Fix yt-dlp on WSL Ubuntu

Zach WingoZach Wingo
1 min read

I am writing this because I got tired of trying to remember how to fix the error "Unable to extract uploader id" from yd-dlp on the Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04 because the version in the repository is from April, 2022.

Remove the current version of yt-dlp
$> apt purge yt-dlp

Downloaded the standalone binary from the git repo:

GitHub - yt-dlp/yt-dlp: A youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes

$> wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux

Move file to /usr/bin and rename:
$> mv yt-dlp_linux /usr/bin/yt-dlp

Finally make it executable:
$> chmod u+x /usr/bin/yt-dlp

That's it, it should now be working now but of course you are responsible for keeping it updated.

0
Subscribe to my newsletter

Read articles from Zach Wingo directly inside your inbox. Subscribe to the newsletter, and don't miss out.

Written by

Zach Wingo
Zach Wingo