---

name: rapidapi-downloader description: Download YouTube videos using RapidAPI services. Reliable cloud-based solution with multiple provider options.

RapidAPI YouTube Downloader

This skill uses RapidAPI marketplace services to download YouTube videos. Multiple providers available with different pricing and features.

When to Use This Skill

• For production business systems
• When you need guaranteed uptime and SLA
• When self-hosting is not an option
• For high-volume downloads with predictable costs

Recommended RapidAPI Services

1. YouTube Video Download Info (Free Tier Available)

• API: youtube-video-download-info.p.rapidapi.com
• Pricing: Free 100 req/month, then $0.002/request
• Features: Video info, multiple quality options

2. YT-API (Reliable)

• API: yt-api.p.rapidapi.com
• Pricing: $0.001/request
• Features: Fast, good rate limits

3. YouTube Media Downloader

• API: youtube-media-downloader.p.rapidapi.com
• Pricing: Freemium
• Features: Direct download links

Configuration

Set your RapidAPI key:

export RAPIDAPI_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Or place in config file:

echo "your-api-key" > ./config/rapidapi_key.txt

Instructions

Step 1: Setup

# Load API key
if [ -f "./config/rapidapi_key.txt" ]; then
  RAPIDAPI_KEY=$(cat ./config/rapidapi_key.txt)
elif [ -z "$RAPIDAPI_KEY" ]; then
  echo "❌ RAPIDAPI_KEY not set. Please configure your API key."
  exit 1
fi

mkdir -p ./output/downloads ./temp

Step 2: Get Video Info (yt-api)

VIDEO_ID="[VIDEO_ID]"  # Extract from URL

curl -s -X GET \
  "https://yt-api.p.rapidapi.com/dl?id=$VIDEO_ID" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: $RAPIDAPI_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: yt-api.p.rapidapi.com" \
  > ./temp/video_info.json

# Parse response
python3 << 'EOF'
import json
with open('./temp/video_info.json') as f:
    data = json.load(f)
    
print(f"Title: {data.get('title', 'N/A')}")
print(f"Duration: {data.get('lengthSeconds', 0)}s")

# Find best quality format
formats = data.get('formats', [])
for fmt in formats:
    if fmt.get('qualityLabel') == '1080p':
        print(f"Download URL: {fmt.get('url', 'N/A')[:100]}...")
        break
EOF

Step 3: Download Video

# Extract download URL from response
DOWNLOAD_URL=$(python3 -c "
import json
with open('./temp/video_info.json') as f:
    data = json.load(f)
formats = data.get('formats', [])
# Get highest quality with audio
for fmt in sorted(formats, key=lambda x: int(x.get('height', 0) or 0), reverse=True):
    if fmt.get('hasAudio'):
        print(fmt.get('url', ''))
        break
")

if [ -n "$DOWNLOAD_URL" ]; then
  curl -L -o "./output/downloads/${VIDEO_ID}.mp4" "$DOWNLOAD_URL"
  echo "✅ Downloaded successfully"
else
  echo "❌ No download URL found"
fi

Step 4: Audio Only

# Get audio-only format
AUDIO_URL=$(python3 -c "
import json
with open('./temp/video_info.json') as f:
    data = json.load(f)
formats = data.get('adaptiveFormats', [])
for fmt in formats:
    if 'audio' in fmt.get('mimeType', ''):
        print(fmt.get('url', ''))
        break
")

curl -L -o "./output/downloads/${VIDEO_ID}.m4a" "$AUDIO_URL"

# Convert to MP3 if needed
ffmpeg -i "./output/downloads/${VIDEO_ID}.m4a" \
  -acodec libmp3lame -q:a 2 \
  "./output/downloads/${VIDEO_ID}.mp3"

Alternative: YouTube Media Downloader API

VIDEO_URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=$VIDEO_ID"

curl -s -X GET \
  "https://youtube-media-downloader.p.rapidapi.com/v2/video/details?videoId=$VIDEO_ID" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: $RAPIDAPI_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: youtube-media-downloader.p.rapidapi.com" \
  > ./temp/video_details.json

Cost Estimation

Monthly Volume	yt-api Cost	Notes
1,000 videos	~$1	Small projects
10,000 videos	~$10	Medium business
100,000 videos	~$100	Large scale

Error Handling

# Check response status
STATUS=$(python3 -c "
import json
with open('./temp/video_info.json') as f:
    data = json.load(f)
print(data.get('status', 'ok'))
")

case "$STATUS" in
  "ok"|"OK")
    echo "✅ Request successful"
    ;;
  "fail"|"error")
    echo "❌ API error - check video ID or API quota"
    ;;
  *)
    echo "⚠️ Unknown status: $STATUS"
    ;;
esac

Best Practices

1. Cache responses - Don't re-fetch for same video
2. Handle rate limits - Implement exponential backoff
3. Monitor usage - Set up RapidAPI usage alerts
4. Fallback strategy - Use multiple providers
5. Validate URLs - Check video availability first

Security

• Store API key securely (env var or encrypted config)
• Don't log API keys
• Use HTTPS only
• Monitor for unauthorized usage