Quick Reference
Essential commands, aliases, and decision flowcharts for quick lookup.
Command Cheat Sheets
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -F | List available formats |
| -f <ID> | Download specific format ID (e.g., -f 22) |
| -f 'bv*+ba/b' | Best video + best audio, merge |
| -x --audio-format mp3 | Extract audio only, convert to MP3 |
| --playlist-start N | Start at Nth video in playlist |
| --download-archive FILE | Record downloaded IDs to avoid re-downloads |
| --cookies-from-browser B | Use cookies from firefox, chrome, etc. |
Useful Bash Aliases
Add these to your /home/user/.bashrc or /home/user/.zshrc.
Bash aliases
# Quick download of best quality video+audio
alias yta='yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba/b"'
# Quick download of audio only, converted to mp3
alias ytmp3='yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3'
# Anonymize curl downloads through Tor
alias tcurl='curl --socks5-hostname localhost:9050'
# Anonymize wget through Tor
alias twget='torsocks wget'
# List all Btrfs subvolumes
alias btrfs-ls='sudo btrfs subvolume list'
# Check Btrfs filesystem usage
alias btrfs-usage='sudo btrfs filesystem usage -h'Tool Selection Flowchart
IF Want to download video/audio?
ANDCLI/scripting needed→yt-dlp
ANDAuto-archive channels→Tartube
ANDQuick one-off download→Parabolic
IF Want to download images?
ANDSocial media/art sites→gallery-dl
ANDImageboards (boorus)→imgbrd-grabber
ANDQuick album rip→RipMe
IF Want to archive a website?
ANDSimple, static site→Wget or HTTrack
ANDComplex, JS-heavy site→ArchiveWeb.page / Browsertrix
ANDPermanent multi-format archive→ArchiveBox
ANDSave one article portably→SingleFile
IF Want to organize knowledge?
ANDNetworked thought, polished UI→Obsidian
ANDOpen source, outliner→Logseq
ANDEncrypted multi-device sync→Joplin
IF Need to find a file?
ANDKnow the filename→FSearch
ANDSearch text content→Recoll