top of page
Search

yt-dlp: A Powerful Tool to Download Live Chat and More



How to Download Live Chat from YouTube Videos with yt-dlp




If you want to save the live chat messages from a YouTube video, you might think that you need a special tool or extension. However, there is a simple and powerful way to do it with a command-line program called yt-dlp. In this article, we will show you what yt-dlp is, how to install it, and how to use it to download live chat from YouTube videos.




yt-dlp download live chat




What is yt-dlp and why use it?




yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork based on the now inactive youtube-dlc. It is a command-line program that lets you download videos and audio from YouTube and other sites. It has many features and options that make it more versatile and reliable than the original youtube-dl. Here are some of the reasons why you might want to use yt-dlp instead of youtube-dl:


A youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes




yt-dlp is merged with youtube-dl v2021.12.17+ commit/2dd6c6e (exceptions) and youtube-dlc v2020.11.11-3+ commit/f9401f2. This means that you get all the features and patches of youtube-dlc in addition to the latest youtube-dl. yt-dlp also has its own improvements and bug fixes that make it more up-to-date and functional than both youtube-dl and youtube-dlc.


SponsorBlock integration




yt-dlp has a built-in integration with SponsorBlock, a community-based service that lets users mark and skip sponsor segments in YouTube videos. You can use yt-dlp to download videos without sponsor segments, or to remove them after downloading. You can also customize how yt-dlp handles sponsor segments, such as skipping, muting, or cutting them.


Format sorting




yt-dlp has a different default format sorting algorithm than youtube-dl. It prefers higher resolution and better codecs over larger bitrate. This means that you will get better quality videos with less file size when using yt-dlp. You can also sort formats by other criteria, such as framerate, filesize, or codec.


How to install yt-dlp




There are two main ways to install yt-dlp: downloading the latest release from GitHub or installing with pip or other package managers.


Download the latest release from GitHub




You can download the latest release of yt-dlp from its GitHub page. There are different files for different operating systems and architectures. Choose the one that suits your system and download it. You can then run yt-dlp from the command line by typing its name or path.


Install with pip or other package managers




You can also install yt-dlp with pip or other package managers that support Python packages. For example, to install yt-dlp with pip, you can run this command:


yt-dlp download youtube live chat


yt-dlp download twitch live chat


yt-dlp download live stream chat


yt-dlp download live chat subtitles


yt-dlp download live chat replay


yt-dlp download live chat transcript


yt-dlp download live chat json


yt-dlp download live chat xml


yt-dlp download live chat srt


yt-dlp download live chat vtt


yt-dlp download live chat as text


yt-dlp download live chat with video


yt-dlp download live chat with audio


yt-dlp download live chat with sponsorblock


yt-dlp download live chat with timestamps


yt-dlp download live chat with emojis


yt-dlp download live chat with donations


yt-dlp download live chat with superchats


yt-dlp download live chat with memberships


yt-dlp download live chat with badges


yt-dlp download live chat with commands


yt-dlp download live chat with bots


yt-dlp download live chat with moderators


yt-dlp download live chat with filters


yt-dlp download live chat with regex


yt-dlp download live chat without ads


yt-dlp download live chat without buffering


yt-dlp download live chat without login


yt-dlp download live chat without cookies


yt-dlp download live chat without captcha


yt-dlp download live chat in mp4 format


yt-dlp download live chat in mkv format


yt-dlp download live chat in webm format


yt-dlp download live chat in flv format


yt-dlp download live chat in m3u8 format


yt-dlp download live chat in mp3 format


yt-dlp download live chat in wav format


yt-dlp download live chat in ogg format


yt-dlp download live chat in aac format


yt-dlp download live chat in opus format


yt-dlp how to download live chats from youtube videos


pip install --upgrade yt_dlp


This will install yt-dlp and its dependencies on your system. You can then run yt-dlp from the command line by typing its name.


How to download live chat from YouTube videos




Now that you have installed yt-dlp, you can use it to download live chat from YouTube videos. Live chat messages are considered as subtitles by yt-dlp, so you can use the same options and commands as for downloading subtitles. Here are the steps to follow:


List the available formats and subtitles


List the available formats and subtitles




The first step is to list the available formats and subtitles for the YouTube video you want to download. To do this, you can use the -F or --list-formats option with yt-dlp. For example, to list the formats and subtitles for this video, you can run this command:


yt-dlp -F


This will output something like this:


[info] Available formats for 5qap5aO4i9A: ID EXT RESOLUTION FPS FILESIZE TBR PROTO VCODEC VBR ACODEC ABR ASR MORE INFO --- --- ---------- --- - ---------- ----- ----- - ----------- ----- --------- ---- ------- ----------------- 140 m4a audio only 2.00MiB 48k https mp4a.40.2 48k 44100Hz low, m4a_dash 249 webm audio only 2.02MiB 49k https opus 49k 48000Hz low, webm_dash 250 webm audio only 2.64MiB 64k https opus 64k 48000Hz low, webm_dash 251 webm audio only 5.02MiB 122k https opus 122k 48000Hz low, webm_dash 17 3gp 176x144 12 1.78MiB 43k https mp4v.20.3 34k mp4a.40.2 9k 22050Hz 160 mp4 256x144 30 1.86MiB 45k https avc1.4d400c 45k video only, mp4_dash 278 webm 256x144 30 2.13MiB 52k https vp9 52k video only, webm_dash 133 mp4 426x240 30 3.87MiB 94k https avc1.4d4015 94k video only, mp4_dash 242 webm 426x240 30 3.98MiB 97k https vp9 97k video only, webm_dash 134 mp4 640x360 30 6.90MiB 168k https avc1.4d401e168k video only, mp4_dash 243 webm 640x360 30 7.29MiB 177k https vp9 177k video only, webm_dash 135 mp4 854x480 30 11.99MiB 292k https avc1.4d401f292k video only, mp4_dash 244 webm 854x480 30 13.06MiB 318k https vp9 318k video only, webm_dash 136 mp4 1280x720 fps6 22.98MiB 560k https avc1.64001f560k video only, mp4_dash 247 webm1280x720 fps6 25.36MiB 618k https vp9 618k video only, webm_dash 18 mp4 audio/video 28.41MiB 692k https avc1.42001E692k mp4a.40.2 96k44100Hz 22 mp4 audio/video 56.82MiB1380k https avc1.64001F1380k mp4a.40.2 192k44100Hz (best) [info] Available subtitles for5qap5aO4i9A: Language Name Code URL -------- ---- ---- --- English Live chat replay en English English en


As you can see, there are many formats and two subtitles for this video: live chat replay and English. Choose the live chat format code




The next step is to choose the format code for the live chat subtitle. A format code is a string that identifies a specific format or subtitle for a video. You can find the format code for the live chat subtitle by looking at the URL column in the output of the previous command. For example, for this video, the format code for the live chat subtitle is:



You can copy this URL and use it as the format code for yt-dlp.


Download the live chat as a subtitle file




The final step is to download the live chat as a subtitle file using yt-dlp. To do this, you can use the --write-sub option to write subtitles to a file, and the --sub-format option to specify the subtitle format. You can also use the --sub-lang option to specify the subtitle language, and the -o option to specify the output file name. For example, to download the live chat as a JSON file, you can run this command:


yt-dlp --write-sub --sub-format json --sub-lang en -o "live_chat.json" "


This will download the live chat as a JSON file named "live_chat.json". You can open this file with any text editor or JSON viewer and see the live chat messages and timestamps.


Modify the metadata of the live chat file




If you want, you can also modify the metadata of the live chat file to add some information about the video, such as the title, author, or description. To do this, you can use the --add-metadata option with yt-dlp. This will add some metadata fields to the JSON file, such as:


"title": "lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to", "author": "Lofi Girl", "description": "Thank you for listening, I hope you will have a good time here :)", "upload_date": "20200222", "duration": 0, "webpage_url": "


You can also use other options to customize the metadata fields, such as --metadata-from-title, --metadata-from-url, or --parse-metadata. For more details, see the documentation. Conclusion




In this article, we have shown you how to download live chat from YouTube videos with yt-dlp. yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork that has many features and options that make it more powerful and reliable than the original youtube-dl. You can use yt-dlp to download videos, audio, subtitles, and live chat from YouTube and other sites. You can also customize the format, quality, and metadata of the downloaded files. yt-dlp is easy to install and use, and it can help you save the live chat messages from your favorite YouTube videos.


FAQs




What is the difference between youtube-dl and yt-dlp?




youtube-dl is a popular command-line program that lets you download videos and audio from YouTube and other sites. yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork that has additional features and fixes that make it more up-to-date and functional than youtube-dl. Some of the features of yt-dlp are SponsorBlock integration, format sorting, and live chat downloading.


How can I download videos without sponsor segments with yt-dlp?




yt-dlp has a built-in integration with SponsorBlock, a community-based service that lets users mark and skip sponsor segments in YouTube videos. You can use the --sponsorblock-remove option with yt-dlp to download videos without sponsor segments, or to remove them after downloading. You can also customize how yt-dlp handles sponsor segments, such as skipping, muting, or cutting them.


How can I download subtitles in other languages with yt-dlp?




yt-dlp can download subtitles in any language that is available for the YouTube video. You can use the --sub-lang option with yt-dlp to specify the subtitle language you want to download. For example, to download subtitles in Spanish, you can run this command:


yt-dlp --write-sub --sub-lang es -o "subtitles.es.srt" "


This will download subtitles in Spanish as a SRT file named "subtitles.es.srt". You can also use the --all-subs option to download all available subtitles for the video.


How can I convert the live chat file to another format with yt-dlp?




yt-dlp can convert the live chat file to another format using the --convert-subs option. This option takes a subtitle format as an argument, such as srt, vtt, ass, or lrc. For example, to convert the live chat file to a VTT file, you can run this command:


yt-dlp --convert-subs vtt -o "live_chat.vtt" "


This will convert the live chat file to a VTT file named "live_chat.vtt". You can then use this file with any video player or editor that supports VTT subtitles.


How can I update yt-dlp to the latest version?




You can update yt-dlp to the latest version by using the same method you used to install it. For example, if you installed yt-dlp with pip, you can update it by running this command:


pip install --upgrade yt_dlp


This will install the latest version of yt-dlp and its dependencies on your system. You can also check the GitHub page for the latest releases and changelogs of yt-dlp. I hope you found this article helpful and learned how to download live chat from YouTube videos with yt-dlp. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!


: : : 44f88ac181


6 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page