The command line

Downbit's app is also a command, downbit. With arguments it runs in your terminal; without, it opens the app. It uses the app's settings and sign-ins, and what it downloads shows in the app's library.

downbit https://vimeo.com/76979871  # download, as downbit getdownbit get -a <url>                # audio onlydownbit get -q 720 -o ~/Movies <url> <url>

Installing it

In the app, choose Settings → Command Line → Install the downbit command. The install scripts on the download page do it for you.

Commands

Command	Does
`downbit get <url>…`	Download; downbit <url> does the same
`downbit info <url>`	Title, formats, playlist items
`downbit formats <url>`	The formats a link offers, to choose with -f
`downbit list`	Downloads of the app and the command line
`downbit subs`	Subscriptions: add, remove, check
`downbit settings`	Show or change the app’s settings
`downbit sites`	Sites with extractors of their own
`downbit ffmpeg`	The FFmpeg that converts: install, remove
`downbit open [url…]`	Hand links to the app, to download in its queue
`downbit browse [url]`	Open the app’s browser on a page

Downloading

downbit get downloads with the app's settings; its flags change them for that download. downbit get --help lists them all.

Flag	Does
`-o, --output DIR`	Folder to save into
`-a, --audio`	Keep the audio alone (M4A)
`-q, --quality Q`	best, 2160, 1440, 1080, 720, 480, 360
`-f, --format IDS`	Formats by ID from downbit formats, as 137+140
`--to FORMAT`	mkv, mov, webm, mp3, opus, flac or wav
`-i, --input FILE`	The links in FILE, one a line; - reads stdin
`--items 1,3,5-7`	Choose playlist items
`--section 1:00-2:30`	Only that part; 1:00- to the end
`--subs, --sub-langs en,de`	Download subtitles
`--sponsors-remove default`	Cut out SponsorBlock’s parts; --sponsors-mark makes them chapters
`--name TEMPLATE`	{title} {site} {author} {quality} {date} {id}
`--cookies FILE`	A Netscape cookie file instead of the app’s sign-ins; --no-cookies for none
`--rate 2M`	Speed limit
`--proxy URL`	As socks5://127.0.0.1:1080

A live stream records until Ctrl-C, which saves the file; a second Ctrl-C discards it.

Subscriptions

downbit subs add https://www.youtube.com/@channeldownbit subs                     # the subscriptions, numbereddownbit subs check               # download what’s newdownbit subs remove 2

To check when the app is closed, run it from cron, launchd or Task Scheduler:

0 * * * * downbit subs check --quiet  # every hour

Settings

The command line and the app share their settings. downbit settings lists each, with what it does; give a name and a value to change one.

downbit settingsdownbit settings quality 1080

For scripts and agents

Every command takes --json. downbit get --json writes one event per line: start, info, progress, process, done, and error or stopped.

{"event":"start","url":"https://…"}{"event":"info","title":"…","site":"Vimeo","quality":"1080p","ext":"mp4","path":"/Users/…/Title.mp4"}{"event":"progress","fraction":0.42,"downloaded":44040192,"total":104857600,"speed":6291456,"eta":9}{"event":"process","stage":"Merging"}{"event":"done","path":"/Users/…/Title.mp4","size":104857600,"seconds":17.2}

--quiet prints only the paths of the files, one a line.

Exit codes

Code	Means
`0`	Done
`1`	A download failed
`2`	Bad usage
`130`	Stopped with Ctrl-C: run it again to resume