Scraper Setup

Lee · February 13, 2026 · 0 views

A simple tool to download videos from YouTube, Rumble, and 1800+ other websites. Downloads the video AND the thumbnail image automatically.

What You Need (One-Time Setup)

Step 1: Install Python

Go to python.org/downloads
Click the big yellow "Download Python" button
Run the installer
IMPORTANT: Check the box that says "Add Python to PATH" before clicking Install

To verify it worked, open a terminal and type:

python --version

You should see something like Python 3.12.x

Step 2: Install FFmpeg

FFmpeg is needed to merge video and audio together and convert thumbnails.

Windows:

Install Visual Studio Code
Open the terminal in VSC - Tools/ Command Line / Terminal

Windows:
winget install ffmpeg

Mac:
brew install ffmpeg

Linux:
sudo apt install ffmpeg

To verify it worked:
ffmpeg -version

Step 3: Install the Scraper

Open a terminal / command prompt
Navigate to the scraper folder:
cd /to scraper folder
Install the required package:
pip install -r requirements.txt

That's it! You're ready to go.

How to Download a Video

The Easy Way (Interactive Menu)

Open a terminal / command prompt
cd into scraper folder
Run the scraper: python scraper.py
You'll see a menu — type 1 and press Enter
Paste the video URL and press Enter
Wait for the download to finish
Your files are in the download folder!

Where Are My Files?

After downloading, check the downloads folder inside the scraper folder:

scraper/downloads/

Video Title_20250115_143022.mp4 ← the video
Video Title_20250115_143022.jpg ← the thumbnail

You get TWO files:

.mp4 — The video file
.jpg — The thumbnail image

How to Upload to the Website

Go to your website
Click "Add New Video"
Upload the .mp4 file as the Video File
Upload the .jpg file as the Screenshot / Thumbnail
Fill in the title and description
Click Upload & Save

Done! Your video is live on the site.

Options

Choose Video Quality:

python scraper.py -q 1080 URL
python scraper.py -q 720 URL
python scraper.py -q 480 URL

Download Audio Only (MP3):

python scraper.py --audio URL

Skip Thumbnail:

python scraper.py --no-thumb URL

Download Multiple Videos:

Create a text file called urls.txt with one URL per line, then run:

python scraper.py --batch urls.txt

Troubleshooting

"yt-dlp is not installed"

Run:

pip install yt-dlp

Video won't download / "Sign in to confirm"

Some videos require you to be logged in. Use your browser's cookies:

python scraper.py -c chrome URL

Replace chrome with your browser: firefox, edge, safari, opera, brave

"HTTP Error 403: Forbidden"

Your yt-dlp is probably outdated. Update it:

pip install --upgrade yt-dlp

Download is slow

This is normal for some sites. Try a lower quality:

python scraper.py -q 720 URL

"This video is not available"
The video might be private, region-locked, or removed. Try with cookies (-c chrome) in case you have access.
Keeping It Updated

YouTube and other sites change frequently. Update the tool regularly:

pip install --upgrade yt-dlp

Do this whenever something stops working — an update usually fixes it.

Tips

Best quality is the default — you don't need to specify anything
Thumbnails download automatically — no extra steps needed
File names include the video title and a timestamp so they never overwrite
The downloads folder keeps everything — delete old files when you don't need them
Batch mode is great for downloading a whole playlist worth of videos

Quick Reference

Interactive menu → python scraper.py
Best quality → python scraper.py URL
1080p → python scraper.py -q 1080 URL
720p → python scraper.py -q 720 URL
Audio only → python scraper.py --audio URL
No thumbnail → python scraper.py --no-thumb URL
With login cookies → python scraper.py -c chrome URL
Batch download → python scraper.py --batch urls.txt
List formats → python scraper.py --formats URL
Update the tool → python scraper.py --update