yt-dlp

yt-dlp is the built-in fallback download source. It searches YouTube for artist and title matches.

yt-dlp extracts audio with ffmpeg. Aurral stages the audio outside your media paths, validates and tags it, and then imports it into your Downloads Folder.

The default staging path is /config/_staging. To use another disk, mount it in the Aurral container and set Settings > Download Clients > yt-dlp > Staging path. Keep this path outside every media-server library.

You do not need a separate daemon. The Docker image includes yt-dlp and ffmpeg.

For a bare-metal installation, install both programs on the host. Make sure that yt-dlp is on PATH.

Setup

Open Settings > Download Clients > yt-dlp.
Leave Enable yt-dlp on (default).
If necessary, set Source priority or Staging path.
Select Test connection.
Save the settings.

The yt-dlp default priority is 50. The slskd default is 10. The Usenet default is 20.

Behavior

Aurral tries download sources in priority order. With default settings, Aurral tries configured slskd and Usenet sources first.

yt-dlp downloads tracks that the other sources cannot find. It can also be the only download source.

Aurral ranks results by title, artist, duration, and noise filters. It skips karaoke, live loops, and similar unwanted results.

Aurral validates downloaded audio with the same track validation that it uses for other sources.

After validation, Aurral writes the playlist’s title, artist, album, album artist, year, and track number into the audio file. This metadata lets tag-based libraries such as Navidrome organize yt-dlp downloads correctly.

When a downloaded file matches the requested track but its duration differs significantly, Aurral retains it under Activity > Review for preview, approval, or denial.

Audio from YouTube is usually lossy. Prefer slskd or Usenet when you want higher quality.

Download source priority

See Usenet for how priority and fallback work across sources.