Python script for downloading youtube videos as mp3 files

youtube_to_mp3.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import yt_dlp, os, sys, re

def sanitize_filename(filename):
    # Replace problematic characters including fullwidth pipe with regular pipe
    filename = filename.replace('｜', '|')
    # Remove or replace other problematic characters
    filename = re.sub(r'[<>:"|?*]', '_', filename)
    return filename

def download_youtube_audio(url, output_dir):
    # Configuration for audio download
    ydl_opts = {
        'format': 'bestaudio/best',
        'postprocessors': [{
            'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
            'preferredcodec': 'mp3',
            'preferredquality': '192',
        }],
        'outtmpl': os.path.join(output_dir, '%(title)s'),
        'noplaylist': True,
        'verbose': True,
        'restrict_filenames': True,  # Restrict to safe characters
    }

    try:
        # Create output folder if it doesn't exist
        os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)

        # Download process
        with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
            print(f"Downloading: {url}")
            ydl.download([url])
            print(f"Audio saved in '{output_dir}' folder!")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print("Usage: python3 youtube_to_mp3.py <output_folder>")
        print("Example: python3 youtube_to_mp3.py .")
        print("         python3 youtube_to_mp3.py /path/to/music")
        sys.exit(1)

    output_dir = sys.argv[1]
    url = input("YouTube URL: ").strip()
    if url:
        download_youtube_audio(url, output_dir)
    else:
        print("Invalid URL! Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ")