aokin1999/youtube_formats.md

## youtube_formats.md

      
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              youtube_formats.md
            
          
    Pre-Note: I'm not perfect by any means, but I just wanted to organize this on my own and I'm trying to do it right. I've eliminated most useless outdated info and tried to correct many errors on descriptions. :>
Note: This is all almost full YouTube ID informations. Original owner goes to AgentOak, and thanks for most updates to Martin Eesmaa and the incredible internet community. :>
See the credits and also special thanks in below.
Last updated: 27 October 2025
Also known as itag or format codes and way back they could be specified with the fmt parameter (e.g. &fmt=22).
Depending on the age and/or popularity of the video, not all formats will be available.
DASH video


Resolution\Format
AV1 HDR (HFR)
AV1
VP9.2 HDR (HFR)
VP9 HFR
VP9
H.264 HFR
H.264
VP8


MP4
MP4
WebM
WebM
WebM
MP4
MP4
WebM


4320p
702
402, 571


(272)^?

(138)^?


2160p
701
401
337
315
313
(305)
(266)


1440p
700
400
336
308
271
(304)
(264)


1080p
699
399, 721^P
335
303
248, 352^P
299
137, 216⁺
170


720p
698
398
334
302
247
298
136, 214⁺
169


480p
697
397
333

244

135
168


360p
696
396
332

243

134
167


240p
695
395
331

242

133


144p
694
394
330

278, 598^L

160, (597)^L


HFR stands for "High Framerate", which means up to 60 FPS, whereas non-HFR is limited to 30 FPS. All AV1 formats from 720p onwards will be HFR if source is so. There are no separate IDs for HFR and non-HFR AV1 encodes.
HDR stands for "High Dynamic Range", which means higher range for lights, shadows and colors. HDR formats used by YouTube are HDR-10 and HLG, both royalty free.
All AV1 HDR and VP9 HDR can have high framerates on SD resolutions if source was high framerate, though you might not enjoy such formats if your device doesn't support HDR.
Non-HFR 1080p+ H.264 and VP9 variants are not provided for HFR videos anymore
Same format IDs are reused for 360° videos
1440p+ H.264 variants were only provided for 360°
Videos with 2048 pixel width (e.g. 2048x1152) use 1440p VP9/AV1 IDs though they're marked as 1080p^HD by YouTube.
At the moment, AV1 variants are only provided for popular videos.
VP8 can be found for this video.
Formats 214 and 216 seem to be rarely applied for some videos, having slightly higher quality than normal H.264 encodes (136 and 137). These ones are harder to rip from YouTube than common formats.
144p Low: Formats 598 and 597 were the lowest quality offered for mobile clients and had half the framerate of standard non-HFR formats. 598 VP9 might still be offered for some clients for M3U8 (using ID 602).
Formats 356 and 721: These are the only YouTube premium video formats. Premium formats are only applied for really popular 1080p videos, 1440p and higher won't have Premium encodes. 356 is linked to the 616 ID of M3U8, that is easier to find with yt-dlp. yt-dlp requires YouTube Premium cookies to rip any premium video or audio (see below) formats.

DASH audio


Code
Container
Audio Codec
Audio Bitrate
Channels
Currently offered?


139
MP4
AAC (HE v1)
48 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Yes, YT Music, DRC optional*


140
MP4
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Yes, YT Music, DRC optional


(141)
MP4
AAC (LC)
256 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No, YT Music*


249
WebM
Opus
(VBR) ~50 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Yes, DRC optional


250
WebM
Opus
(VBR) ~70 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Yes, DRC optional


251
WebM
Opus
(VBR) ~128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Yes, DRC optional


256
MP4
AAC (HE v1)
192 Kbps
Surround (5.1)
Rarely


258
MP4
AAC (LC)
384 Kbps
Surround (5.1)
Rarely


325
MP4
DTSE (DTS Express)
384 Kbps
Surround (5.1)
Rarely*


327
MP4
AAC (LC)
256 Kbps
Surround (5.1)
?*


328
MP4
EAC3
384 Kbps
Surround (5.1)
Rarely


338
WebM
Opus
(VBR) ~480 Kbps (?)
Ambisonics (?)
Rarely*


380
MP4
AC3
384 Kbps
Surround (5.1)
Rarely


599
MP4
AAC (HE v1)
30 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Some, DRC optional


600
WebM
Opus
(VBR) ~35 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Some, DRC optional


773
MP4
IAMF (Opus)
(VBR) ~900 Kbps (?)
up to Binaural (7.1.4)
Rarely*


774
WebM
Opus
(VBR) ~256 Kbps
Stereo (2)
Some, YT Music*


Surround audio can be found on some demo videos
Older videos might be locked to AAC formats or have only one standard quality Opus encode.
YT Music: These formats are offered on Youtube Music. Formats 141 and 774 are only available to Premium users through High Quality option in YouTube Music app.
Format 327, 338: These have been found on this Stereo 3D video
Format 325: You can find out one video link here
Format 773: IAMF uncompressed audio tracks uploaded are compressed into Opus audio codec and can be played with three groups of Stereo, Surround (5.1) and Binaural for up to 12 channels (7.1.4). You can find out video link here. For correctly download this format you must use --extractor-args "youtube:player_client=tv" -f 773 --fixup never. Be aware that practically no widespread desktop software player supports IAMF, only a few Smart TVs and newer android devices have native support for it.
Format 774 at YT Music: Some music have available high quality of Opus up to 256 kbps to Premium users, music link here and also bypassing is no longer possible to download for non premium users unless you're subscribed to YouTube Premium and can download format available by extra arguments of cookies from browser or the authentication.
DRC Optional: Only formats of 139, 140, 249, 250, 251, 599 and 600 were using DRC normalization sound for some videos.
Since February 2025, YouTube hided formats of 599 and 600 for every video uploaded, these were the lowest quality offered for mobile clients, they aren't rippable anymore without special parameters, and are rarely offered in normal conditions, requiring poor mobile conectivity.
Format 139, 338: Default yt-dlp without argument when using -F or --list-formats does not show up, so please add this argument to show available formats: --extractor-args "youtube:player_client=all".

Additional video formats.

Formats of 779, 780 and 788 were encoded to some YouTube videos, the standard video resolution is 1080x608 and capped to 30 FPS.
For format 228 is 128x72, capped to ~7.5 fps. Might be one of the rarest formats.


Code
Container
Video Codec
Explanations


228
MP4
AVC
Like thumbnail quality with slow FPS (1/4 of standard framerate), only available for M3U8


779
WebM
VP9
Efficiency possible saving data for mobiles


780
WebM
VP9
Best quality possible of VP9 than format 779


788
MP4
AV1
Saves sizes and quality little than VP9


Sample video link for 608p here.
Another sample video link for format 228 here.
Thanks to @GammaBoost for finding three formats!
Legacy (non-DASH)


Code
Container
Video Codec
Video Res.
Audio Codec
Audio Bitrate
Channels
Currently offered?


5
FLV
H.263 (Sorenson Spark)
240p (4:3)
MP3
64 Kbps
Mono (1)
No


6
FLV
H.263 (Sorenson Spark)
270p (4:3)
MP3
64 Kbps
Mono (1)
No


13
3GP
MPEG-4 (Simple, L0)
144p
AAC (LC)
Unknown
Mono (1)
No


17
3GP
MPEG-4 (Simple, L0)
144p
AAC (LC)
24 Kbps
Mono (1)
No


18
MP4
H.264 (Main, L3.0)
360p
AAC (LC)
96 (most) / 128 Kbps (some)
Stereo (2)
Yes, GDrive


22
MP4
H.264 (High, L3.1)
720p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No, GDrive


34
FLV
H.264 (Main, L3.0)
360p
AAC
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


35
FLV
H.264 (Main, L3.0)
480p
AAC
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


36
3GP
MPEG-4 (Simple, L0)
144p
AAC (LC)
24 Kbps
Mono (1)
No


37
MP4
H.264 (High, L4.0)
1080p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No, GDrive


38
MP4
H.264
3072p
AAC
192 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


43
WebM
VP8
360p
Vorbis
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


44
WebM
VP8
480p
Vorbis
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


45
WebM
VP8
720p
Vorbis
192 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


46
WebM
VP8
1080p
Vorbis
192 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


59
MP4
H.264 (Main, L3.1)
480p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No, GDrive


78
MP4
H.264
480p
AAC
128 Kbps
Stereo (2)
No


Always limited to 30 FPS
GDrive: These formats are offered for Google Drive video previews. Note that the video player on GDrive displays incorrect codecs on rightclick -> stats
Starting since May 2024, the formats 17 and 22 are removed for every YouTube videos uploaded. Format 18 remains as the only legacy format available nowadays.

Livestreams (non-DASH)


Code
Container
Video Codec
Video Res.
Audio Codec
Audio Bitrate
Currently offered?


91
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (Baseline, L1.1)
144p
AAC (HE v1)
48 Kbps
Yes


92
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (Main, L2.1)
240p
AAC (HE v1)
48 Kbps
Yes


93
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (Main, L3.0)
360p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Yes


94
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (Main, L3.1)
480p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Yes


95
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (Main, L3.1)
720p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Yes


96
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (High, L4.0)
1080p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Yes


300
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (Main, L3.2)
HFR 720p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Yes


301
MPEG-TS (HLS)
H.264 (High, L4.2)
HFR 1080p
AAC (LC)
128 Kbps
Yes


Non-HFR variants are limited to 30 FPS, HFR to 60 FPS
Non-HFR variants for 720p and 1080p may not be offered if HFR is available
Livestreams are also offered through DASH video (H.264, VP9) and DASH audio (AAC) streams
Both audio codecs of MPEG-TS are limited sample rate to 44.1 Khz for streaming a live broadcast.
Also videos without live broadcasting can play formats for acting user agent Safari Web.

Duplicate video IDs

Those duplicate video IDs of m3u8 as Apple Native HLS are linked to common numbers, they're not just rare numbers.
270 (m3u8) == 137 (https) are same video quality, but different protocol.
Thanks, dtlnor for explanation of equalation video IDs.
Also even special thanks, gamer191 to report linked M3U8 codes to common codes.
Graphic table about linked M3U8 codes to common numbers


Code (M3U8)
Linked to common code from M3U8


229
133


230
134


231
135


232
136


233
139


234
140


269
160


270
137


311
298


312
299


379
214


602
598


603
278


604
242


605
243


606
244


609
247


612
302


614
248


617
303


620
271


625
313


631
330


632
331


633
332


634
333


635
334


636
335


639
336


642
337


Storyboard/Thumbnail (still image) formats

These are the video frame previews that appear when moving the cursor over the progress bar. So they're called storyboard (sb) too. These are numbered from sb0 (max resolution of the preview) up to sb2 or sb3. The highest number has always the lowest resolution. Format sb3 is only used for 16:9 and 21:9 aspect ratios afaik. If original res is low then YouTube won't use the highest iIDs. It's variable depending on exact aspect ratios and resolutions, so just check it with yt-dlp in your video. Last detail before the table, very short videos (non youtube-shorts, and likely under 15 seconds) may not have any storyboard.


Format\Aspect Ratio
4:3
3:2
16:10
16:9
1.85:1
21:9
2.35:1
2.39:1
16:6
32:9


sb(max number)
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27
48x27


sb(max number - 1)
60x45
67x45
70x45
80x45
83x45
105x45
105x45/106x45
107x45
120x45
180x45


sb(max number - 2)
120x90
135x90
141x90
160x90
166x90
210x90
211x90/213x90
214x90
240x90
320x90


sb(max number - 3)


320x180

420x180


Most formats are easy to find out, so no samples for every one. For other resolution aspects youtube might just adapt without problems like with the ones listed.
16:6 format sample here
Different approximated "2.35:1" samples here and here because of dumb video details that don't have to bother you.
This is a total pain, for <16:9 the height rules, and for >16:9 the width rules the aspect.
IDK exactly what does YouTube allow about aspect ratios and when it will resize/fill the video. Final note, these images are encoded in group as jpeg first, and then individual frames are delivered as WebP to the user. Actual video previews are animated WebP (vp8 intra only frames).
Credits and special thanks

AgentOak (original owner) made YouTube list formats of video and audio ID especially with tips.
MartinEesmaa (forked owner) updated YouTube list formats for up to date.
Special thanks for finding/fixing by:
qzmtch for finding missing 616 format
dtlnor for little interesting explanation of duplicate formats same
r8420 for finding missing 612 format
Ciancy28 for finding high quality of Opus 256 kbps (format 774) in YT Music
joaquinito2070 for renaming youtube-dl to yt-dlp and fixing incorrect bitrates. Some commits were on it.
And please don't forget to thank me, Aokin1999, for taking the time to fix such an useful page about YouTube formats. :>
Resolution\Format	AV1 HDR (HFR)	AV1	VP9.2 HDR (HFR)	VP9 HFR	VP9	H.264 HFR	H.264	VP8
	MP4	MP4	WebM	WebM	WebM	MP4	MP4	WebM
4320p	702	402, 571			(272)^?		~~(138)~~^?
2160p	701	401	337	315	313	~~(305)~~	~~(266)~~
1440p	700	400	336	308	271	~~(304)~~	~~(264)~~
1080p	699	399, 721^P	335	303	248, 352^P	299	137, 216⁺	170
720p	698	398	334	302	247	298	136, 214⁺	169
480p	697	397	333		244		135	168
360p	696	396	332		243		134	167
240p	695	395	331		242		133
144p	694	394	330		278, 598^L		160, ~~(597)~~^L
Code	Container	Audio Codec	Audio Bitrate	Channels	Currently offered?
139	MP4	AAC (HE v1)	48 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Yes, YT Music, DRC optional*
140	MP4	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Yes, YT Music, DRC optional
(141)	MP4	AAC (LC)	256 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No, YT Music*
249	WebM	Opus	(VBR) ~50 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Yes, DRC optional
250	WebM	Opus	(VBR) ~70 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Yes, DRC optional
251	WebM	Opus	(VBR) ~128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Yes, DRC optional
256	MP4	AAC (HE v1)	192 Kbps	Surround (5.1)	Rarely
258	MP4	AAC (LC)	384 Kbps	Surround (5.1)	Rarely
325	MP4	DTSE (DTS Express)	384 Kbps	Surround (5.1)	Rarely*
327	MP4	AAC (LC)	256 Kbps	Surround (5.1)	?*
328	MP4	EAC3	384 Kbps	Surround (5.1)	Rarely
338	WebM	Opus	(VBR) ~480 Kbps (?)	Ambisonics (?)	Rarely*
380	MP4	AC3	384 Kbps	Surround (5.1)	Rarely
599	MP4	AAC (HE v1)	30 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Some, DRC optional
600	WebM	Opus	(VBR) ~35 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Some, DRC optional
773	MP4	IAMF (Opus)	(VBR) ~900 Kbps (?)	up to Binaural (7.1.4)	Rarely*
774	WebM	Opus	(VBR) ~256 Kbps	Stereo (2)	Some, YT Music*
Code	Container	Video Codec	Explanations
228	MP4	AVC	Like thumbnail quality with slow FPS (1/4 of standard framerate), only available for M3U8
779	WebM	VP9	Efficiency possible saving data for mobiles
780	WebM	VP9	Best quality possible of VP9 than format 779
788	MP4	AV1	Saves sizes and quality little than VP9
Code	Container	Video Codec	Video Res.	Audio Codec	Audio Bitrate	Channels	Currently offered?
5	FLV	H.263 (Sorenson Spark)	240p (4:3)	MP3	64 Kbps	Mono (1)	No
6	FLV	H.263 (Sorenson Spark)	270p (4:3)	MP3	64 Kbps	Mono (1)	No
13	3GP	MPEG-4 (Simple, L0)	144p	AAC (LC)	Unknown	Mono (1)	No
17	3GP	MPEG-4 (Simple, L0)	144p	AAC (LC)	24 Kbps	Mono (1)	No
18	MP4	H.264 (Main, L3.0)	360p	AAC (LC)	96 (most) / 128 Kbps (some)	Stereo (2)	Yes, GDrive
22	MP4	H.264 (High, L3.1)	720p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No, GDrive
34	FLV	H.264 (Main, L3.0)	360p	AAC	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
35	FLV	H.264 (Main, L3.0)	480p	AAC	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
36	3GP	MPEG-4 (Simple, L0)	144p	AAC (LC)	24 Kbps	Mono (1)	No
37	MP4	H.264 (High, L4.0)	1080p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No, GDrive
38	MP4	H.264	3072p	AAC	192 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
43	WebM	VP8	360p	Vorbis	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
44	WebM	VP8	480p	Vorbis	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
45	WebM	VP8	720p	Vorbis	192 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
46	WebM	VP8	1080p	Vorbis	192 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
59	MP4	H.264 (Main, L3.1)	480p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No, GDrive
78	MP4	H.264	480p	AAC	128 Kbps	Stereo (2)	No
Code	Container	Video Codec	Video Res.	Audio Codec	Audio Bitrate	Currently offered?
91	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (Baseline, L1.1)	144p	AAC (HE v1)	48 Kbps	Yes
92	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (Main, L2.1)	240p	AAC (HE v1)	48 Kbps	Yes
93	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (Main, L3.0)	360p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Yes
94	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (Main, L3.1)	480p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Yes
95	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (Main, L3.1)	720p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Yes
96	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (High, L4.0)	1080p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Yes
300	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (Main, L3.2)	HFR 720p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Yes
301	MPEG-TS (HLS)	H.264 (High, L4.2)	HFR 1080p	AAC (LC)	128 Kbps	Yes
Code (M3U8)	Linked to common code from M3U8
229	133
230	134
231	135
232	136
233	139
234	140
269	160
270	137
311	298
312	299
379	214
602	598
603	278
604	242
605	243
606	244
609	247
612	302
614	248
617	303
620	271
625	313
631	330
632	331
633	332
634	333
635	334
636	335
639	336
642	337
Format\Aspect Ratio	4:3	3:2	16:10	16:9	1.85:1	21:9	2.35:1	2.39:1	16:6	32:9
sb(max number)	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27	48x27
sb(max number - 1)	60x45	67x45	70x45	80x45	83x45	105x45	105x45/106x45	107x45	120x45	180x45
sb(max number - 2)	120x90	135x90	141x90	160x90	166x90	210x90	211x90/213x90	214x90	240x90	320x90
sb(max number - 3)				320x180		420x180