Bootleg Link

Download music from YouTube channels/playlists and convert to 320kbps MP3. Supports batch processing, resume interrupted downloads, and concurrent downloading.

Security Scan

The SKILL.md describes a straightforward yt-dlp/ffmpeg-based YouTube-to-MP3 downloader, but the package includes an unrelated SSH tunneling script (websocket, DNS tunnel, HTTP proxy) that is disproportionate to the stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

The skill's name, description, and instructions all describe downloading and converting YouTube audio and only require yt-dlp and ffmpeg. However, the bundle includes scripts/bootleg-ssh.sh which implements multiple SSH tunneling methods (websocket bridging, DNS tunnel via iodine, HTTP CONNECT proxy, SSH-over-443). An SSH tunneling utility is not required or explained by the downloader's purpose and is therefore an incoherent and disproportionate inclusion.

Instruction Scope

The SKILL.md instructions themselves are focused on downloading and conversion and only reference yt-dlp, ffmpeg, and optional mutagen. They declare a few BOOTLEG_* environment variables for output and concurrency. The README does not instruct the agent to run the SSH tunneling script, but the script is bundled in the package and expands what a user/agent could run — enabling covert/proxy network channels and requiring additional binaries (websocat, iodine, nc). This increases scope beyond what the documentation states.

Install Mechanism

This is an instruction-only skill (no install spec). That minimizes automatic disk changes at install time. The SKILL.md recommends pip-installing yt-dlp and mutagen, which is proportional for the stated functionality.

Credentials

The skill declares no required credentials and only a few benign configuration env vars (output dir, quality, concurrency, archive file). One minor oddity: the default BOOTLEG_OUTPUT_DIR is /mnt/e/..., which looks like a Windows-mounted drive path and may be inappropriate on many Linux/macOS hosts (could lead to unexpected write locations). No secret or cloud credentials are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill is not forced-always and does not request elevated platform privileges. It does not attempt to modify other skills or system-wide agent configs. The included shell script may suggest commands that need sudo (iodine), but the skill metadata does not request persistence or elevated privileges by itself.

What to consider before installing

The core downloader instructions look coherent and proportional for a yt-dlp + ffmpeg-based tool. However, the included scripts/bootleg-ssh.sh is unrelated to downloading and provides multiple tunneling options (websocket bridge, DNS tunnel, HTTP proxy, SSH-over-443). Before installing or running this skill: 1) Verify the skill's origin — the source/homepage is unknown. 2) Inspect or remove scripts/bootleg-ssh.sh if you don't need it; do not run it unless you understand the networking implications. 3) Avoid running the script with sudo; it references tools (websocat, iodine, nc) that may need separate review. 4) Consider running the skill in a sandbox/VM or container and review where the default output directory points (the default /mnt/e/... may be unintended). 5) Remember downloading YouTube content can violate service terms or copyright law — ensure you have the right to download the media. If you cannot confirm why the SSH tunneling script is included, treat the package as untrusted.

Bootleg-Link Skill

DJ music downloader - Downloads music from YouTube channels/playlists and converts to high-quality MP3.

What It Does

Download music from YouTube channels or playlists, convert to 320kbps MP3 with metadata, and manage batch downloads with resume capability.

Features

• Batch Download: Process multiple channels/playlists from a text file
• Resume Support: Skip already downloaded videos using --download-archive
• High Quality: Convert to 320kbps MP3 with thumbnail embedding
• Smart Deduplication: Automatically skip previously downloaded content
• Concurrent Download: Utilize multiple CPU cores for parallel downloads

Usage

Single Channel/Playlist

bootleg-link "https://www.youtube.com/@VeryHouseMusic"

Batch Mode

bootleg-link --batch /path/to/channels.txt

Resume Interrupted Download

bootleg-link --batch /path/to/output/directory

Custom Output Directory

bootleg-link "https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName" -o /path/to/output

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
BOOTLEG_OUTPUT_DIR	/mnt/e/bootleg-link-downloader/output	Default output directory
BOOTLEG_QUALITY	320	MP3 bitrate (128, 192, 256, 320)
BOOTLEG_CONCURRENCY	8	Number of concurrent downloads
BOOTLEG_ARCHIVE_FILE	download-archive.txt	File to track downloaded videos

Link File Format (.bootleg-link.txt)

https://www.youtube.com/@Channel1
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxx
https://www.youtube.com/@Channel2

Advanced Options

CPU-Based Concurrency

Automatically adjusts based on CPU cores:

CPU Cores	Videos	Fragments per Video
4	2	2
8	4	4
16	8	4
32+	16	8

Use -N for concurrent videos and --concurrent-fragments for per-video parallelism.

Custom Filename Template

--output-template "%(title)s.%(ext)s"

Audio Format Options

--format bestaudio --extractor-args "youtube:player_client=android"

Troubleshooting

JS Challenge Error

If YouTube JS challenge decryption fails, it falls back to format 251 (opus 128kbps) - still good quality.

Network Timeout

Auto-retries on timeout. For persistent issues, increase --socket-timeout.

Rate Limiting

Add --sleep-interval between downloads:

bootleg-link --batch . --sleep-interval 5

Dependencies

• yt-dlp: YouTube downloader
• ffmpeg: Audio conversion
• mutagen (optional): For metadata embedding

Installation

# Install dependencies
pip install yt-dlp mutagen

# Make executable (if provided as script)
chmod +x bootleg-link

Example Output

[download] Downloading channel: VeryHouseMusic
[download] Channel has 9926 videos
[download] Already downloaded: 388 / 9926 (3.9%)
[download] Starting download of remaining 9538 videos...
[download] Output: /mnt/e/bootleg-link-downloader/output/house(VeryHouseMusic Dump)/

Notes

• Uses --download-archive to track downloaded videos
• Automatically creates playlist-named subdirectories
• Embeds thumbnail as album art in MP3 files
• Run again with same output dir to resume seamlessly