Use yt-dlp to find and download the playlist, and use FFmpeg when separate video and audio streams need to be merged. Save the files and yt-dlp’s download archive on a mounted, writable SSD so later runs can skip videos that were already downloaded. FFmpeg alone does not fetch or manage a YouTube playlist.
What you need before you start
- A Raspberry Pi with an operating system and a USB or other SSD connection supported by that exact model. Raspberry Pi models differ in their storage and boot options; check the documentation for your board before choosing an enclosure, cable, or boot setup.
- An SSD that is mounted and writable, with enough free space for the videos you want to keep. There is no single capacity recommendation for a video library: file sizes vary with the available formats, resolutions, codecs, and duration.
- yt-dlp for playlist extraction and downloads, and FFmpeg for media operations such as merging separate audio and video streams.
- Permission to download and retain the material. Check the applicable YouTube terms and local law; whether a particular download is permitted depends on the circumstances and jurisdiction.
Raspberry Pi Ltd’s current getting-started documentation, accessed October 3, 2026, recommends at least 32 GB of boot media for Raspberry Pi OS Desktop and Full, and at least 8 GB for Raspberry Pi OS Lite. Those are operating-system boot-media starting points, not estimates of how much SSD space a playlist needs. The same documentation says SD cards above 2 TB are unsupported because of MBR limitations; that statement concerns SD cards, not external SSD capacity.
Mount the SSD and choose a stable destination
Connect the SSD and mount it using the method supported by your Pi’s operating system. Choose a directory on the mounted drive for the downloaded videos and another persistent location for the download archive. You can keep both in one parent directory if you prefer. The exact device name and mount point depend on the Pi, operating system, filesystem, and connection method, so do not assume a universal path such as /mnt/ssd.
Before using the paths in a download command, confirm that the SSD is mounted and that your account can write to the chosen directory. A directory with the same name on the Pi’s system card is not a substitute: if the SSD is absent and the directory exists locally, files could go to the wrong storage.
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Install yt-dlp and FFmpeg
Install both tools using current instructions for your Raspberry Pi operating system. Installation commands and supported versions vary by operating system and can change; use the current yt-dlp and FFmpeg project installation guidance rather than relying on a command that may not fit your system.
Check that the installed commands are available in the environment that will run the download. If the playlist’s selected formats are separate audio and video streams, yt-dlp needs FFmpeg available to merge them. A simple merge does not require you to transcode the media.
Download the playlist to the SSD
Replace the two path placeholders with directories on the mounted SSD and replace PLAYLIST_URL with the playlist URL. This schematic command uses yt-dlp’s default format selection and names each file with its playlist position, title, and video ID:
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yt-dlp --download-archive "/path/on/ssd/archive.txt"
-P "/path/on/ssd/videos"
-o "%(playlist_index)03d - %(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s"
"PLAYLIST_URL"The command is an example, not a tested Raspberry Pi-specific recipe. The paths must exist or be creatable and writable by the account running yt-dlp. Quote the playlist URL, especially when it contains shell-special characters such as &.
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What each option does
--download-archive "/path/on/ssd/archive.txt"records identifiers for successfully downloaded videos. Keep using the same archive file on later runs; yt-dlp can then skip items already recorded. Only successful downloads are added to the archive.-P "/path/on/ssd/videos"sets the destination directory.-o "%(playlist_index)03d - %(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s"sets an output template. The padded playlist index helps preserve playlist order in file browsers, while the ID helps distinguish videos with similar titles.- The quoted playlist URL identifies the playlist to process. Access can still depend on the playlist’s availability and YouTube’s current extraction requirements.
When YouTube makes separate audio and video formats available, yt-dlp’s FAQ says FFmpeg is needed to download and merge them. The yt-dlp project README also gives -f "bestvideo+bestaudio" as a merge example that requires FFmpeg. Do not add a format-selection rule blindly: available formats and file sizes can differ between playlist items. If you need a specific codec, resolution, or size limit, inspect the current format-selection documentation and the formats available for the videos before choosing one.
Run it again without downloading the same videos
Run the command again with the same archive path to check the playlist for items that are not yet in the archive. yt-dlp uses the recorded video identifiers to skip previously successful downloads. Do not delete or replace the archive if you want that repeat-run tracking to continue.
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This is useful when a playlist changes over time: new items can be downloaded on a later run while items already logged are skipped. The archive does not guarantee that every item will remain accessible; removed, restricted, or otherwise unavailable videos may not download.
Schedule repeat downloads safely
If you automate the command with a scheduler, make the job depend on the SSD being mounted and writable. Keep the archive on persistent storage, and direct logs to a location that remains available when the job runs. For unattended use, arrange a way to notice failed runs, such as checking the log or configuring an error notification.
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- Check that the scheduler runs as a user with permission to read the playlist and write to the SSD.
- Test the job after a reboot, when the mount and scheduler start in their normal order.
- Do not treat an empty destination directory as proof that a download succeeded; review the command’s exit status or log.
Choose SSD capacity and connection for your Pi
Estimate capacity from the videos and formats you intend to keep, then leave room for future additions and temporary download or merge files. A playlist’s duration or item count alone does not determine its size. Raspberry Pi documentation describes microSD as common boot media and says some newer models support USB mass-storage or NVMe boot. Which interface is suitable depends on the exact board and whether the SSD is for booting, media storage, or both.
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Raspberry Pi’s accessories documentation lists SSDs, SSD kits, and M.2 HAT+ storage as categories, but those categories do not establish a best choice for an unspecified model. Check the Pi model’s supported interfaces along with enclosure and cable compatibility, power requirements, filesystem support, mount reliability, and the capacity you need. The OS boot-media recommendations above should not be used as a video-library sizing rule.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot common problems
The command says it cannot write to the destination
Confirm that the SSD is mounted at the path you supplied, that the destination directory is on that mount, and that the command’s user has write permission. If the drive did not mount, stop the job rather than letting it fill a similarly named directory on the Pi’s system storage.
Separate formats fail to merge
Check that FFmpeg is installed and discoverable by yt-dlp in the same environment where the command runs. If a scheduled job has a different environment from your interactive shell, verify that it can find the FFmpeg executable too.
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A later run downloads items again
Check that the command still points to the same --download-archive file and that the archive is on persistent, writable storage. A different archive path starts a separate record of downloaded identifiers.
Some playlist videos do not download
Playlist access and extraction can depend on current YouTube behavior and the video’s availability. yt-dlp’s FAQ notes that some access cases may require cookies, headers, or matching network conditions. Do not assume that every public or private playlist will work with an unauthenticated command; consult current yt-dlp guidance for the specific error and use credentials only in a way you are authorized to use.
The Pi runs out of space
Check free space on the SSD, not just the Pi’s boot media. Review which formats were selected and how much storage the retained files use; then remove files only if you no longer need them. If you need a maximum resolution or smaller formats, inspect the current yt-dlp format-selection guidance instead of assuming all playlist entries have the same properties.
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