cookiebot - tg-ytdlp-bot

Support me on BuyMeACoffee
Thanks to Contributor - @IIlIlIlIIIlllIIlIIlIllIIllIlIIIl - chelaxian

Download private YouTube/videos using a cookie file.

Test free bot - https://t.me/tgytdlp_bot

Full Documentation

https://upekshaip.com/projects/-O0t36gRpfJR1p8KB7vU

---

Deploy on a VM in a Docker container

• First, add your bot to the logging channel and subscription channel. Both are required.
• Star and fork this repository. Then rename the file _config.py to config.py.
• Add your configuration to the config.py file.

Setup Debian for Docker

Install Docker Engine

Setting up config.py (example for Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

git clone https://github.com/upekshaip/tg-ytdlp-bot.git
cd tg-ytdlp-bot
sudo mv _config.py config.py
nano config.py

Edit your configuration before deployment. After your edits, proceed with the Docker build steps below.

---

Get YouTube cookies

YouTube rotates account cookies frequently on open YouTube browser tabs as a security measure. To export cookies that will remain working with yt-dlp, you will need to export cookies in such a way that they are never rotated.

One way to do this is through a private browsing/incognito window:

• Open a new private browsing/incognito window and log into YouTube
• Open a new tab and close the YouTube tab
• Export youtube.com cookies from the browser then close the private browsing/incognito window so the session is never opened in the browser again.

For export you can use browser extension Cookie-Editor

create in project folder subfolder cookies and place cookie.txt extracted from YouTube here

cd tg-ytdlp-bot
mkdir cookies
nano cookie.txt

---

Building and Running with Docker

sudo docker build . -t tg-public-bot
sudo docker ps -a
sudo docker run tg-public-bot

(optional) If you want to use /cookies_from_browser command, after docker deployment you need to enter your docker CMD and install desktop environment (GUI) and Browser into your docker container. Also you will need download yt-dlp binary into your Docker container. See (Optional) Preparing yt-dlp for /cookies_from_browser

---

Alternative local deployment on a VM (without Docker container)

If you prefer local deployment rather than docker container, you should use this commands:

Install git and python3 (example for Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git python3.10 python3-pip python3.10-venv

Setting up config.py

git clone https://github.com/upekshaip/tg-ytdlp-bot.git
cd tg-ytdlp-bot
sudo mv _config.py config.py
nano config.py

Edit your configuration before deployment.

Install python modules

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
pip uninstall urllib3 -y
pip install --no-cache-dir --force-reinstall "urllib3==1.26.20"
pip install --no-deps moviepy==1.0.3
python3 magic.py

---

(Optional) Installing ffmpeg (example for Ubuntu/Debian)

spoiler

If you prefer local deployment rather that docker container you also need to install ffmpeg ffmpeg is essential since yt-dlp relies on it for merging streams (and in some cases for transcoding or extracting thumbnails). To install ffmpeg on a Debian-based system, run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y ffmpeg

Verify the installation:

ffmpeg -version

If you need to support extra languages such as arabic, chinese, japanese, korean - you also need to install this language packs:

sudo apt update
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt update

sudo apt install fonts-noto-core             # – Noto Sans, Noto Serif, … base fonts Google Noto
sudo apt install fonts-noto-extra            # – extra fonts (including arabic)
sudo apt install fonts-kacst fonts-kacst-one # – KACST arabic fonts
sudo apt install fonts-noto-cjk              # – Chinese-Japanese-Korean characters

For Amiri arabic:

git clone https://github.com/aliftype/amiri.git
sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/fonts/truetype/amiri
sudo cp amiri/fonts/*.ttf /usr/share/fonts/truetype/amiri/

Update font cache

sudo fc-cache -fv
fc-list | grep -i amiri

---

(Optional) Preparing yt-dlp for /cookies_from_browser

spoiler

To use the /cookies_from_browser command (which extracts cookies from installed browsers on your server), ensure that the yt-dlp binary is set up properly:

1. Download yt-dlp
   Visit the official yt-dlp releases page and download the binary for your CPU architecture (e.g., yt-dlp_x86_64, yt-dlp_arm, etc.).
   Place the binary executable in the tg-ytdlp-bot project folder.

2. Rename and make it executable

   mv yt-dlp_linux yt-dlp
   chmod +x yt-dlp

3. Create a symbolic link
   Create a symlink so that yt-dlp can be run from any directory (for example, in /usr/local/bin):

   sudo ln -s /full/path/to/tg-ytdlp-bot/yt-dlp /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp

   Ensure /usr/local/bin is in your PATH. Now you can run yt-dlp directly.

(Also in that case you must install desktop environment (GUI) and any supported by yt-dlp browser by yourself)

---

New Commands and Features

/audio Command

The /audio command downloads audio from a given video URL. It extracts the best available audio track, converts it to MP3, and sends the audio file to the user. After sending, the downloaded file is removed to prevent disk clutter.

Usage example:

/audio https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?si=Vqh0HJVNn_99bhj4

---

/format Command

The /format command allows users to set a custom download format for their videos. Users can either supply a custom format string or choose from a preset menu.

Main Menu Options:

• ❓ Always Ask (menu + buttons)
• 🎛 Others (144p - 4320p) – opens a full resolution menu (see below)
• 💻4k (best for PC/Mac Telegram)
• 📱FullHD (best for mobile Telegram)
• 📈bestvideo+bestaudio (MAX quality)
• 🎚 Custom (enter your own) – for entering a custom format string
• 🔙 Close – cancels the selection

Full Resolution Menu (triggered by "Others"):

• 144p (256×144)
• 240p (426×240)
• 360p (640×360)
• 480p (854×480)
• 720p (1280×720)
• 1080p (1920×1080)
• 1440p (2560×1440)
• 2160p (3840×2160)
• 4320p (7680×4320)
• A Back button returns to the main menu.

Usage example:

/format

Then select the desired option from the menu.

---

User Commands

• /start - Start the bot.
• /help - Display help message.
• /settings - Open settings menu with categories and quick actions.
• /clean - Clean your working directory or specific files (see /help).
• /usage - Show your usage statistics and logs.
• /tags - Get all your #tags.
• /audio - Download audio from a video URL.
• /format - Choose media format options.
• /split - Change splitted video part size (0.25-2GB).
• /mediainfo - Turn ON/OFF sending mediainfo.
• /check_cookie - Check the cookie file.
• /download_cookie - Download the cookie file.
• /save_as_cookie - Save text as cookie (or upload TXT-doc).
• /cookies_from_browser - Get cookies from browser (if supported).
• /subs - Enable/disable subtitle embedding for videos.

Admin Commands

• /start - Start the bot.
• /help - Send help text.
• /run_time - Show bot runtime.
• /log - Get user logs (e.g., /log 10101010).
• /broadcast - Broadcast a message to all users (reply to any message with this command).
• /clean - Clean the working directory.
• /usage - Get all logs.
• /check_cookie - Check the cookie file.
• /save_as_cookie - Save text as cookie.
• /download_cookie - Download the cookie file.
• /cookies_from_browser - Get cookies from your browser.
• /format - Choose media format options.
• /block_user - Block a user (e.g., /block_user 10101010).
• /unblock_user - Unblock a user (e.g., /unblock_user 10101010).
• /all_users - Get all users.
• /all_blocked - Get all blocked users.
• /all_unblocked - Get all unblocked users.
• /uncache - Clear cached subtitle language data.
• /reload_cache - Reload cache from firebase to local json file
• /auto_cache - Toggle turn ON/OFF mode of auto reloading of cache every N hours.

---

Settings Menu (/settings)

The /settings command opens an interactive menu with three categories:

• 🍪 COOKIES
• 🎞 MEDIA
• 📖 LOGS

Each category contains quick action buttons for the most important commands. Example (COOKIES section):

🧹 /clean             - Delete cookies & broken media files
📥 /download_cookie   - Download my YouTube cookie
🌐 /cookies_from_browser - Get cookies from browser
🔎 /check_cookie      - Check cookie file in your folder
🔖 /save_as_cookie    - Send text to save as cookie

• Pressing a button instantly runs the corresponding command (not just sends text).
• Some buttons (like /audio, /save_as_cookie) show usage hints.
• The menu is fully localized and does not conflict with other inline menus.

---

Link Command Pattern Spec

• https://blabla.blaa
  Download the video with its original name.
  If it is a playlist, only the first video is downloaded.

• https://blabla.blaa*1*3
  Download a specified range of videos from the playlist with their original names.

• https://blabla.blaa*1*3*name
  Download a specified range of videos from the playlist with a custom name.
  Videos will be named as:

  • name - Part 1
  • name - Part 2

---

Tags System (Navigation Tags)

You can add tags to any link (video, playlist, audio) directly in your message:

• Format: https://site.com/link#tag1#tag2#my_tag
• Tags must start with # and contain only letters, digits, and underscore (_).
• Tags are automatically added to the caption of the video/audio, separated by spaces.
• All unique tags you send are saved in the tags.txt file in your user folder.

Example of using tags:

https://youtu.be/STeeOaX2FBs?si=5rz1QhvuiauZ7A4d#youtube#mytag#tag123

The video caption will include:

#youtube #mytag #tag123

---

/tags Command

The /tags command lets you get a list of all your unique tags (one per line). If the list is long, the bot will send several messages.

Example:

/tags

Response:

#youtube
#mytag
#tag123
...

---

Help

This bot allows you to download videos and audio, and also work with playlists.

• Simply send a video link and the bot will start downloading.
• For playlists, specify the range of indexes separated by asterisks (e.g. https://example.com*1*4) to download videos from position 1 to 4.
• You can set a custom playlist name by adding it after the range (e.g. https://example.com*1*4*My Playlist).

• To change the caption of a video, reply to the video with your message – the bot will send the video with your caption.
• To extract audio from a video, use the /audio command (e.g. /audio https://example.com).
• Upload a cookie file to download private videos and playlists.
• Check or update your cookie file with /check_cookie, /download_cookie, /save_as_cookie and /cookies_from_browser commands.
• To clean your workspace on server from bad files (e.g. old cookies or media) use /clean command (might be helpfull for get rid of errors).
• See your usage statistics and logs by sending the /usage command.
• Control subtitle embedding with /subs command - enable or disable automatic subtitle burning into videos.
• Clear cached subtitle language data with /uncache command if you experience issues with subtitle detection.
• Reload cache from firebase to local json file with /reload_cache command.
• Toggle turn ON/OFF mode of auto reloading of cache every N hours with /auto_cache command.

---

Added New Features

• Per-user cookie download.
• Per-user database.
• Custom playlist naming.
• MP3 audio download support (/audio command).

---

Auto-Cleaning User Directories with Crontab

To prevent your server from filling up with downloaded files, you can set up a crontab task that runs every 24 hours and deletes all files in user directories (except for cookie.txt and logs.txt).

For example, add the following line to your crontab:

0 0 * * * /usr/bin/find /root/Telegram/tg-ytdlp-bot/users -type f ! -name "cookie.txt" ! -name "logs.txt" -delete

Explanation:

• 0 0 * * * – Executes the command every day at midnight.
• /usr/bin/find /CHANGE/ME/TO/REAL/PATH/TO/tg-ytdlp-bot/users -type f – Searches for all files under the users directory.
• ! -name "cookie.txt" ! -name "logs.txt" – Excludes cookie.txt and logs.txt files from deletion.
• -delete – Deletes the files found.

---

TODO

• Add a custom formatter selector for downloads.
• Enhance MP3 support.
• Add Google Drive support to store files.

---

Below is an example section for your GitHub README.md that explains how to set up Firebase for your Telegram bot, including creating a Firebase project, setting up a Realtime Database with authentication, and creating a user.

---

Firebase Setup for Telegram Bot

This section describes how to create a Firebase project, set up the Realtime Database with authentication, create a test user, and integrate Firebase into your Telegram bot.

1. Create a Firebase Project

1. Go to the Firebase Console and click Add Project (or select an existing project).
2. Follow the setup wizard to create your new project.
3. After the project is created, navigate to Project Settings and copy your configuration parameters (such as apiKey, authDomain, databaseURL, projectId, etc.). These values are required for configuring the connection in your bot.

2. Create a Realtime Database

1. In the Firebase Console, select Realtime Database.
2. Click Create Database.
3. Choose your database location and set the mode. For initial testing, you may choose Test Mode (keep in mind that test mode does not enforce authentication).
4. Once your database is created, update its security rules as described in Step 4.

3. Enable Authentication

1. In the left-hand menu of the Firebase Console, select Authentication.
2. Click Get Started.
3. Navigate to the Sign-in Method tab and enable the desired provider. For a basic setup, enable Email/Password:
   • Click on Email/Password.
   • Toggle the switch to Enable.
4. After enabling the sign-in method, create a test user manually in the Users tab, or implement user registration in your application.

4. Update Realtime Database Security Rules

To restrict access to your database only to authenticated users, update your security rules as follows:

{
  "rules": {
    // Allow access only to authenticated user with certain email
    ".read":  "auth != null && auth.token.email === '[email protected]'",
    ".write": "auth != null && auth.token.email === '[email protected]'"
  }
}

These rules allow read and write operations only if the request contains a valid idToken—meaning the user is authenticated.

5. Autostart service

To create auto-start service for this bot - copy text from this file https://github.com/chelaxian/tg-ytdlp-bot/blob/main/etc/systemd/system/tg-ytdlp-bot.service and paste it to

/etc/systemd/system/tg-ytdlp-bot.service

do not forget to change path in service to yoyr actual path

reload systemctl and enable/start service

systemctl daemon-reexec
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable tg-ytdlp-bot.service
systemctl restart tg-ytdlp-bot.service
journalctl -u tg-ytdlp-bot -f