Build youtube-dl from source

[YoshiKill]

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• I've looked through the README and FAQ for similar questions
• I've searched the bugtracker for similar questions including closed ones

Question

Hello can you help me and give (noob)instruction how to build step by step youtube-dl.exe with python 2.7 version?

[dirkf]

In some order ...

1. Read the code (and the developer documentation in the Manual)
2. What platform?
3. Are sure you don't want one of the update solutions proposed in [YouTube] Unable to extract uploader id #31530?

[ ] I've searched the bugtracker for similar questions including closed ones

4. Why not?

[YoshiKill]

I've searched the bugtracker for similar questions including closed ones
4. Why not?

already search not found any answer, forget to click

1. Read the code (and the developer documentation in the Manual)

read but need more information because >(noob)instruction

2. What platform?

for Old PC Pentium III\Athlon Xp (no SSE2) Python 2.7 Windows xp sp3

Are sure you don't want one of the update solutions proposed in #31530?

yep, dlp is not solution in my case, because in Old PC(no SSE2) python version is under support 3.7+

[dirkf]

yt-dlp wasn't the solution I meant but the unofficial Windows nightly yt-dl build won't help you if Python 3.4 is not supported. I'm fairly sure no-one here now can remember how to do what you want to do, but @Vangelis66 may have some idea (eg, where to find a later Python for your system).

If you have Py 2.7 installed and a working git, you can clone the master branch (or any other commit) and run the code from the local clone, or possibly install it as a Python module.

[YoshiKill]

unofficial Windows nightly yt-dl build won't help you if Python 3.4 is not supported

if you about this https://github.com/ytdl-patched/youtube-dl/releases
Its work on python 2.7, but have issues with speed 50kbs.

In this git you fix low speed problem, some enthusiast from forum make build exe and its work with full speed, but he use modern python and its not work on win xp python 2.7 old pc.

If you have Py 2.7 installed and a working git

nope, just have clean ubuntu virtualbox and my enthusiasm to try build it.
Python 2.7 only on my old Win xp PIII machine for use youtube-dl

[dirkf]

The unofficial nightly builds use the latest code including the speed-up fixes (and tomorrow, the fix for #32066, I hope). But the single file self-extracting build uses its own Py 3.4 so probably won't work for you.

There's no non-Python code in yt-dl itself since the hard work is passed to ffmpeg: thus your Py 2.7 should be able to run yt-dl as well as it runs with a new Python, if a bit slower.

[Vangelis66]

@YoshiKill: MSFN forums member @nicolaasjan builds a youtube.dl.exe (x86) Windows binary with the py2exe python module, specifically for old CPUs without the SSE2 instructions set...

The binary is built against CPython 3.4.4, the last to support XP SP3... Problem is he hosts those builds on his dropbox account, direct links (which change over time) are only visible in his MSFN member signature (i.e. you need to be a member there to see them...).

https://msfn.org/board/topic/184368-who-here-has-a-youtube-dl-compile-for-winxp/#comment-1236966

At the time of this writing, the latest link is

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/f2q5v92qgq0fawp/youtube-dl.zip

(Please, don't abuse that account's bandwidth with mirroring...). The downloaded binary has a "last modified timestamp" of 20230414, so it was built on 26035bd and thus doesn't yet contain the fix for #32066; give him a day or two to update it (the whole process is manual) and, hopefully, you should be fine...

AFAIAA, no youtube-dl.exe based on CPython 2.7 has come to my attention; FWIW, in this specific case, one should avoid PyInstaller as the building module, because it produces EXEs which require SSE2+...

Being a total "noob" should make it a somewhat daunting task to compile the EXE, but nicolaas might be willing to break the process down to "baby" steps 😜 ...

As dirkf wrote above, if py2.7 is an absolute must, you could install CPython 2.7.18 and run youtube-dl from source as a python script, or (if pip is available), install it as a module you'd then invoke via python -m youtube_dl blahblahblah...

[october262]

see this thread - #30261

[nicolaasjan]

MSFN forums member @nicolaasjan builds a youtube.dl.exe (x86) Windows binary with the py2exe python module, specifically for old CPUs without the SSE2 instructions set...

The binary is built against CPython 3.4.4, the last to support XP SP3... Problem is he hosts those builds on his dropbox account, direct links (which change over time) are only visible in his MSFN member signature (i.e. you need to be a member there to see them...).

I'm up to date now (211cbfd). 😀️
This time the Dropbox link didn't change.

However, ytdl-patched is now up to date as well. 🙂

[nicolaasjan]

@YoshiKill, can't you update your Python 2.7 to Python 3.4.4?
(Windows x86 MSI installer)

To build from source:

• Download the source.
• Extract.
• Edit version.py in .\youtube-dl\youtube_dl to reflect the current date.
• Install dependencies:
  python -m pip install --upgrade "pip<19.2" "setuptools<44" "wheel<0.34.0" py2exe==0.9.2.2
• In CMD, change directory to .\youtube-dl.
• Enter python setup.py py2exe
• Your newly created youtube-dl.exe will be created in that directory.

[DmytroUsenko]

I wonder what is holding back a person from migrating, for example, to py 3.9

[dirkf]

...what is holding back a person from migrating, for example, to py 3.9

Read the issue: in this case, it doesn't run on Windows XP SP3. #30568 has other examples.

[dirkf]

@YoshiKill, do these answers help?

[holms]

In some order ...

1. Read the code (and the developer documentation in the Manual)

2. What platform?

3. Are sure you don't want one of the update solutions proposed in [[YouTube] Unable to extract uploader id #31530](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/31530)?

[ ] I've searched the bugtracker for similar questions including closed ones

4. Why not?

Since you seems to me know what's going on, can you please answer the obvious, why latest release is from 2021..? What is going on? Why there are commits still going, but no release is produced?