How to download audio from Youtube in Ubuntu (2023)

Youtube is a very popular and used service, not only by users of systems like Windows or macOS but also by Gnu / Linux users.

The success of YouTube is such that it allows us to use it as a music service via streaming. But Can it be used offline? Can we download audio from Youtube only? The answer is yes and then we show you some of the solutions that we can use in our operating system.

Youtube to MP3

Youtube to MP3 is one of the first applications that were born for various platforms, including Ubuntu and Gnu / Linux. Youtube to MP3 is a lightweight application that can only be installed through an external repository, that is, it is not in the official Ubuntu repositories. Its use is simple and in a few minutes we can get audio in mp3 format with the sound of the video that we have indicated.

Also, the app not only uses the URL of the video but also uses the predefined image that the owner has inserted, in order to see if we have entered the correct video or not.

In order to install this application, we just have to open a terminal and type the following:

sudo add-apt-repository https://www.mediahuman.com/packages/ubuntusudo apt-key adv --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7D19F1F3sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install youtube-to-mp3

After that, Youtube To MP3 will be installed and we can find it in the applications menu on our desktop. The operation is simple since In "Paste URL" we have to insert the address of the video and the formats that we can download will appear, we press the "Play" button and the audio of the video will begin to download.

clip grab

Clipgrab is an application that was created to download the audio and video of the videos uploaded to YouTube. This application is not in the official Ubuntu repositories but we can install it through external repositories. To install it we have to execute the following in the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:clipgrab-team/ppasudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install clipgrab -y

Now, when we run the application, the following window will appear:

In it we have to enter the web address of the video, the one that appears in the address bar in the browser when we view the video and in the tab of Downloads we have to change the format to MP3 so that Clipgrab only downloads the audio from Youtube. The process is simple but Clipgrab also allows us to download free video formats or more popular formats such as MP4.

youtube-dl

youtube-dl is a tool that will allow us to download audio from YouTube as well as videos from the Ubuntu terminal itself. For the audio download it is interesting since from the terminal we can not only download but also play audio, being interesting for users who only want to use the terminal. To install it we have to execute the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install youtube-dl

Maybe if we don't have them installed, we need to install the following libraries: fmpeg, avconv, ffprobe or avprobe.

Now, once we have this program installed, to download audio from Youtube with Youtube-dl we just have to write the following command:

youtube-dl --extract-audio “URLs del video de Youtube”

Behind this, Ubuntu will begin to download the audio of the video that we have indicated. Remember that it is very important to write the video address correctly because an error in an O for a 0 could cause the program not to download the audio we want.

Tube-Ripper

Utube-Ripper is one of the few applications that was born and remains only for Gnu / Linux. The reason for this is because Utube-Ripper is written in Gambas and created for Gnu / Linux. This makes the application in English and only available in rpm and deb format, but its operation is just as simple and simple as the previous applications.

In Utube-Ripper we have to indicate the url of the video, then press "Download" and download the video. If we want to download only the audio, we have to go to the bottom, indicate where the video is and then mark the option “Rip audio only” followed by marking the “Convert” button. Then it will start to convert the downloaded video into audio. The process is not very complicated and any novice user can do it.

web application

Web applications can also work with Youtube videos. The idea is that through a web page we can download the YouTube video and extract the audio from that video. Once everything we want is done, the web application allows us to download the file to our computer. The operation is similar in all and choosing one or the other will depend on our tastes, the type of connection we have or the options we seek. The most popular web applications of all are Flvto and Onlinevideoconverter. In both web applications we can download YouTube videos with the original resolution or with the resolution that YouTube allows, as well as being able to download it in different formats and among them is the audio format, so we can directly download the audio of a video.

In the case of Flvto, the web application has an offline application that we can download but that will not work in Gnu / Linux since at the moment it is only available for Windows / macOS. The same does not happen with online video converter, which offers the same web application but does not have a program to install but if there is an extension for Google Chrome that we can install and use in Gnu / Linux. The extension is not in the official Google repository but the extension does work correctly.

Flash Video Downloader - YouTube HD Download [4K]

Previously we have talked about extensions for web browsers, an effective alternative for many services that depend on a single application and this one is not for Gnu / Linux. Google Chrome does not have an official extension or is supported by the Chrome Web Store. But the same is not the case with Mozilla Firefox. It may be because Chrome is supported by Google and YouTube also belongs to Google. The point is that In Mozilla Firefox we find quite a few extensions that YouTube video download offers us.

Regarding the audio, that is, to download audio from Youtube, we have a complement called Flash Video Downloader - Youtube HD Download [4K]. The positive thing about this extension and for which it is used by many, is that it works with other services that are not YouTube. In other words, Flash Video Downloader - YouTube HD Download [4K] works with Dailymotion, Youtube, Metacafé or Blip.Tv among others.

And which one do I choose?

There are many options to download audio from YouTube, but personally I prefer Youtube to MP3, a great program that shines for its results and simplicity. But it is also true that Youtube-dl is a very popular service that has quite a few followers. I think the two solutions are good, although all the mentioned ones are worth being tried and tested, who knows, we may like some alternative more than any other Do not you think?