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DESCRIPTION File - What is it and how do I open it?
Learn about .DESCRIPTION files and view a list of programs that open them.
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Overview
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 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.
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.DESCRIPTION File Extension
Youtube-dl Video Description
| Developer | Youtube-dl Developers |
| Popularity |
3.0 | 7 Votes |
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
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
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Windows
Microsoft Notepad
Included with OS
Any text editor
Mac
Apple TextEdit
Included with OS
Any text editor
Linux
Vim
Free
Any text editor
Chrome OS
Google Chrome Text
Included with OS
Category: Text Files
Updated: August 19, 2021