.DESCRIPTION File Extension

Youtube-dl Video Description

Developer Youtube-dl Developers
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What is a DESCRIPTION file?

A DESCRIPTION file contains the official description of a YouTube video. Youtube-dl creates DESCRIPTION files when a user downloads a video from YouTube.com. DESCRIPTION files are plain text files that can be opened in any text editor.

More Information

Screenshot of a .description file in Apple TextEdit
DESCRIPTION file open in Apple TextEdit

Youtube-dl is a command-line program that can be used to download videos from YouTube.com. When a user uses youtube-dl to download a video, the program creates an .MP4 or .MKV file that contains the video, and it creates several other related files. One of the created files is a DESCRIPTION file.

The DESCRIPTION file contains the video's official YouTube description at the time of download. Users often keep DESCRIPTION files on hand so they can remember what content a downloaded video contained. If a user uploads the video to a file hosting website, they may also upload the DESCRIPTION file to provide context for the video. For example, youtube-dl users who upload videos to the Internet Archive usually upload DESCRIPTION files alongside videos.

NOTE:Tubeup.py, which uses youtube-dl to download YouTube videos and automatically upload them to the Internet Archive, also creates DESCRIPTION files.

How to open a DESCRIPTION file

You can open a DESCRIPTION file with any text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad (Windows) or Apple TextEdit (Mac). The YouTube video description your DESCRIPTION file contains will then appear in the text editor.

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Programs that open DESCRIPTION files

Windows
Included with OS
Mac
Included with OS
Linux
Free
Chrome OS
Included with OS

Verified by FileInfo.com

The FileInfo.com team has independently researched the Youtube-dl Video Description file format and Mac, Windows, and Linux apps listed on this page. Our goal is 100% accuracy and we only publish information about file types that we have verified.

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