debian 13.0, downloaded yt-dlp with wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -O ~/.local/bin/yt-dlp
the python script is in that directory, but if I execute yt-dlp on the terminal it returns bash: yt-dlp: command not found
what should I do?
SOLVED: add .local/bin to your $PATH
Is ~.local/bin in your PATH?
i think this is the correct question to ask. did you just create
~/.local/binfolder? you can look at the end of~/.profilethat this will only be added to$PATHif the folder exists.the easiest way is to log out and log in (no restart necessary!)
otherwise you can also execute
source ~/.profileand thenyt-dlpshould be available.the
chmod +xtip from the other comments could also be necessary!
I’ll assume you’re new to Debian, so apologies if this is not true. The reason I say this is because generally speaking, “installing with wget” isn’t how one is supposed to install software in Debian, using a program called apt is. yt-dlp is available in Debian 13’s repositories. What I suggest doing is running
apt install yt-dlpas root. That way the app will be installed globally, meaning it’ll work without the system spitting out the error you’ve described. And on another positive note, the app will get updated automatically whenever you upgrade the system.If this isn’t for you, suggestions from other users here are valid and helpful.
Do note that the yt-dlp version in stable will go out of date; I recommend installing it from the backports repo so it keeps updating.
Did you make it executable?
chmod a+rx ~/.local/bin/yt-dlp # Make executableWhat is the output of your $PATH? (feel free to anonymise usernames)
echo $PATHI believe you simply downloaded the file to ~/.local/bin/yt-dlp, you did not install it. You need to either add that location to your path or you need to
cdto that folder in terminal, then run the command. It will check things in the current folder when trying to run executables.Unlike Windows, on Linux you need to run
./<command>instead of just<command>for executables in you current directory.Unless you have
.in your$PATHWhat a mad lad idea
You also need to
chmod +x pathfiles downloaded from the internet to make it executable.
um, isn’t it easier to just:
sudo apt install yt-dlp
yt-dlp -UAdd
PATH="${PATH}:~/.local/bin"To your .zhrc or .bashrc (whatever you use) and either source the file or open a new terminal. Should be as simple as that (assuming +x permissions)
Have you consulted the ‘README’ that is both in the yt-dlp directory as well as the github regarding installation?
I found pipx the easiest way to install and manage a current ytdlp installation
sudo apt install pipx pipx ensurepath pipx install yt-dlpYes I know, it’s an additional package manager, but it actually is a package manager and will therefore ensure the setup is correct
deleted by creator
Don’t Python scripts need
pythonat the beginning of the command that summons them?Alternatively, you can make an alias to ~/.bashrc:
alias yt-dl="python3 /path/to/yt-dlp [options] "And replace[]for flags you may want to always use, if any. Or delete if you just want the raw script to be tied to a terminal command.Then reload .bashrc by running either
source .bashrcor. .bashrcDon’t Python scripts need
pythonat the beginning of the command that summons them?Not if the script has a python shebang (e.g.
!/usr/bin/env python3), then it will run like any other script.Wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for explaining!







