download media. simple, fast, local.
_{youtube · spotify · tiktok · and many more}

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Download videos from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X/Twitter, Threads and 1,800+ other sites. Download songs and playlists from Spotify with full metadata. Paste a link, pick a format, done.

No popups, no fake download buttons, no sketchy redirects.

Install

npm install -g mediadl-cli

Or run without installing:

npx mediadl-cli

Requires Node 18+. yt-dlp, FFmpeg, spotdl, and Deno are installed automatically on first use.

Usage

$ mediadl https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ         # pick a format, download
$ mediadl https://open.spotify.com/track/...     # download a single track
$ mediadl https://open.spotify.com/playlist/...  # download full playlist
$ mediadl https://www.tiktok.com/...             # download a video
$ mediadl                                        # prompts for a link
$ mediadl --theme dark                           # force dark mode

Screenshots

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
up/down or j/k	Navigate formats
Enter	Confirm / Download
Esc	Go back
Tab	Paste clipboard URL
Ctrl+T	Cycle theme
Ctrl+C	Quit

How It Works

• YouTube & 1800+ sites — Powered by yt-dlp. Standalone binary downloaded to ~/.mediadl/bin on first run.
• Spotify — Powered by spotdl. Auto-installed via pip. Also installs Deno for YouTube downloads.
• FFmpeg — For merging streams and MP3 extraction. Uses system FFmpeg or bundled fallback.
• UI — Built with Ink (React for the terminal).

Output Locations

Source	Location
YouTube, TikTok, etc.	~/Downloads/
Spotify single track	~/Downloads/
Spotify playlist/album	~/Downloads/<Playlist Name>/

Development

git clone https://github.com/kevlarclint/mediadl-cli.git
cd mediadl
npm install
npm run build        # bundle to dist/
npm run dev          # rebuild on change
npm run test         # run tests
npm run typecheck    # check types

To try it globally: npm link, then run mediadl anywhere.

Credits

Forked from yoinks by Pablo Stanley.

Built with:

• yt-dlp — Video downloads
• spotdl — Spotify downloads
• FFmpeg — Media processing
• Ink — Terminal UI

License

MIT