How to Convert YouTube to MP3 Using Command Prompt in Windows 11

If you’ve ever wanted to save audio from a YouTube video—maybe a podcast episode, a music mix, or an educational lecture—you’ve probably encountered those sketchy online converter sites plastered with ads and dubious download buttons. I know I have, and honestly, they’re more trouble than they’re worth.

There’s a better way: using Command Prompt on Windows 11 with a powerful tool called yt-dlp. I’ve been using this method for a couple of years now, and it’s hands-down the cleanest, safest, and most reliable approach I’ve found. No browser extensions, no suspicious websites, just straightforward command-line tools that actually work.

I know after reading command line you probably be thinking some complex and technical way with codes, no you wrong at all, it is super easy, moreover once you’ve got it set up, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with those online converters.. So, let’s know how easy it to exactly convert YouTube videos to MP3 files using Command Prompt.

Why Use Command Prompt for YouTube to MP3 Conversion?

Let me explain why this method is worth your time.

Complete control over quality and format. Unlike web-based converters that give you whatever quality they feel like, command-line tools let you specify exactly what bitrate, format, and metadata you want. I typically go for 320kbps MP3s, but you can adjust based on your needs.

No malware or adware risks. Those online converter sites? Many of them try to sneak in browser extensions or redirect you through sketchy ad networks. With yt-dlp is open source tool available on GitHub that can running locally on your machine, you’re in complete control.

Batch processing capability. Once you’re comfortable with the basic command, you can download entire playlists or multiple videos at once. I’ve used this to archive podcast series and lecture collections—something that would take forever with manual web converters.

Faster and more reliable. Command-line tools connect directly to YouTube’s servers without the middleman. In my experience, downloads are consistently faster and less likely to fail midway through.

Future-proof solution. YouTube frequently changes things that break web converters. Tools like yt-dlp are updated regularly (sometimes weekly) to keep up with these changes.

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What You’ll Need

Don’t worry if some of these terms given in the the table are unfamiliar. I’ll walk you through getting each component set up in the next sections.

Requirement	Description	Where to Get It
Windows 11 PC	This guide is specifically for Windows 11, though it works on Windows 10 too	Your computer
yt-dlp	The main tool for downloading YouTube content	GitHub (yt-dlp/yt-dlp)
FFmpeg	Audio processing library that handles the conversion to MP3	FFmpeg.org or via package manager
Command Prompt or PowerShell	Built into Windows 11	Search “cmd” or “PowerShell” in Start menu
Basic command-line knowledge	Helpful but not required—I’ll explain everything	This guide!

Legal & Copyright Disclaimer

Important: Converting YouTube videos to MP3 should only be done for content that you own, or that’s explicitly licensed for reuse, such as public-domain material or videos with a Creative Commons license. Downloading or converting copyrighted videos without permission may violate YouTube’s Terms of Service and local copyright laws. This guide is provided for educational purposes only — always respect the rights of content creators and use these tools responsibly.

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Installing yt-dlp & FFmpeg on Windows 11

yt-dlp is the actively maintained successor to youtube-dl, and I recommend using it. It handles YouTube’s frequent changes much better than the older tool.

Method 1: Using Winget (For Package Manager Fans) Easiest One

Windows 11 and 10 come with a default built-in package manager that makes the installation of various packages and applications extremely easy, thanks to the help of PowerShell or the Command Prompt running as an administrator. This is by far the easiest method I’ve found. It automatically downloads, installs, and configures everything.

winget install yt-dlp

This single command will automatically install YT-DLP along with FFMPEG dependency; however, if it does not, then you can run the command to install ffmpeg manually using – winget install FFmpeg. This automatically handles the PATH setup for you. Pretty convenient, honestly.

Verify the Installation

Once the installation is completed, close your command prompt window and reopen it to reflect the changes made to the system path. After having a fresh CMD window, type:

yt-dlp --version

If you see a version number, you’re all set. I’m currently on version 2025.10.22, but yours might be different depending on when you’re reading this.

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Method 2: Direct Download (for those who can’t use Winget)

Step 1: Head to the yt-dlp releases page on GitHub and download the latest version.

Step 2: Download the yt-dlp.exe file. It’s a single executable—no installation wizard needed. So, you can open the command prompt or PowerShell in the folder where the executable is saved and run it directly.

Step 3: (Optional) For those who don’t want to switch to the folder where the yt-dlp.exe file is located, you can add its folder location to the system PATH. For that, create a folder in a location that is easy to access. I use C:\Tools\yt-dlp\ for mine, but you can put it wherever makes sense to you.

Step 4: Move the downloaded yt-dlp.exe file into that folder.

Step 5: Add this folder to your system PATH so you can run yt-dlp from anywhere in Command Prompt:

• Right–click the Start button and select “System“
• Click “Advanced system settings” on the right
• Click “Environment Variables”
• Under “System variables,” find “Path” and click “Edit“
• Click “New” and add your folder path (e.g., C:\Tools\yt-dlp\)
• Click OK on everything to save

I know editing the PATH can feel intimidating the first time, but it’s worth doing. It means you can run yt-dlp from any folder without having to type the full path every time.

Install FFMPEG Manually

If you prefer to do things manually, after adding YT-DLP, we also need to install FFMPEG for the conversion process:

Step 1: Visit ffmpeg.org and download the Windows build. I usually grab the release from gyan.dev because it’s well-maintained.

Step 2: Extract the downloaded ZIP file. You’ll receive a folder containing several subfolders.

Step 3: Move the entire FFmpeg folder to somewhere permanent, like C:\Tools\FFmpeg\.

Step 4: Add the bin subfolder to your system PATH (following the same process I described for yt–dlp). So if FFmpeg is in C:\Tools\FFmpeg\, you’ll add C:\Tools\FFmpeg\bin\ to the PATH.

Test FFmpeg

In Command Prompt, type:

ffmpeg -version

You should see version information and a bunch of supported codecs scroll by. That means everything’s working correctly.

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The Main Command: Converting YouTube to MP3

Alright, here’s what you’ve been waiting for—the actual command to convert YouTube videos to MP3.

Basic Command Structure

Open Command Prompt (Win + R, type cmd, press Enter) and navigate to where you want to save your MP3 files. For example:

cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Music

Then use this command:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "YOUTUBE_URL"

Let me break down what each part does:

• yt-dlp – Calls the program
• -x – Extract audio only (ignore the video)
• --audio-format mp3 – Convert to MP3 format specifically
• --audio-quality 0 – Use the best available audio quality (0 is highest, 9 is lowest)
• "YOUTUBE_URL" – The URL of the YouTube video you want to convert

Real-World Example

Let’s say I want to download a music mix. Here’s exactly what I’d type:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Hit Enter, and yt-dlp will start working. You’ll see progress updates that display the download percentage and conversion status. The final MP3 file will appear in your current directory with the video title as the filename.

Customizing Audio Quality

While --audio-quality 0 gives you the best quality, you might want smaller files. Here’s how different settings compare:

• --audio-quality 0 – Best quality, typically 320kbps (what I usually use)
• --audio-quality 5 – Medium quality, around 128kbps
• --audio-quality 9 – Lower quality, good for spoken word content like podcasts

You can also specify an exact bitrate if you want:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 320K "YOUTUBE_URL"

I’ve found that 320kbps is overkill for most YouTube content, since the original audio quality often isn’t that high to begin with, but it doesn’t hurt to aim high.

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Advanced Tips and Batch Conversions

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, here are some power-user techniques I’ve picked up.

Downloading Entire Playlists

Want to grab a whole playlist? Just use the playlist URL:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "PLAYLIST_URL"

yt-dlp automatically detects it’s a playlist and downloads every video. I’ve used this for podcast series and album uploads—real time-saver.

Custom Output Filenames

By default, files are named after the video title, which can get messy. Use the -o flag to customize:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"

Or if you want a numbered playlist format:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 -o "%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

This creates files like “01 – Song Title.mp3”, “02 – Another Song.mp3”, etc.

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Embedding Metadata and Thumbnails

Here’s a neat trick I learned recently. You can embed the video thumbnail as album art and include metadata:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 --embed-thumbnail --add-metadata "YOUTUBE_URL"

The --embed-thumbnail flag grabs the video thumbnail and adds it as cover art. The --add-metadata flag consists of the title, artist, and other info. Makes your music library look much more professional.

Creating a Batch File for Regular Use

If you find yourself using the same command repeatedly, create a simple batch file. Open Notepad and paste:

@echo off
echo YouTube to MP3 Converter
echo.
set /p url="Enter YouTube URL: "
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 --embed-thumbnail --add-metadata "%url%"
echo.
echo Done! Check your Music folder.
pause

Save this as youtube-to-mp3.bat in a convenient location. Now you can just double–click the file, paste a URL, and hit Enter. Much faster than typing the command every time.

Download Speed Limiting

If you’re on a connection where you don’t want to hog all the bandwidth:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 --limit-rate 1M "YOUTUBE_URL"

The --limit-rate 1M restricts download speed to 1MB/s. Adjust as needed.

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

I’ve run into a few hiccups over the years. Here’s how to fix the most common problems:

“yt-dlp is not recognized as an internal or external command”

This usually means your PATH isn’t set up correctly. Go back and double-check that you added the folder containing yt–dlp.exe to your system PATH. You’ll need to close and reopen Command Prompt after making PATH changes—I forget this step all the time.

“ERROR: unable to download video data: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden”

YouTube has probably updated something. Update yt-dlp to the latest version:

yt-dlp -U

If you installed via winget, use:

winget upgrade yt-dlp

This happens every few months. The yt–dlp developers are usually on top of it within a day or two.

Downloads Are Really Slow

YouTube sometimes throttles download speeds. Try adding the --concurrent-fragments option:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 --concurrent-fragments 4 "YOUTUBE_URL"

This downloads multiple chunks simultaneously. I’ve seen this double the download speeds on my connection.

“WARNING: unable to embed thumbnail”

This occurs when FFmpeg is unable to process the thumbnail image format. It’s not a big deal—the audio still downloads fine. If it really bothers you, try updating FFmpeg or just skip the --embed-thumbnail flag.

Age-Restricted Videos

For age-restricted content, you’ll need to provide cookies from your browser:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 --cookies-from-browser chrome "YOUTUBE_URL"

Replace chrome with your browser (firefox, edge, etc.). This uses your logged-in session to bypass the restriction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Legal and Safety Considerations

I want to be straightforward about this: just because you can download audio from YouTube doesn’t always mean you should.

Copyright matters. Most music, movies, and TV content on YouTube is copyrighted. Downloading and distributing copyrighted material without permission is illegal in most countries. YouTube’s Terms of Service also explicitly prohibit downloading content unless YouTube itself provides a download button or link.

When it’s okay. There are legitimate uses for these tools. I use yt-dlp to:

• Archive my own uploaded videos
• Download Creative Commons or public domain content
• Save educational materials from creators who explicitly allow downloading
• Preserve content where creators have provided direct permission
• Back up podcasts that are also available as official downloads elsewhere

Be respectful of creators. If you enjoy someone’s content, support them. Watch ads, buy their merch, join their Patreon, or use official purchase options like iTunes or Bandcamp. Creators put time and effort into their work, and they deserve to be compensated.

Security note. Only download yt-dlp from the official GitHub repository. Fake versions are circulating that contain malware. The real deal is always at github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp. The same goes for FFmpeg—stick to ffmpeg.org or trusted package repositories.

I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice. This guide is for educational purposes to show the technical process. Use these tools responsibly and in accordance with your local laws.

Conclusion

Converting YouTube videos to MP3 using Command Prompt might seem intimidating at first, but it’s honestly one of the most reliable methods once you’ve got it set up. No more sketchy converter websites, no more ads masquerading as download buttons, and no more wondering if you’re about to install malware.

Here’s what we covered:

We walked through installing yt-dlp and FFmpeg—the two core tools you need. Both are free, open-source, and actively maintained by dedicated communities.

I showed you the basic command structure for converting videos to MP3, along with advanced options such as playlist downloads, custom filenames, and metadata embedding.

If you encounter any issues not addressed here, the yt-dlp GitHub page offers excellent documentation and an active community.