Live streams

A live video lists two kinds of format:

• HLS formats (isHLS), with audio and video together.
• DASH formats (isLive and not isHLS), with audio or video only.

const live = await yt.getInfo(liveUrl);

live.videoDetails.isLive; // true
yt.download(live, { filter: (format) => format.isHLS });
yt.download(live, { quality: Quality.HighestAudio, filter: { isLive: true, hasAudio: true, hasVideo: false } });

Both start liveBuffer milliseconds behind the live edge, 20 seconds by default, and end when the broadcast does:

yt.download(live, { filter: (format) => format.isHLS, liveBuffer: 5_000 });

A channel’s live URL works too. Ytdl looks up the stream the channel plays now, so a 24/7 stream that restarts under a new ID needs no change:

const live = await yt.getInfo("https://www.youtube.com/@NASA/live");

It also takes /channel/<id>/live, /c/<name>/live and /user/<name>/live. A channel that isn’t live, or doesn’t exist, fails with NOT_FOUND.

Live formats have no fixed size, so range is ignored. Stop a live download with signal.

A premiere or scheduled stream that hasn’t started fails with NOT_STARTED, and error.startTime says when it begins.