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Tutorial: Private videos & playlists

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Stefan Lobbenmeier edited this page Nov 2, 2024 · 7 revisions

This tutorial explains how to download private videos & playlists, or rather: videos you need to be logged in for. I can't guarantee this will work for every service out there, but it for sure works with YouTube.

  1. First we need to extract cookies from the service e.g. YouTube. This can be done using an extension. Do not use get cookies.txt, which was a previous recommendation, but it changed and leaks your authentication to the developer. See this issue for more information: https://github.com/StefanLobbenmeier/youtube-dl-gui/issues/149
  1. Now go to youtube-dl-gui and press the key icon to setup authentication using cookies.

screenshot depicting step 3

  1. Click on 'Click to select cookies.txt' and select the cookies.txt file you just exported from the service.

screenshot depicting step 4

  1. Click on Ok to apply the changes. If you every wish to remove the cookies just open this window and press 'Remove cookies'.

screenshot depicting step 5

  1. Try downloading a video that you need to be logged in for, it should now work!

Still not working? Create a new issue and I will take a look at it.

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