How to Install and Use yt-dlp to Download YouTube Music

Have you ever wanted to save your favorite playlists from YouTube Music? Then you may have heard of yt-dlp, which is a powerful tool for downloading videos and audio from a variety of websites.

Many sites use yt-dlp as a backend, however, it would be safer and faster with better quality control and usability to use yt-dlp directly. However, yt-dlp is not as easy as those websites or GUIs, many people feel confused after reading yt-dlp GitHub page.

Here you will find a simple guide on making yt-dlp work. We will explain what yt-dlp is, how to install it on Mac/Windows, and the most commonly used yt-dlp commands to download YouTube Music playlists.

Contents

1. What is yt-dlp? 
2. How to install yt-dlp on Mac?
3. Install FFmpeg on Mac
4. How to Download YouTube Music with yt-dlp on Mac
5. How to install yt-dlp on Windows?
6. How to use yt-dlp to download YouTube Music playlists on Windows?
7. How to use yt-dlp GUI?
8. A Simpler Way to Download YouTube Music
9. Why Choose Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter?
10. yt-dlp vs. Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter
11. Conclusion

1. What is yt-dlp? 

yt-dlp is a command-line audio and video downloader based on youtube-dl. It supports thousands of websites and can download both individual videos and playlists.

Because yt-dlp is a command-line application, you use it through Terminal on Mac or Command Prompt/PowerShell on Windows.

For many common YouTube Music downloads, yt-dlp can download the available audio stream and, with FFmpeg installed, convert it to formats such as MP3, M4A, FLAC, AAC, or WAV.

2. How to install yt-dlp on Mac?

There are several ways to install yt-dlp on macOS. The easiest method for beginners is to download the official executable and place it in a directory included in your PATH.

Option 1. Install yt-dlp Using the Official Binary

1. Open Terminal on your Mac.
2. Create the local binary directory if it does not already exist:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin

3. Download the latest yt-dlp executable:

curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o ~/.local/bin/yt-dlp

4. Make the file executable:

chmod a+rx ~/.local/bin/yt-dlp

5. Check whether yt-dlp is installed correctly:

yt-dlp --version

If Terminal displays a version number, yt-dlp has been installed successfully.

Note: ~/.local/bin needs to be included in your PATH for the yt-dlp command to work from any Terminal window.

Option 2. Install yt-dlp with Python

If Python 3 is already installed on your Mac, you can install yt-dlp with pip:

python3 -m pip install -U "yt-dlp[default]"

Then verify the installation:

yt-dlp --version

3. Install FFmpeg on Mac

FFmpeg is strongly recommended when using yt-dlp. It is required for tasks such as extracting audio, converting audio to MP3, and merging separate video and audio streams.

After installing FFmpeg, verify it with:

ffmpeg -version

You should also make sure that ffprobe is available:

ffprobe -version
				

4. How to Download YouTube Music with yt-dlp on Mac

Once yt-dlp and FFmpeg are installed, you can download a YouTube Music song or playlist.

1. Open YouTube Music web player, copy the playlist link you want to download.

2. Open Terminal app, and enter:

yt-dlp "playlist or song url"

3. The default format is .webm. If you want to change format, type:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "playlist or song url"

How to update yt-dlp?

Every so often, a new release of yt-dlp comes out. You can run the following command to auto-magically update yt-dlp to the latest version:

yt-dlp -U

If you installed yt-dlp with pip or using the wheel from PyPi, to update, run:

python3 -m pip install -U "yt-dlp[default]"

You can find more command lines by typing:

yt-dlp --help
				

You can check what version you currently have by typing:

yt-dlp --version			
				

How to uninstall yt-dlp?

Depends on how/where you installed it, typing:

pip: pip uninstall yt-dlp

pipx: pipx uninstall yt-dlp

winget: winget uninstall yt-dlp.yt-dlp

Exe: Just delete the yt-dlp.exe

5. How to install yt-dlp on Windows?

1. Download https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe.

2. Download https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds/releases/download/latest/ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-gpl.zip.

3. Extract the files and find ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe inside the bin folder.

4. Copy those two files to the same folder as yt-dlp.exe.

6. How to use yt-dlp to download YouTube Music playlists on Windows?

1. Open the folder where yt-dlp.exe is stored.

2. In the address bar, type cmd and press enter.

3. In the terminal window that opens, type:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "playlist or song url"
	          

4. Wait for the songs to finish downloading.

Songs are downloaded to the same folder where yt-dlp.exe is stored.

Note that although yt-dlp can detect YouTube Music playlist link, it matches and downloads the songs from YouTube. So you can only get songs in 128kbps.

7. How to use yt-dlp GUI?

If you are still unfamiliar with the command-line tools, just get yt-dlp GUI(Graphical user interface) for Mac and Windows such as Stacher, which you can directly download and install the .dmg or .exe file as other apps.

How to download and install Stacher?

1. Download and install Stacher on your Mac, Windows or Linux.

2. Run it and paste the YouTube Music playlist link you want to download.

3. Press Enter button to download the songs to your computer.

8. A Simpler Way to Download YouTube Music

yt-dlp is a powerful option if you're familiar with command-line tools. However, it can take some time to set up, especially if you need to install FFmpeg, choose the right formats, troubleshoot download errors, or convert audio files after downloading.

If you prefer a simpler way to download and convert YouTube Music, Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter provides a dedicated graphical interface without requiring command-line commands.

9. Why Choose Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter?

With Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter, you can download music from YouTube Music without manually entering yt-dlp commands or configuring FFmpeg.

Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter is a professional YouTube playlist downloader that allows you to download any music video playlists to MP3 in 320 kbps. Features a built-in YouTube Music web player, you can easily search and find any music video playlist. It is an excellent YouTube Music to MP3 Converter which can help you download songs from YouTube Music and convert them to MP3, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV, or M4A with 100% original quality. Then you can keep and use that converted songs forever. The converted songs can be used on any device that is compatible with MP3 format and without an internet connection. What’s more, Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter can download songs at 10X faster speed and keep ID3 tags after conversion. Here’s how you can convert YouTube playlist to MP3 using Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter.

All YouTube music video playlists can be found on YouTube Music, Besides, it contains more curated playlists. Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter is not only able to download any music video playlists from YouTube to MP3, but also downloads any playlists from YouTube Music.

10. yt-dlp vs. Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter

Both tools can be useful, depending on what you need.

	yt-dlp	Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter
Command line required	Yes	No
FFmpeg setup	Yes	No
MP3 conversion	Yes	Yes
Playlist downloads	Yes	Yes
Format selection	Advanced	Easy to use
Audio metadata	Command-line options	Automatic management
Best for	Advanced users	Beginners and everyday users

Choose yt-dlp if you want a free, flexible command-line tool and don't mind configuring it yourself.

Choose Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter if you prefer a more convenient desktop application with a graphical interface and less manual setup.

11. Conclusion

yt-dlp is a powerful solution for downloading YouTube Music and other supported online media. Once you have installed yt-dlp and FFmpeg, you can download audio, process playlists, select formats, and convert audio to MP3 using a few simple commands. However, if command-line tools and FFmpeg configuration are not your thing, a dedicated YouTube Music downloader such as Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter can provide a more straightforward way to download and convert your music.

How to download YouTube Music playlist with Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter

1. Run Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter

To get started, download, install and run Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter on your Mac/Windows, which features a built-in YouTube Music web player.

If you have already purchased a license, click the key icon to register the converter. If not, continue using the trial version.

2. Customize output settings(optional)

Tap on the Settings gear icon to change the output settings. The default output format is MP3. Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter also supports M4A, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, AAC. You can also change bitrate, samplerate according to your needs.

 

3. Add songs

Search or browse in the built-in web player to find the playlist you want to download. Then click the red Add to list button to load songs. All songs in the playlist will be added by default. You can uncheck the songs you don't want to get.

Click Add songs.

4. Download YouTube Music playlists to MP3

Click on the Convert button, YouTube Music Converter will start to download playlists in MP3 format.

Once the songs have been downloaded, click the folder icon to quickly locate the DRM-free YouTube Music songs in the format you choose. You can then transfer and play it anywhere. To view or manage the music you’ve downloaded, click the clock icon on the top right corner of Ondesoft YouTube Music Converter interface.