fix download modes

README.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Local-first YouTube playlist synchronization client.
 
 - Python 3.10+
 - `yt-dlp` (pip)
-- `ffmpeg` (for audio extraction)
+- `ffmpeg` (only needed for audio extraction / "both" mode)
 
 Install:
 
@@ -45,6 +45,11 @@ Create/edit `config/yt-playlist-config.json`:
 }
 ```
 
+`download_mode`:
+- `video`: download playlist videos as muxed `.mp4` (no ffmpeg processing)
+- `audio`: download muxed `.mp4`, extract `.mp3`, delete the `.mp4`
+- `both`: download muxed `.mp4`, extract `.mp3`, keep both files
+
 ## Run
 
 - Compute-only:

src/app/cli.py

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
         if msg not in seen_errors:
             seen_errors.add(msg)
             # Friendly hint for missing ffmpeg
-            if "ffprobe and ffmpeg not found" in msg.lower():
+            if "ffmpeg not found" in msg.lower():
                 print("ERROR: ffmpeg not found. Install ffmpeg or set 'ffmpeg_path' in config.")
             else:
                 print(f"ERROR: {msg}")

src/app/core/download/downloader.py

@@ -52,38 +52,19 @@ class Downloader:
                     pass
 
             outtmpl = str(job.output_path)
-            if job.mode == "audio":
-                ydl_opts = {
-                    "format": "bestaudio/best",
-                    "outtmpl": outtmpl,
-                    "postprocessors": [
-                        {
-                            "key": "FFmpegExtractAudio",
-                            "preferredcodec": "mp3",
-                            "preferredquality": "0",
-                        }
-                    ],
-                    "noplaylist": True,
-                    "quiet": True,
-                    "no_warnings": True,
-                    "logger": _QuietLogger(),
-                }
-            else:  # video
-                ydl_opts = {
-                    "format": "bestvideo+bestaudio/best",
-                    "merge_output_format": "mp4",
-                    "outtmpl": outtmpl,
-                    "noplaylist": True,
-                    "quiet": True,
-                    "no_warnings": True,
-                    "logger": _QuietLogger(),
-                }
 
-            # Prefer job-provided path first
+            # All modes download a single muxed mp4 when possible.
-            if job.ffmpeg_path:
+            # This avoids any ffmpeg-driven merging during the download step, satisfying:
-                ydl_opts["ffmpeg_location"] = job.ffmpeg_path
+            #   - video: "original file, no processing"
-            elif self.ffmpeg_path:
+            #   - audio/both: extraction is done separately after download
-                ydl_opts["ffmpeg_location"] = self.ffmpeg_path
+            ydl_opts = {
+                "format": "best[ext=mp4][acodec!=none][vcodec!=none]/best[ext=mp4]",
+                "outtmpl": outtmpl,
+                "noplaylist": True,
+                "quiet": True,
+                "no_warnings": True,
+                "logger": _QuietLogger(),
+            }
 
             with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
                 ydl.download([job.url])

src/app/core/sync/executor.py

@@ -55,9 +55,11 @@ class ActionExecutor:
         # yt-dlp is required for any download job (Python API usage)
         ensure_yt_dlp_available()
 
-        # ffmpeg/ffprobe are required for merges and audio extraction; check once up-front
+        # ffmpeg is only required when we will extract audio (audio/both modes)
-        ffmpeg_hint = playlist_cfg.get("ffmpeg_path", "ffmpeg")
+        needs_audio = any((a.to_name or "").lower().endswith(".mp3") for a in actions if a.type == SyncActionType.DOWNLOAD)
-        ensure_ffmpeg_available(str(ffmpeg_hint) if ffmpeg_hint is not None else None)
+        if needs_audio:
+            ffmpeg_hint = playlist_cfg.get("ffmpeg_path", "ffmpeg")
+            ensure_ffmpeg_available(str(ffmpeg_hint) if ffmpeg_hint is not None else None)
 
     async def _apply_renames(self, actions: Iterable[SyncAction], audio_root: Path, video_root: Path, playlist_cfg: dict) -> None:
         playlist_id = extract_playlist_id(playlist_cfg.get("url", "")) or playlist_cfg.get("url", "")

src/app/core/utils/deps.py

@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ def _resolve_tool_paths(tool_hint: Optional[str], exe_name: str) -> Tuple[Option
     - Otherwise, treat tool_hint as a command and fall back to PATH resolution.
     """
     if tool_hint:
-        hint = Path(tool_hint)
+        hint_str = str(tool_hint).strip().strip('"').strip("'")
+        hint = Path(hint_str)
         # Expand envvars (%FFMPEG%) etc.
         expanded = Path(os.path.expandvars(str(hint)))
         if expanded.is_dir():
@@ -71,31 +72,22 @@ def _resolve_tool_paths(tool_hint: Optional[str], exe_name: str) -> Tuple[Option
 
 def ensure_ffmpeg_available(ffmpeg_hint: Optional[str]) -> Tuple[str, str]:
     """
-    Ensures both ffmpeg and ffprobe are runnable. Returns (ffmpeg_path, ffprobe_path).
+    Ensures ffmpeg is runnable. Returns (ffmpeg_path, ffmpeg_path).
+
+    Note: ffprobe is intentionally not required. This project uses ffmpeg directly for
+    audio extraction, and yt-dlp can still function for muxed downloads without ffprobe.
     """
     ffmpeg_exe = "ffmpeg.exe" if sys.platform.startswith("win") else "ffmpeg"
-    ffprobe_exe = "ffprobe.exe" if sys.platform.startswith("win") else "ffprobe"
 
     ffmpeg_path, ffmpeg_dir = _resolve_tool_paths(ffmpeg_hint, ffmpeg_exe)
     if not ffmpeg_path:
         raise DependencyError("ffmpeg not found. Install ffmpeg or set 'ffmpeg_path' in config.")
 
-    # For ffprobe prefer the same directory if we have one
-    ffprobe_path = None
-    if ffmpeg_dir:
-        cand = Path(ffmpeg_dir) / ffprobe_exe
-        if cand.exists():
-            ffprobe_path = str(cand)
-    if not ffprobe_path:
-        ffprobe_path, _ = _resolve_tool_paths(None, ffprobe_exe)
-    if not ffprobe_path:
-        raise DependencyError("ffprobe not found (usually ships with ffmpeg). Install ffmpeg or fix 'ffmpeg_path'.")
-
     # Smoke test (fast)
     try:
         subprocess.run([ffmpeg_path, "-version"], check=True, stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
-        subprocess.run([ffprobe_path, "-version"], check=True, stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
     except Exception as exc:
-        raise DependencyError("ffmpeg/ffprobe exist but are not runnable. Check permissions/architecture/path.") from exc
+        raise DependencyError("ffmpeg exists but is not runnable. Check permissions/architecture/path.") from exc
 
-    return ffmpeg_path, ffprobe_path
+    # Keep return shape stable for existing callers
+    return ffmpeg_path, ffmpeg_path