The youtube-dl tool makes it very easy to download both webm and mp4 files on Linux systems. You just need the tool and the right URLs. Credit: Alvarez / Getty Images Who would have imagined that there’s a Linux tool available for downloading YouTube videos? Well, there is and it works for Linux as well as for other operating systems. So, if you need to watch some of the available videos even when your internet connection is flaky or you need to be offline for a while, this tool can be especially handy. The tool for downloading videos is called youtube-dl. (The “dl” portion undoubtedly means “download”.) It’s very easy to use and drops webm or mp4 files onto your system. Both formats provide compressed, high-quality video files that you can watch whenever you like. The youtube-dl tool is a Python-based command-line tool. On Linux, it requires Python (2.6, 2.7, or 3.2+). The command to install it on Ubuntu and related systems is: $ sudo apt-get install youtube-dl Once installed, you can use a command like this to download a video after selecting the URL from YouTube or some other source: $ youtube-dl Related content how-to How to find files on Linux There are many options you can use to find files on Linux, including searching by file name (or partial name), age, owner, group, size, type and inode number. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 24, 2024 8 mins Linux opinion Linux in your car: Red Hat’s milestone collaboration with exida With contributions from Red Hat and critical collaborators, the safety and security of automotive vehicles has reached a new level of reliability. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 17, 2024 5 mins Linux how-to How to print from the Linux command line: double-sided, landscape and more There's a lot more to printing from the Linux command line than the lp command. Check out some of the many available options. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 11, 2024 6 mins Linux how-to Converting between uppercase and lowercase on the Linux command line Converting text between uppercase and lowercase can be very tedious, especially when you want to avoid inadvertent misspellings. Fortunately, Linux provides a handful of commands that can make the job very easy. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 07, 2024 5 mins Linux PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe