Here’s a simple setup guide to install and use yt-dlp on Debian / Ubuntu based systems.

Install YouTube Downloader (yt-dlp) on Debian / Ubuntu

1. Update your system

Always update your package list first.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

2. Install required dependencies

yt-dlp works best with ffmpeg for merging video/audio and converting formats.

sudo apt install ffmpeg curl

3. Install yt-dlp (recommended method)

The Ubuntu/Debian repo version is often outdated, so install the latest version directly.

sudo curl -L <https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp> \\\\
-o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

Make it executable:

sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

4. Verify installation

yt-dlp --version

If it prints a version number, it's installed correctly.