youtube is a Go package for downloading YouTube videos.
The tool solves the problem of programmatically retrieving video content from YouTube by parsing video IDs from URLs, fetching video metadata through YouTube's information endpoint, and downloading the video stream from the extracted URL. It extracts the video ID from a standard YouTube URL, retrieves information including the download URL and title, and then downloads the video file to the user's system.
Developers should use this package if they need to download videos within a Go application or command-line tool, particularly for archiving or processing CC0-licensed content. The tool supports downloading at specific quality levels, including HD 1080p with ffmpeg, and allows specifying output folder and filename. It can be used as a standalone binary or imported as a library in Go programs. The README references youtube-dl as an inspiration for broader download options but does not make direct comparisons to other Go-based YouTube downloaders.
The project maintains a straightforward codebase with example code provided in test files for developers to reference. The tool is available through multiple package managers including Homebrew, Arch Linux, and Termux, indicating some level of ongoing distribution support.
