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YT-DLP Video Download

 

What This Page Does

The Video Download System lets you download videos from YouTube, adult sites, and over 1000 other platforms directly into your site. Once downloaded, videos are automatically processed and added to your site just like uploaded videos. You can download single videos, set up recurring downloads from channels or playlists, and manage authentication for age-restricted content.

[Screenshot: ytdlp-hub-overview]

How to Get Here

Navigate to Admin Panel > Tools > Video Import Hub

Important: Third-Party Software Notice

 

Note:
The download system uses yt-dlp, which is third-party software not created or maintained by ComusThumbz. If downloads stop working due to site changes, you'll need to wait for the yt-dlp developers to release an update. Check the yt-dlp GitHub for the latest version.

 

Understanding the System

The Video Download System has six pages that work together:

Page What It's For
Hub Your main dashboard for managing download sources and seeing recent activity
Direct Download Download videos by pasting a URL
Queue Monitor downloads in progress
History View completed and failed downloads
Cookie Manager Add authentication for age-restricted content
Settings Configure download quality, speed limits, and other options

What Happens After Download

Downloaded videos automatically enter your video processing system:

  1. The video file is downloaded to your server
  2. Your video processor converts it to streaming format
  3. Thumbnails and preview clips are generated
  4. Files are uploaded to your CDN
  5. The video appears on your site

 

 

Warning:
Videos won't appear on your site until processing finishes. This can take several minutes for large videos.

 

Hub Page

What You'll See

When you first open the Hub, you'll see:

  • Statistics cards at the top showing active sources, pending downloads, and today's completed downloads
  • Quick action buttons for common tasks
  • Your download sources list showing all configured sources
  • System status panel on the right showing if yt-dlp is installed and ready
  • Recent activity showing the last 10 downloads

 

[Screenshot: ytdlp-hub-layout]

System Status

The system status panel shows:

  • yt-dlp status - Ready or Not Installed
  • FFmpeg status - Ready or Not Installed
  • Version - Current yt-dlp version
  • Cookie profiles - Number of authentication profiles available

 

 

Warning:
If yt-dlp shows "Not Installed", you need to install it first. Click the link to go to Settings for installation instructions.

 

Common Tasks

How to Download a Single Video

  1. Click the Download Video button on the Hub page (or go to Direct Download from the top menu)
  2. Paste the video URL in the input field
  3. Click Fetch Info or press Enter
  4. Review the video preview that appears (thumbnail, title, duration, tags)
  5. Check the Auto-Match Suggestions for recommended categories and models
  6. Adjust the Quality dropdown if you want something different than 720p
  7. Choose a Category or leave it as Auto Detect
  8. Choose a Model or leave it as Auto Detect
  9. Check or uncheck Remove Sponsor Segments (for YouTube videos)
  10. Click Add to Download Queue

 

Tip:
The system automatically detects if the site requires cookies (like Pornhub or xHamster) and highlights the cookie dropdown in yellow if you need to select one.

 

[Screenshot: ytdlp-direct-download-preview]

How to Download Multiple Videos at Once

  1. Go to the Direct Download page
  2. Click the Batch tab at the top
  3. Paste multiple URLs (one per line) in the text area
  4. Select a Quality to use for all videos
  5. Check or uncheck Enable SponsorBlock for all videos
  6. Click Add All to Queue
  7. You'll see a message showing how many were added successfully

 

Note:
In batch mode, video info is fetched automatically in the background. You won't see previews before adding to the queue.

 

How to Set Up Automatic Channel Downloads

  1. Go to the Hub page
  2. Click Add Source
  3. In the Basic tab:
  • Enter a name like "Tech Reviews Channel"
  • Choose Channel as the type
  • Paste the full channel URL
  • Select the Site from the dropdown (YouTube, Pornhub, xHamster, etc.)
  • Choose a quality (720p is recommended)
  • Set a download limit (10 means it will grab the 10 newest videos each time)
  • Make sure Active is checked
  1. In the Filters tab:
  • Set minimum and maximum duration (default 60-7200 seconds)
  • Add include/exclude keywords if you want to filter videos
  • Enable cookies if the channel requires authentication
  • Enable SponsorBlock if you want sponsor segments removed
  1. In the Metadata tab:
  • Choose a default category or enable auto-match
  • Enable Auto-match categories, Auto-match models, and Auto-match tags
  1. In the Autopilot tab:
  • Check Enable Autopilot
  • Choose how often to check for new videos (Once Daily, Every 6 Hours, etc.)
  • Set active hours (the times when downloads can run)
  1. Click Save

 

Tip:
Start with a download limit of 10 and check every 12 hours or once daily. You can adjust later based on how much content you want.

 

[Screenshot: ytdlp-add-source-modal]

How to Monitor Download Progress

  1. Go to the Queue page from the top menu
  2. Look at the statistics cards at the top to see pending, downloading, completed, and failed counts
  3. Scroll down to see the jobs table with live progress bars
  4. Active downloads show:
  • Current progress percentage
  • Download speed (MB/s)
  • Time remaining (ETA)
  • Real-time updates every few seconds

 

Note:
The Queue page automatically refreshes every 10 seconds when downloads are active.

 

How to Download Age-Restricted Content

Many adult sites require you to be logged in to view age-restricted videos. To download these:

  1. Go to the Cookie Manager page
  2. Look for the Quick Add Cookies section at the top
  3. In your web browser (Chrome or Firefox):
  • Install a cookie export extension (links provided on the page)
  • Log into the site (like Pornhub or xHamster)
  • Click the extension and export cookies as Netscape format
  • Copy all the exported text
  1. Back in ComusThumbz, paste the cookie data in the text area
  2. Enter a profile name (like "xHamster Cookies")
  3. Enter supported sites (like "xhamster, pornhub")
  4. Click Add Cookie Profile
  5. Click the Test button to verify the cookies work

 

Warning:
Cookies expire after some time. Most sites require you to re-export cookies every few weeks or months. Set a reminder to refresh your cookies regularly.

 

[Screenshot: ytdlp-cookie-quick-add]

How to Remove Sponsor Segments from YouTube Videos

SponsorBlock automatically removes sponsored segments, intros, outros, and subscribe reminders from YouTube videos:

  1. Go to Settings from the top menu
  2. Click the SponsorBlock tab
  3. Make sure Enable SponsorBlock is checked
  4. Check the boxes for segments you want removed:
  • Sponsor - Paid promotions (recommended)
  • Self-Promotion - Creator's own products (recommended)
  • Intro - Intro animations
  • Outro - End cards
  • Interaction - Subscribe reminders
  • Preview - Upcoming content previews
  • Filler - Off-topic tangents
  1. Click Save SponsorBlock Settings

 

Note:
SponsorBlock only works on YouTube videos and only if someone has submitted segment data for that video to the SponsorBlock database. Not all videos have segments marked.

 

How to Change Priority for a Download

If you have multiple videos in the queue and want one to download first:

  1. Go to the Queue page
  2. Find the video you want to prioritize
  3. Click the colored priority badge (the number in the first column)
  4. Select a new priority from the dropdown
  5. Priority 1 downloads first, priority 10 downloads last
Priority Badge Color When to Use
1-3 (High) Red Urgent downloads you want immediately
4-6 (Normal) Yellow Standard priority
7-10 (Low) Gray Downloads that can wait

How to Cancel or Retry a Download

To cancel a pending download:

  1. Go to the Queue page
  2. Find the video (status will show "Pending")
  3. Click the Cancel button (yellow icon)

 

To stop an active download:

  1. Find the video with "Downloading" status
  2. Click the Stop Download button (red icon)
  3. Confirm when asked

 

To retry a failed download:

  1. Find the video with "Failed" status (hover the info icon to see why it failed)
  2. Click the Retry button (blue icon)
  3. The video is re-added to the queue

 

 

Tip:
Check the error message (hover over the info icon) before retrying. If it says "403 Forbidden", you might need to add cookies. If it says "Unable to extract", you might need to update yt-dlp.

 

Settings and Options

Download Settings

Setting What It Does Recommended
Download Folder Where videos are saved Leave as default (uploads/ftpuploads)
Max Concurrent Downloads How many videos can download at once 2 for most servers
Default Quality Video quality to download 720p (good balance of quality and size)
Rate Limit Download speed cap in KB/s 0 (unlimited) unless you need to limit bandwidth
Retry Count Times to retry failed downloads 3
Socket Timeout How long to wait before giving up 30 seconds
Proxy URL Route downloads through a proxy Leave empty unless needed
Geo-Bypass Bypass geographic restrictions Keep enabled

Quality Options

Quality Description Best For
Best Available Highest quality the site offers High-quality content sites
1080p Full HD Professional content
720p HD Most content (recommended)
480p Standard definition Saving bandwidth/storage
360p Low quality Very limited bandwidth
Tip: 720p is the sweet spot for most sites. It provides good quality without consuming excessive bandwidth or storage space.

Queue Filters

On the Queue page, use the filter dropdowns to narrow down what you see:

Filter Options
Status All, Pending, Queued, Downloading, Processing, Completed, Failed, Cancelled
Source All sources or a specific download source
Search Type keywords to search titles or URLs

History Filters

On the History page, you have more advanced filtering:

Filter Options
Status All, Completed, Failed, Skipped, Duplicate
Source All sources or specific source
Site All sites or specific platform (YouTube, Pornhub, etc.)
Date From Start date
Date To End date
Search Search by title, ID, or URL

Bulk Actions

Queue Bulk Actions

At the top of the Queue page:

Action What It Does When Available
Retry All Failed Re-queue all failed downloads When you have failed jobs
Cancel All Cancel all pending downloads When you have pending jobs
Clear Completed Remove completed jobs from queue Always (choose All, 7 days, or 30 days)

History Cleanup

In the History page dropdown:

Action What It Does
Clear All Failed Remove all failed entries
Older than 30 days Remove entries over 30 days old
Older than 90 days Remove entries over 90 days old
Clear All History Remove all history records
Warning: Clearing history only removes the download tracking records. It doesn't delete videos that are already on your site.

Supported Sites

The system supports over 1000 sites. Here are the most popular:

General Video Sites

YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, Reddit, Facebook

Adult Tube Sites

Pornhub, xHamster, XVideos, RedTube, SpankBang, EPorner, YouPorn, Tube8, XNXX, Beeg, Txxx, HClips, AnalDin, KeezMovies, Extreme Tube, Tube Galore, Mofos, DrTuber, VideosBang, Sunporno, FlyFlv, Empflix, Ah-Me, NuVid, GotPorn, VPorn, and many more

Cam & Live Platforms

Chaturbate, Stripchat, BongaCams, CAM4, Camsoda, CamModels

Other

Iwara, Motherless, Rule34Video, and 1000+ more

 

Note:
Not all sites work perfectly all the time. When a site changes its layout or API, yt-dlp needs to be updated by its developers.

 

Tips for New Users

 

Tip:
  • Start with YouTube or other free sites to test the system before dealing with authentication
  • Always use the Fetch Info button on Direct Download to preview videos before downloading
  • Set up one or two sources first and monitor them for a few days before adding more
  • Check the Queue page regularly when starting out to see if downloads are completing successfully
  • Update yt-dlp monthly using the button in Settings to ensure compatibility with site changes
  • Export fresh cookies every month for adult sites that require authentication
  • Use auto-matching to save time on categorizing videos
  • Set reasonable download limits (10-20) per source check to avoid overwhelming your server
  • Use the active hours feature to schedule downloads during off-peak times
  • Keep SponsorBlock enabled for YouTube to improve content quality

 

Troubleshooting

yt-dlp Shows "Not Installed"

What you see: The system status panel shows "Not Installed" or pages show a warning that yt-dlp is missing.

How to fix it:

  1. Go to Settings from the top menu
  2. Scroll down to the Installation Instructions section
  3. Follow the step-by-step instructions for your server type
  4. The instructions show two methods (pipx or standalone binary)
  5. After installing, click the Auto-Detect button
  6. The status should change to "Ready"

 

 

Note:
If you installed yt-dlp and it still shows "Not Installed", your web server user might not have access to it. See the symlink instructions in the Settings page.

 

Downloads Keep Failing with 403 Error

What you see: Jobs in the Queue show "Failed" status, and hovering over the info icon shows "403 Forbidden".

Possible causes and solutions:

If it's an adult site:

  1. Go to Cookie Manager
  2. Add a cookie profile for that site (see "How to Download Age-Restricted Content" above)
  3. Retry the download

 

If cookies are already added:

  1. Your cookies may have expired
  2. Re-export fresh cookies from your browser
  3. Go to Cookie Manager and update the profile
  4. Retry the download

 

If it's a regular site:

  1. The site might be blocking your server's IP
  2. Try enabling a proxy in Settings
  3. Or wait a few hours and try again

 

Videos Not Appearing on My Site

What you see: The download shows "Completed" in the Queue, but you don't see the video on your website.

How to fix it:

  1. Go to Admin Panel > Videos > Video Management
  2. Look for the video in the list
  3. Check the Status column:

 

  • If it shows Pending, the video is waiting to be processed
  • If it shows Processing, conversion is happening (wait a few minutes)
  • If it shows Error, there was a problem with video processing

 

  1. Make sure both required background tasks are running on your server
  2. If you don't see the video at all in Video Management, check the download folder setting matches your video processor configuration

 

 

Warning:
There's a delay between download completion and frontend visibility. Small videos might appear in 5-10 minutes. Large videos can take 30+ minutes depending on your server speed.

 

What you see: After adding a cookie profile and clicking Test, it shows "Invalid" or "Age verification failed".

How to fix it:

  1. Make sure you were logged into the site when you exported cookies
  2. Re-export fresh cookies (they may have expired)
  3. Make sure you exported in Netscape format, not JSON
  4. Use the Validate Format button in Quick Add to check the format before saving
  5. Check that your account has age verification completed on that site

 

Downloads Are Very Slow

What you see: Download speeds shown in the Queue are much slower than expected.

Check:

  1. Go to Settings > Download tab
  2. Check if Rate Limit is set to something other than 0
  3. If it's set to a number, that's your speed cap in KB/s
  4. Set it to 0 for unlimited speed
  5. Also check if your server has bandwidth limitations
  6. Try reducing Max Concurrent Downloads if your connection is slow

 

Can't Find the Binary

What you see: Error messages about exec() being disabled or binary not found.

How to fix it:

  1. Contact your hosting provider or server administrator
  2. Ask them to enable the exec(), shellexec(), and procopen() PHP functions
  3. These functions must be removed from the disablefunctions list in php.ini

 

 

Error:
The download system cannot work without exec() enabled. This is a hard requirement and there is no workaround.

 

Duplicate Downloads

What you see: When you try to download a video, History shows it as "Duplicate" and it doesn't download again.

How to fix it:

  1. Go to History page
  2. Find the video you want to re-download
  3. Click the Redownload button
  4. You'll be redirected to Direct Download with the URL pre-filled
  5. Click Add to Download Queue

 

 

Note:
The system tracks every video you've downloaded to prevent duplicates. Use the Redownload feature if you intentionally want to download the same video again.

 

Videos Stuck at "Pending" in Queue

What you see: Jobs show "Pending" status for a long time and never start downloading.

Check:

  1. Make sure yt-dlp is installed (check System Status on Hub page)
  2. Check if you've reached the maximum concurrent downloads (default is 2)
  3. Wait for active downloads to finish
  4. Check that the download folder is writable

 

Page When to Use It
Video Management To see and manage all videos on your site, including downloaded ones
FTP Upload Alternative bulk upload method if you have video files already
Storage Servers Configure where processed videos are stored (CDN setup)
Video Processor Dashboard Monitor video conversion status and troubleshoot processing issues
Categories Set up categories that auto-matching can use
Models Add performers/models that auto-matching can detect

Installation Summary

If you're setting up the download system for the first time:

  1. Install yt-dlp - Go to Settings and follow the installation instructions
  2. Set up your first source - Use the Hub to add a YouTube channel or playlist
  3. Configure autopilot - Set it to check once daily during off-peak hours
  4. Test a direct download - Download a single video to make sure everything works
  5. Add cookies if needed - Set up authentication for adult sites
  6. Monitor for a few days - Check the Queue and History to ensure downloads are successful
  7. Adjust settings - Fine-tune quality, limits, and filters based on results

 

Tip:
Start simple with YouTube channels before moving to authenticated adult sites. This helps you learn the system without authentication complications.

 

Related Pages