yt-dlp-ejs is a specialized Python library that provides external JavaScript execution capabilities for yt-dlp, the popular video downloader. It solves YouTube's signature and n-parameter challenges by bundling JavaScript solvers that work across multiple runtimes such as Deno, Bun, Node.js, and QuickJS. Currently at version 0.8.0, it maintains a frequent release cadence to adapt to YouTube's player code changes.
pip install yt-dlp-ejsVerified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.
This quickstart demonstrates how yt-dlp-ejs is used implicitly by yt-dlp to decrypt YouTube video URLs. No explicit Python code is usually needed to interact with yt-dlp-ejs directly when using yt-dlp. It also includes a check for direct import for debugging purposes.
Always install/update yt-dlp-ejs concurrently with yt-dlp, preferably by installing `yt-dlp[default]` or ensuring versions match the `yt-dlp`'s `pyproject.toml` definition. `pip install -U yt-dlp yt-dlp-ejs` is recommended.
Install a supported JavaScript runtime (Deno is highly recommended) and ensure it's accessible in your system's PATH. You can also specify the runtime path using yt-dlp's `--js-runtimes` option (e.g., `--js-runtimes deno:/path/to/deno`).
Regularly update `yt-dlp` and `yt-dlp-ejs` to their latest versions to ensure compatibility with YouTube's most recent player changes. `pip install -U yt-dlp yt-dlp-ejs`.
Review the `yt-dlp-ejs` changelog and ensure your custom JavaScript or integration code is compatible with the changes in global scope handling if directly calling the internal solver scripts.
Install the library using pip: `pip install yt-dlp-ejs`
Install a supported JavaScript runtime (e.g., Node.js, Deno) and ensure its executable is accessible in your system's PATH. For example, for Node.js: `npm install -g n` or for Deno: `brew install deno`.
Update `yt-dlp-ejs` (`pip install --upgrade yt-dlp-ejs`) and `yt-dlp` (`pip install --upgrade yt-dlp`) to their latest versions. If the problem persists, try configuring a different JavaScript runtime, or report the issue to the `yt-dlp-ejs` project.