yt-dlp Setup Guide for macOS

1Check if Homebrew is Installed

First, let's check if you already have Homebrew installed on your system. Open Terminal and run:

brew --version

✅

If Homebrew is installed: You'll see version information like "Homebrew 4.x.x" - proceed to Step 3

⚠️

If Homebrew is NOT installed: You'll see "command not found: brew" - proceed to Step 2

2Install Homebrew (if needed)

If Homebrew isn't installed, install it using the official installation script:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

ℹ️

Note: The installation will prompt you for your password and may take several minutes to complete. Follow the on-screen instructions.

After installation, you may need to add Homebrew to your PATH. The installer will provide specific instructions, but typically you'll need to run:

echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc

⚠️

For Intel Macs: Use /usr/local/bin instead of /opt/homebrew/bin

3Update Homebrew

Before installing yt-dlp, make sure Homebrew is up to date:

brew update

4Install yt-dlp

Now you can install yt-dlp using Homebrew:

brew install yt-dlp

🎉

This will download and install yt-dlp along with all its dependencies.

5Verify Installation

Confirm that yt-dlp is installed correctly by checking its version:

yt-dlp --version

You can also view the help information to see available options:

yt-dlp --help

6Configure Stacher7 to use yt-dlp managed by brew

Open Stacher7 and go into the Settings window. Click the Advanced tab and enable the switch labeled "Use Custom YT-DLP"

Once enabled, find the setting labeled YT-DLP Location and enter:

/usr/homebrew/bin/yt-dlp

OR if you're running MacOS on Intel

/usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

💡

Note: Brew installs yt-dlp (and other packages) to a different location on Intel versions vs Apple Silicon. Make sure you use the correct path above.

7Keeping yt-dlp Updated

To update yt-dlp to the latest version in the future, simply run:

brew upgrade yt-dlp

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Note: You do not have to do this right now because you just installed yt-dlp. Stacher cannot manage yt-dlp for you when you are using the custom yt-dlp location installed via brew. Save this command for later. If you find yt-dlp/Stacher is starting to fail with future downloads, you may need to update yt-dlp. Open terminal and run this command.