Downloader tiktok videos

Downloader TikTok Videos

Overview

Downloader TikTok Videos downloads the latest video (or multiple videos) from a public TikTok account using yt-dlp. Read this documentation fully before writing any code or running commands.

Prerequisites

This skill requires yt-dlp (and optionally ffmpeg for audio/video merging).

> ⚠️ The commands below modify your host environment (install packages system-wide). > Run them only if yt-dlp is not already installed and you are comfortable doing so.

pip install -U yt-dlp --break-system-packages   # Linux system Python
or
pip install -U yt-dlp                           # virtualenv / macOS
yt-dlp --version                                # verify install

Operation Types

This skill supports four operation types. Determine which one(s) the user needs:

1. Quick Download — Download the latest video from an account 2. Bulk Download — Download the N most recent videos 3. Metadata Only — Retrieve info/stats without downloading the video 4. Direct Video URL — Download from a specific video URL

Workflows

1. Quick Download — Latest Video from an Account

When to use: User provides a @username or profile URL

Steps: 1. Normalize the username (strip @ if present) 2. Build the profile URL: https://www.tiktok.com/@{username} 3. Fetch metadata for the latest video (--playlist-items 1 --no-download) 4. Show the user the video info (title, date, duration) 5. Download with the optimal command 6. Confirm success and provide the file path

Command:

yt-dlp \
  --playlist-items 1 \
  --format "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/best[ext=mp4]/best" \
  --merge-output-format mp4 \
  --output "./%(uploader_id)s_%(upload_date)s_%(id)s.%(ext)s" \
  "https://www.tiktok.com/@{username}"

Verify the result:

ls -lh ./*.mp4

2. Bulk Download — N Most Recent Videos

When to use: User wants multiple videos

Steps: 1. Ask how many videos (if not specified, default = 5) 2. Build the command with --playlist-items 1-N 3. Add --download-archive to avoid duplicates 4. Download with progress output 5. List downloaded files

Command:

yt-dlp \
  --playlist-items 1-{N} \
  --format "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/best[ext=mp4]/best" \
  --merge-output-format mp4 \
  --download-archive ./tiktok_archive.txt \
  --output "./%(uploader_id)s/%(upload_date)s_%(id)s.%(ext)s" \
  "https://www.tiktok.com/@{username}"

3. Metadata Only

When to use: User wants video info without downloading

Read: references/metadata.md for all available fields and the full command

Quick command:

yt-dlp \
  --playlist-items 1 \
  --skip-download \
  --write-info-json \
  --print "%(uploader_id)s | %(upload_date)s | %(duration)ss | %(view_count)s views | %(title)s" \
  "https://www.tiktok.com/@{username}"

4. Direct Video URL

When to use: User provides a direct video URL

Command:

yt-dlp \
  --format "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/best[ext=mp4]/best" \
  --merge-output-format mp4 \
  --output "./%(uploader_id)s_%(id)s.%(ext)s" \
  "{video_url}"

Common Errors

| Error | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | HTTP Error 403 | TikTok rate limiting | Add --sleep-interval 3 --max-sleep-interval 6 | | Unable to extract | Outdated yt-dlp | pip install -U yt-dlp --break-system-packages | | Private account | Private account | Use --cookies-from-browser chrome if logged in ⚠️ exports session cookies — keep them private | | No video formats | Geo-restriction | Add --geo-bypass | | Sign in required | Restricted content | Provide cookies via --cookies cookies.txt ⚠️ treat this file like a password | | Merge requires ffmpeg | ffmpeg missing | apt-get install ffmpeg -y |

> ⚠️ Cookie security note: Browser cookies exported via --cookies-from-browser or cookies.txt > contain active session tokens. Never share these files, commit them to version control, or pass > them to untrusted scripts. Delete them after use if no longer needed.

Username Normalization

# Accepts all these formats:
@myaccount  →  myaccount
myaccount   →  myaccount
https://www.tiktok.com/@myaccount  →  myaccount
def normalize(input_str):
    if "tiktok.com/@" in input_str:
        return input_str.split("tiktok.com/@")[-1].split("/")[0]
    return input_str.lstrip("@").strip()

Reference Files

Load these references as needed:

references/metadata.md

references/advanced.md

KBLICENSE.txt

Output Guidelines

Example Queries

Quick download:

Bulk download:

Metadata:

Direct URL:

This skill requires yt-dlp (and optionally ffmpeg for audio/video merging).

> ⚠️ The commands below modify your host environment (install packages system-wide). > Run them only if yt-dlp is not already installed and you are comfortable doing so.

pip install -U yt-dlp --break-system-packages   # Linux system Python
or
pip install -U yt-dlp                           # virtualenv / macOS
yt-dlp --version                                # verify install