Overview
The Universal Media Downloader is a desktop application built in Python using
Tkinter for the GUI. It allows users to download audio and video from multiple
platforms including YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and more.
This project demonstrates integrating open-source tools (yt-dlp, spotdl,
and ffmpeg) into a cohesive, user-friendly interface.
Key Features
- Cross-platform media support: Works with YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and others.
- Audio & Video modes: Choose between MP3, WAV, MP4, MKV, and more.
- Queue system: Add multiple downloads and process them in order.
- Site tracking: Automatically marks sites as supported or unsupported in
sites.json. - Spotify integration: Uses SpotDL to fetch playlists and tracks via the Spotify API.
- Threaded downloads: Keeps the UI responsive while processing media.
- Fallback logic: For audio-only sites in video mode, generates a black-screen video with the audio overlay.
Audio Mode
In Audio Mode, the downloader extracts soundtracks from supported platforms using
yt-dlp and ffmpeg. Users can select formats such as MP3 or WAV, with
customizable quality levels (e.g., 128 kbps or 320 kbps). Metadata such as title, album, and
artist is embedded automatically when available. For Spotify sources, spotdl ensures
accurate tags and cover art are fetched before saving the final file.
Video Mode
In Video Mode, the application downloads full videos in formats such as MP4 or MKV.
yt-dlp manages the parsing and merging of video + audio streams, while
ffmpeg handles post-processing. If a requested site provides only audio streams,
the program generates a simple video with a black background and overlays the audio track,
ensuring the output is still usable across video players. Resolution is selectable when multiple
streams are available (e.g., 480p, 720p, 1080p).
Technical Details
The app is structured around a Tkinter interface with tabs for queue management and logs.
Downloads run on background threads to avoid blocking the GUI.
yt-dlp handles parsing and downloading video/audio, while spotdl provides
rich Spotify playlist and metadata integration. ffmpeg is invoked for audio extraction
and video processing. The program also maintains a JSON file to track which domains are valid/invalid
based on prior attempts, making it self-learning over time.
Challenges & Solutions
- Thread safety: Tkinter updates are scheduled with
.after()to prevent crashes. - Cross-platform support: Adjusted ffmpeg paths depending on Windows vs Linux/Mac.
- Spotify auth: Requires initial user login with SpotDL, then token reuse.