Flutter Yt Dlp

Discontinued Notice (May 29, 2025)
This plugin is no longer maintained and has been discontinued. The package will be unpublished from pub.dev after the mandatory waiting period. We recommend exploring alternative solutions for media downloading, such as direct integration with yt-dlp via platform channels or other Flutter plugins for video processing. For questions, refer to the archived GitHub repository at https://github.com/utoxas/flutter_yt_dlp.

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A Flutter plugin for downloading and processing media using yt-dlp and FFmpeg. This plugin enables developers to fetch video metadata, select from various format types (combined video with sound, merged video and audio, or audio-only), and download media with progress tracking and format conversion options.

Features

• Fetch Video Information: Retrieve metadata such as title, thumbnail, and a comprehensive list of available formats.
• Format Categorization: Access categorized formats:
  • Combined video with sound (rawVideoWithSoundFormats).
  • Separate video and audio for merging (mergeFormats).
  • Audio-only formats (rawAudioOnlyFormats).
• Flexible Downloads: Download media with options to:
  • Keep raw formats or convert to MP4/MP3.
  • Overwrite existing files or generate unique filenames.
  • Specify custom output filenames.
• Progress and State Tracking: Monitor download progress and state changes (e.g., preparing, downloading, merging, completed).
• Enhanced Example: A fully-featured example app demonstrating UI integration and download management.

Installation

Add the plugin to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  flutter_yt_dlp: ^0.2.1

Run the following command to fetch the package:

flutter pub get

Ensure your Android app has storage permissions configured, as downloads require write access to external storage.

Usage

Import the package in your Dart code:

import 'package:flutter_yt_dlp/flutter_yt_dlp.dart';

Fetching Video Information

Use FlutterYtDlpClient to fetch video metadata and formats:

final client = FlutterYtDlpClient();
final info = await client.getVideoInfo('<https://youtu.be/nl8o9PsJPAQ>');
print('Title: ${info['title']}');
print('Thumbnail: ${info['thumbnail']}');

The info map includes categorized formats:

• rawVideoWithSoundFormats: List of combined video and audio formats.
• mergeFormats: List of formats requiring video and audio merging.
• rawAudioOnlyFormats: List of audio-only formats.

Starting a Download

Select a format from the categorized lists and start a download:

final format = info['rawVideoWithSoundFormats'][0]; // Choose a format
final outputDir = '/storage/emulated/0/Download'; // Ensure this directory exists
final taskId = await client.startDownload(
  format: format,
  outputDir: outputDir,
  url: '<https://youtu.be/nl8o9PsJPAQ>',
  overwrite: false, // Set to true to overwrite existing files
  overrideName: 'MyCustomVideo', // Optional custom filename
);

You can control conversion behavior:

• Set format['downloadAsRaw'] = true to keep the original format (e.g., WebM instead of MP4).
• Default behavior converts non-MP4 video or non-MP3 audio to standard formats.

Monitoring Download Progress

Listen to download events for real-time updates:

client.getDownloadEvents().listen((event) {
  if (event['taskId'] == taskId) {
    if (event['type'] == 'progress') {
      final progress = (event['downloaded'] as int) / (event['total'] as int);
      print('Progress: ${(progress * 100).toStringAsFixed(2)}%');
    } else if (event['type'] == 'state') {
      print('State: ${event['stateName']}');
    }
  }
});

Canceling a Download

Cancel an ongoing download using the task ID:

await client.cancelDownload(taskId);

Getting the Thumbnail URL

Fetch the thumbnail URL separately if needed:

final thumbnailUrl = await client.getThumbnailUrl('<https://youtu.be/nl8o9PsJPAQ>');
print('Thumbnail URL: $thumbnailUrl');

Migrating from 0.1.4 to 0.2.0

Version 0.2.0 introduces breaking changes to the API:

• Old Methods Removed: Methods like getAllRawVideoWithSoundFormats are replaced by getVideoInfo, which returns all metadata and categorized formats in one call.
• Format Access: Use info['rawVideoWithSoundFormats'], info['mergeFormats'], or info['rawAudioOnlyFormats'] to access formats instead of separate method calls.
• Download Parameters: The startDownload method now takes a format map directly from the categorized lists and supports additional options like overrideName.
• Models Simplified: Format-specific classes (Format, CombinedFormat, MergeFormat) are no longer exposed; formats are handled as dynamic maps.
• Check the example app for updated usage patterns.

Example

The example/ directory contains a comprehensive demo application showcasing:

• A user interface for entering URLs and selecting formats.
• Real-time progress and state updates.
• Provider-based state management for downloads.

Run the example with:

cd example
flutter run

Refer to example/lib/main.dart and related files for integration details.

License

This plugin is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more information.