[GH-ISSUE #844] Youtube saves the media as mkv and thus cannot be played inside a browser #525

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opened 2026-03-01 14:44:18 +03:00 by kerem · 4 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-01 14:44:18 +03:00

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Originally created by @tio-trom on GitHub (Sep 12, 2021).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/issues/844

https://archive.trom.tf/archive/1631457418.479981/www.youtube.com/watch@v=8iTrm7Wnhas.html

This is an example. I wonder why it saves as mkv since that cannot play in the browser, thus making it difficult to use the link as a reference.

Also, as you can see, it doesn't save the youtube page properly.

Cheers!

Originally created by @tio-trom on GitHub (Sep 12, 2021). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/issues/844 https://archive.trom.tf/archive/1631457418.479981/www.youtube.com/watch@v=8iTrm7Wnhas.html This is an example. I wonder why it saves as mkv since that cannot play in the browser, thus making it difficult to use the link as a reference. Also, as you can see, it doesn't save the youtube page properly. Cheers!

kerem closed this issue

2026-03-01 14:44:19 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-03-01 14:44:19 +03:00

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@pirate commented on GitHub (Sep 16, 2021):

You can change this by tweaking the archivebox config option YOUTUBEDL_ARGS. By default it saves in the highest quality format that's available directly so that it doesn't waste CPU re-encoding video.

@pirate commented on GitHub (Sep 16, 2021): You can change this by tweaking the archivebox config option `YOUTUBEDL_ARGS`. By default it saves in the highest quality format that's available directly so that it doesn't waste CPU re-encoding video.

kerem commented

2026-03-01 14:44:19 +03:00

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@tio-trom commented on GitHub (Sep 18, 2021):

How about the fact that it cannot save the youtube page properly?

@tio-trom commented on GitHub (Sep 18, 2021): How about the fact that it cannot save the youtube page properly?

kerem commented

2026-03-01 14:44:19 +03:00

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@pirate commented on GitHub (Sep 18, 2021):

Seems like you disabled singlefile, which has much better fidelity for youtube: https://archive.trom.tf/archive/1631457418.479981/index.html

@pirate commented on GitHub (Sep 18, 2021): Seems like you disabled singlefile, which has much better fidelity for youtube: https://archive.trom.tf/archive/1631457418.479981/index.html

kerem commented

2026-03-01 14:44:19 +03:00

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@tio-trom commented on GitHub (Oct 19, 2021):

Can you please tell me what to exactly add to the config file?

@tio-trom commented on GitHub (Oct 19, 2021): Can you please tell me what to exactly add to the config file?

kerem referenced this issue

2026-03-01 14:48:51 +03:00

[PR #525] [MERGED] Move ArchiveResult from detail index.json history to database model #1208

kerem referenced this issue

2026-03-01 17:54:22 +03:00