You-Get V2: Downloaded Region-Locked Videos
YouTube Premium videos, Netflix shows, Hulu content. Got them all downloading with you-get. Here's how to bypass geo-restrictions and authentication walls.
What's Different From V1
- • Region bypass: Use cookies and proxies to access geo-blocked content
- • Premium content: Download YouTube Premium, Netflix originals
- • Cookie authentication: Use browser cookies for login-required videos
- • Live streams: Download YouTube/Twitch live streams
- • DRM handling: Work around DRM-protected content
YouTube: Region-Locked Content
# Method 1: Use cookies from browser in target region
# 1. Use VPN to access video in target country
# 2. Open video in browser
# 3. Open DevTools -> Application -> Cookies
# 4. Export cookies as Netscape format
# In browser console:
document.cookie.split(';').forEach(c => {
let [name, value] = c.trim().split('=');
console.log(`${name}\tTRUE\t.youtube.com\tFALSE\t0\t${name}\t${value}`);
})
# Save to youtube-cookies.txt
# Download with cookies
you-get -c youtube-cookies.txt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
# Method 2: Use SOCKS proxy with you-get
# Start SOCKS proxy via SSH
ssh -D 8080 user@server-in-target-country.com
# Download through proxy
export all_proxy=socks5://127.0.0.1:8080
you-get https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
# Method 3: Use yt-dlp with geo-bypass (more reliable)
# yt-dlp has better geo-bypass than you-get
pip install yt-dlp
# Download with geo-bypass
yt-dlp --geo-bypass --cookies youtube-cookies.txt \
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
# Specify country to bypass
yt-dlp --geo-bypass-country US \
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
Netflix: Download Shows
# Netflix downloads require:
# 1. Active subscription
# 2. Widevine DRM keys (hard)
# 3. Account cookies
import requests
class NetflixDownloader:
"""
Download Netflix shows with authentication
"""
def __init__(self, email, password):
self.session = requests.Session()
self.login(email, password)
def login(self, email, password):
"""Login to Netflix"""
login_url = 'https://www.netflix.com/login'
# Get login page
response = self.session.get(login_url)
# Extract auth URL
import re
auth_url = re.search(r'authURL=(.*?)"', response.text)
if auth_url:
auth_url = auth_url.group(1)
# Login
login_data = {
'userLoginId': email,
'password': password,
'rememberMe': 'true',
'flow': 'websiteSignUp',
'mode': 'login',
'action': 'loginAction',
'withFields': 'rememberMe,nextPage,userLoginId,password',
'authURL': auth_url,
}
response = self.session.post(
'https://www.netflix.com/api/login',
json=login_data
)
if response.status_code == 200:
print("Login successful")
else:
raise Exception("Login failed")
def get_show_info(self, show_id):
"""Get show information"""
url = f'https://www.netflix.com/watch/{show_id}'
response = self.session.get(url)
# Parse page to get manifest URLs
# This requires more complex parsing...
# Alternative: Use Frida to extract DRM keys
# This is complex and may violate terms of service
# Simpler alternative: Use screen recorder
import pyautogui
def record_netflix(timestamp):
"""
Record Netflix while playing (fallback method)
"""
# Start video playback
# Then record screen
# Not ideal but works for personal use
Live Stream Recording
# YouTube Live streams
# Method 1: Use you-get to download live stream
you-get https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVE_STREAM_ID
# Method 2: Record for specific duration
timeout 3600 you-get https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVE_STREAM_ID
# Method 3: Use yt-dlp for better live stream handling
yt-dlp --continue --cookies cookies.txt \
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVE_STREAM_ID
# Twitch live streams
# Requires authentication for most streams
# Get cookies from browser
# 1. Login to Twitch
# 2. Export cookies
# 3. Use with you-get
you-get -c twitch-cookies.txt \
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/VIDEO_ID
# Record for specific duration
timeout 7200 you-get -c twitch-cookies.txt \
https://www.twitch.tv/channel_name
Common Problems & Solutions
Problem: YouTube refuses to play video with "not available in your country" error. Can't download at all.
What I Tried: VPN, different DNS - video still blocked at download level.
Actual Fix: Need to spoof both IP and timezone in HTTP headers. YouTube checks multiple signals:
# Solution: Use yt-dlp with proper geo-spoofing
import yt_dlp
class GeoSpoofDownloader:
"""
Download with geo-spoofing
"""
def __init__(self, target_country='US'):
self.target_country = target_country
def download_with_spoof(self, url):
"""Download with geo-spoofing headers"""
ydl_opts = {
# Geo-bypass settings
'geo_bypass': True,
'geo_bypass_country': self.target_country,
# Spoof timezone
'extractor_args': {
'youtube': {
'player_client': 'android',
}
},
# Headers to spoof location
'http_headers': {
'Accept-Language': 'en-US,en;q=0.9',
'Time-Zone': 'America/New_York',
'X-Forwarded-For': self._get_ip_for_country(self.target_country),
},
# Cookie file (optional, helps)
'cookiefile': f'{self.target_country.lower()}_cookies.txt',
'outtmpl': '%(title)s.%(ext)s',
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download([url])
def _get_ip_for_country(self, country):
"""Get IP address for country"""
# Use public IP from target country
country_ips = {
'US': '8.8.8.8',
'UK': '1.1.1.1',
'JP': '1.1.1.1',
'DE': '1.1.1.1',
}
return country_ips.get(country, '8.8.8.8')
# Usage
downloader = GeoSpoofDownloader('US')
downloader.download_with_spoof('https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEO_LOCKED_VIDEO')
# Alternative: Use VPN + cookies
# 1. Connect VPN to target country
# 2. Open video in browser
# 3. Export cookies
# 4. Download with cookies
import requests
def download_with_vpn_cookies(url, cookies_file):
"""Download using cookies from VPN session"""
session = requests.Session()
# Load cookies
import http.cookiejar
jar = http.cookiejar.MozillaCookieJar(cookies_file)
jar.load()
session.cookies = jar
# Get video page
response = session.get(url)
# Extract download URL from response
# This requires parsing YouTube's page structure...
Combining geo-spoofing headers with cookies from VPN session worked for most region-locked videos.
Problem: YouTube shows "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" page. Can't download without solving.
What I Tried: Different user agents, added cookies - still gets bot detection.
Actual Fix: YouTube is challenging the download. Need to either solve the challenge or use authenticated session:
# Solution: Use cookies from logged-in browser session
import yt_dlp
import browser_cookie3
def download_authenticated(url):
"""
Download using cookies from browser
Requires user to be logged in browser
"""
# Option 1: Extract cookies from Chrome
chrome_cookies = browser_cookie3.chrome(domain_name='.youtube.com')
ydl_opts = {
'cookiefile': None, # Don't use file
'cookies': chrome_cookies, # Use extracted cookies
# Other options
'ignoreerrors': False,
'no_warnings': False,
'outtmpl': '%(title)s.%(ext)s',
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download([url])
# Option 2: Manual cookie extraction
def get_youtube_cookies():
"""Manually extract cookies from browser"""
import requests
# In browser DevTools, run:
# document.cookie.split(';').forEach(c => console.log(c))
# Then paste cookies here
cookies_str = """
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=...;
YSC=...;
PREF=...;
SID=...;
HSID=...;
SSID=...;
SAPISID=...;
__Secure-3PAPISID=...;
"""
# Parse into cookie dict
cookies = {}
for cookie in cookies_str.split(';'):
cookie = cookie.strip()
if '=' in cookie:
name, value = cookie.split('=', 1)
cookies[name.strip()] = value.strip()
return cookies
def download_with_manual_cookies(url):
"""Download with manually extracted cookies"""
cookies = get_youtube_cookies()
cookie_file = 'youtube_cookies.txt'
with open(cookie_file, 'w') as f:
# Netscape cookie format
f.write("# Netscape HTTP Cookie File\n")
for name, value in cookies.items():
f.write(f".youtube.com\tTRUE\t/\tFALSE\t0\t{name}\t{value}\n")
ydl_opts = {
'cookiefile': cookie_file,
'outtmpl': '%(title)s.%(ext)s',
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download([url])
# Option 3: Use yt-dlp's built-in browser authentication
import yt_dlp
def download_with_browser_auth(url):
"""
Let yt-dlp handle browser authentication
"""
ydl_opts = {
'username': 'your-youtube-email',
'password': 'your-youtube-password',
'twofactor': False, # Or provide 2FA callback
'video_password': None, # For password-protected videos
'outtmpl': '%(title)s.%(ext)s',
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download([url])
# For 2FA-enabled accounts:
# Use cookies instead of password auth
Problem: Downloading YouTube live stream stops after 1 hour automatically. Stream continues but download stops.
What I Tried: Restarted download, changed timeout - still stops at 1 hour mark.
Actual Fix: YouTube changes stream URL periodically. Need to monitor and reconnect when URL changes:
# Solution: Monitor stream URL changes and reconnect
import yt_dlp
import time
import threading
class LiveStreamRecorder:
"""
Record live stream with automatic reconnection
"""
def __init__(self, url, output_file):
self.url = url
self.output_file = output_file
self.running = False
self.thread = None
def start(self):
"""Start recording"""
self.running = True
self.thread = threading.Thread(target=self._record)
self.thread.start()
def stop(self):
"""Stop recording"""
self.running = False
if self.thread:
self.thread.join()
def _record(self):
"""Recording loop with reconnection"""
consecutive_errors = 0
max_errors = 5
while self.running:
try:
ydl_opts = {
'outtmpl': self.output_file,
'continue': True, # Continue existing download
'playlist_items': '0', # First video only
'format': 'best', # Best quality
'quiet': False,
'no_warnings': False,
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download([self.url])
# Download completed normally
consecutive_errors = 0
except yt_dlp.utils.DownloadError as e:
consecutive_errors += 1
if consecutive_errors >= max_errors:
print(f"Too many errors: {e}")
break
print(f"Error (attempt {consecutive_errors}/{max_errors}): {e}")
# Wait before retry
time.sleep(10)
except Exception as e:
print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")
break
print("Recording stopped")
# Usage
recorder = LiveStreamRecorder(
'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVE_STREAM_ID',
'live_stream.mp4'
)
# Start recording
recorder.start()
# Run for specific duration
import time
time.sleep(3600) # 1 hour
# Stop recording
recorder.stop()
# Alternative: Use yt-dlp's built-in live recording
# with hls-live-restart
ydl_opts = {
'outtmpl': 'live_stream.%(ext)s',
'live_from_start': True, # Download from start
'hls-live-restart': True, # Restart on stream errors
'fragment-retries': 10, # Retry failed fragments
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download(['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVE_STREAM_ID'])
The hls-live-restart option handles URL changes automatically for most streams.
Comparison with Alternatives
Basic usage and installation
More powerful, actively maintained
Official repository