ezdl: Easy (Video) Download

About

ezdl is an Easy (Video) Download tool written in Python and uses readily available libraries in order to simplify the process of downloading videos from varying sources right from the terminal.

Requirements

Operating System

• Linux
• macOS
• Windows ONLY through WSL

System software

• bash 5.0+
• ffmpeg 6.1.1+
• python 3.0+

Python library (pip)

• colorama 0.4.4+
• yt-dlp 2023.7.6+

Features

• Simple yet useful configuration options to get things done the way you want it and to have that process reproducible.

  Examples:

  • Set a location where your cookies are stored and ezdl will recognise them and prompt you to pick one, if any, when you're downloading videos.
  • Define several download path options for ezdl to allow you to choose from when downloading.
  • Configure custom source profiles on top or in place of the ones provided by default i.e. Create a new instagram source profile with yt-dlp options to use when downloading from Instagram.
  • Set defaults for each option (i.e. source, download path, cookie) or don't and ezdl will determine a default for you.

• Easy to use with essentially nothing to remember or recall when you need to download a video.

• Very fast downloads and compatible with videos from a huge list of sources thanks to the yt-dlp project.

• Custom sanitisation/parsing options for video links i.e. automatically changing vimeo.com links to player.vimeo.com, x.com links to twitter.com, and so on. [EXPERIMENTAL]

Installation

1. Ensure that you have met all of the project requirements.

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/irfanhakim-as/ezdl.git ~/.ezdl

3. Get into the local repository:

   cd ~/.ezdl

4. Use the installer script:

   Use the help option to see other available options:

   ./installer.sh --help

   For the most basic installation, simply run the script as is:

   ./installer.sh

   By default, the installer will install the project to the ~/.local prefix. Please ensure that the ~/.local/bin directory is in your PATH environment variable.

Configuration

There are two configuration files available that are provided by default after installation:

• ezdl.json: Configuration options pertaining to the ezdl tool. All supported options are detailed below.

• source.json: Source profile configurations that are primarily used as yt-dlp download options you could pick from when you are downloading videos. They are meant to be set up for different sources or modes of downloading i.e. one profile for downloading YouTube videos as mp4 files while another profile for downloading YouTube videos as mp3 files. Examples can be found in the provided source.json file.

They are both installed to ~/.config/ezdl by default.

ezdl.json

Option	Description	Sample Value	Default Value
cookies_dir	The directory where your cookie(s) are stored, if any.	~/Downloads/cookies	~/.ezdl/cookies
default_cookie	The default cookie (.txt) file name to use/suggest.	cookies if the file name is cookies.txt	anonymous or the first available cookie if any
default_download_path	The default download path name to use/suggest.	current	downloads or the first available download path
default_source	The default source profile name to use/suggest.	twitter	yt_best or the first available source profile
download_auto_subs	Specifies whether or not ezdl should download automatically generated video subtitles.	true	false
download_paths	A dictionary of download path options comprised of their name and path.	{"videos": "~/Videos", "movies": "~/Movies"}	{"downloads": "~/Downloads", "current": "."}
download_subtitles	Specifies whether or not ezdl should download video subtitles.	true	false
install_pfx	The prefix where ezdl was installed. Update this if it's been changed.	/usr/local	~/.local
skip_sanitise	Specifies whether or not ezdl should skip sanitising video links.	true	false
subtitle_format	The preferred subtitle format to download if available.	vtt	srt
subtitle_lang	A list of language codes to download video subtitles for.	["ja", "ko"]	["en.*"]

Usage

1. Ensure that you have installed the project successfully.

2. The easiest way to use ezdl is to use the ezdl command as is:

   ezdl

   This will walk you through picking a source profile, a download path, and a cookie (if available) before then getting the video links from you and downloading them accordingly.

3. You may also use the help option to see other (optional) options available to ezdl:

   ezdl --help