblock-remove sponsor,selfpromo \
URL
Preset Aliases for Audio
yt-dlp includes convenient presets:
# Equivalent to: -f 'ba[acodec^=mp3]/ba/b' -x --audio-format mp3
yt-dlp -t mp3 URL
Organizing Audio Downloads
Music library structure
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
-o "%(uploader)s/%(album,playlist)s/%(track_number)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
--embed-metadata \
--embed-thumbnail \
PLAYLIST_URL
By date
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 \
-o "%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(upload_date>%m)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" \
URL
Python API Example
Extract audio programmatically:
import yt_dlp
URLs = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
ydl_opts = {
'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
'postprocessors': [{
'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
}]
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download(URLs)
Troubleshooting
ffmpeg not found
Audio extraction requires ffmpeg. Install it from ffmpeg.org or use your package manager. # Check if ffmpeg is installed
ffmpeg -version
# Specify ffmpeg location if needed
yt-dlp -x --ffmpeg-location /path/to/ffmpeg URL
Quality loss during conversion
# Download best audio without re-encoding
yt-dlp -f 'ba' URL
# If conversion needed, use highest quality
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 URL
Thumbnail not embedding
# Install mutagen for better thumbnail support
pip install mutagen
# Or use AtomicParsley for MP4/M4A
yt-dlp -x --audio-format m4a --embed-thumbnail URL
Next Steps
Post-Processing
Advanced post-processing options
Metadata Modification
Customize metadata in audio files
Playlists
Extract audio from entire playlists
Format Selection
Advanced audio format selection