A sleek, modern YouTube video downloader that runs as a local desktop application.
Download YouTube videos in MP4 or extract audio as MP3 — with a single click from your desktop.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| �️ One-Click Desktop App | Launch from a desktop shortcut — no terminal knowledge needed |
| 🔍 Video Preview | Displays thumbnail, title, uploader, duration and view count |
| 🎵 Audio Download | Download best-quality audio and convert to MP3 |
| 🎥 Video Download | Choose your resolution (1080p, 720p, 480p, etc.) and download as MP4 |
| 📊 Progress Bar | Real-time download progress tracking |
| 🛡️ Error Handling | Friendly messages for invalid URLs, restricted videos, and missing dependencies |
| 🔎 Auto ffmpeg Detection | Automatically finds ffmpeg on common Windows paths — no manual PATH setup |
| 📦 Isolated Environment | Uses a virtual environment (venv) to avoid conflicts with other Python projects |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Python 3.10+ | Download — ✅ Check "Add Python to PATH" during install |
| ffmpeg | Download — Extract to C:\ffmpeg\ (auto-detected) |
Double-click install_env.bat. It will automatically:
- ✅ Verify Python is installed
- ✅ Create a virtual environment (
venv/) - ✅ Upgrade pip and install all dependencies
Wait for the "Setup Complete!" message, then press any key to close.
Double-click run_app.bat. The app opens in your browser at http://localhost:8501.
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ErenBalkis/youtube-video-downloader.git
cd youtube-video-downloader
# Create & activate virtual environment
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Run the app
streamlit run app.pyTurn the YouTube Downloader into a desktop application you can launch with a single click:
- Open the project folder in File Explorer
- Find
run_app.bat - Right-click → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut)
- On your Desktop, right-click the new shortcut → Properties
- In the General tab, rename it to YouTube Downloader
- Go to the Shortcut tab:
- Click Change Icon… → Browse…
- Navigate to the project folder →
assets\app_icon.ico→ Select it - Set Run to Minimized (hides the black console window)
- Click Apply → OK
Now just double-click the YouTube Downloader icon on your desktop to launch the app. Your browser will open automatically.
Tip
To stop the app, close the console window in the taskbar (or press Ctrl+C in the console).
- Paste a YouTube URL into the input field
- Preview the video details (thumbnail, title, channel, duration)
- Choose your format:
- 🎵 Audio Only (MP3) — extracts best audio and converts to MP3
- 🎥 Video (MP4) — select your preferred resolution from the dropdown
- Click "Start Download" and watch the progress bar
- Save the file using the download button that appears
- Streamlit — Web UI framework
- yt-dlp — YouTube video/audio extraction
- ffmpeg — Media processing (stream merging & MP3 conversion)
youtube-video-downloader/
├── app.py # Main Streamlit application
├── install_env.bat # One-click environment setup script
├── run_app.bat # One-click app launcher script
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── generate_icon.py # Utility to regenerate the app icon
├── assets/
│ └── app_icon.ico # Custom icon for the desktop shortcut
├── screenshots/
│ └── screenshot1.png # App screenshot for README
├── .gitignore # Git ignore rules
├── LICENSE # MIT License
└── README.md # This file
The app automatically searches for ffmpeg in these locations:
| Priority | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | System PATH |
| 2 | C:\ffmpeg\bin\ |
| 3 | C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\bin\ |
| 4 | %USERPROFILE%\ffmpeg\bin\ |
| 5 | %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\ffmpeg\bin\ |
If ffmpeg is not found, a warning with a download link is displayed in the app.
This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.