Downloads
yt-dlp: Downloads From Sources That Expose a Direct URL
yt-dlp is the odd one out in the client list. It does not search for files, it fetches audio from sources that expose a direct URL. That makes it useful for filling specific gaps and useless as a general upgrade path.
What it is good for
yt-dlp covers the cases where a track exists on a video platform and nowhere else in your indexers. In a music discovery context that shows up as: a specific upload of an obscure recording, a track that only exists on a user-uploaded video, or a deliberate single-track request rather than a whole album.
Because it fetches one URL at a time, it works as a targeted client. Aurral hands it a search result and it either produces an audio file or it does not.
Why it is never used for upgrades
An upgrade needs a verifiably better version of the exact recording you already have. yt-dlp cannot promise that. The available video might be a different edit, a lower quality upload, an audio rip from a live recording, or the same file already downsampled.
So Aurral excludes yt-dlp from the upgrade source order entirely. Upgrades search slskd, then Usenet, then deemix. If you rely on yt-dlp for regular downloads it does its job; it just never proposes an upgrade.
- Used for: missing track downloads when it is the appropriate source.
- Never used for: quality upgrades, under any profile setting.
- Results still go through the same file verification as any other client.
Review behaviour
A yt-dlp file waits in the review queue when its duration does not match the request, and while it waits Aurral tries other results and other sources. It reaches review only if nothing else verifies.
That means yt-dlp results follow the same approval flow as Soulseek results, so you should expect to preview some of them rather than accepting them automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Can yt-dlp be my only download client?
Technically yes, but it is a poor fit for discovery flows because it can only fetch from sources that expose a direct URL. Most people pair it with slskd or Usenet.
Why is yt-dlr excluded from upgrades?
Because it cannot guarantee a better version of the same recording. An upgrade that silently swaps in a different edit is worse than no upgrade.
Do yt-dlp results get quality-checked?
Yes. The finished file is read and checked against your enabled tiers regardless of which client produced it.
Everything else
All integrations
Library
The music manager decides what ends up on disk. Aurral never writes into someone else's library folder.
Downloads
Where the audio actually comes from. Source order decides which client gets asked first.
Playback
Playback stays where it is. Aurral publishes playlists into the server you already run.
Listening history
History is the strongest recommendation signal you already own. Wire it in and the picks improve.
Alerts and shows
Optional signals that turn a static library into something that keeps moving.
Connect yt-dlp to the rest of your stack
Nothing here requires restarting anything else. Add it when it becomes the piece you were missing.