The most basic of basic usage of it is just doing youtube-dl.exe <yourlinkhere>, that will pick the “best” quality for audio and video by default and put it in the same directory where the exe is located.
You can use youtube-dl.exe -F <yourlinkhere> to list all available formats (that are numbered), e.g.:
[tarulia@localhost]~% youtube-dl -F "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lxxjz6-lmM"
[youtube] 4lxxjz6-lmM: Downloading webpage
[info] Available formats for 4lxxjz6-lmM:
format code extension resolution note
249 webm audio only tiny 50k , webm_dash container, opus @ 50k (48000Hz), 1.91MiB
250 webm audio only tiny 61k , webm_dash container, opus @ 61k (48000Hz), 2.31MiB
251 webm audio only tiny 115k , webm_dash container, opus @115k (48000Hz), 4.36MiB
140 m4a audio only tiny 129k , m4a_dash container, mp4a.40.2@129k (44100Hz), 4.88MiB
160 mp4 256x144 144p 69k , mp4_dash container, avc1.4d400c@ 69k, 30fps, video only, 2.62MiB
278 webm 256x144 144p 71k , webm_dash container, vp9@ 71k, 30fps, video only, 2.69MiB
242 webm 426x240 240p 110k , webm_dash container, vp9@ 110k, 30fps, video only, 4.18MiB
133 mp4 426x240 240p 155k , mp4_dash container, avc1.4d4015@ 155k, 30fps, video only, 5.85MiB
243 webm 640x360 360p 192k , webm_dash container, vp9@ 192k, 30fps, video only, 7.25MiB
134 mp4 640x360 360p 290k , mp4_dash container, avc1.4d401e@ 290k, 30fps, video only, 10.92MiB
244 webm 854x480 480p 308k , webm_dash container, vp9@ 308k, 30fps, video only, 11.61MiB
135 mp4 854x480 480p 513k , mp4_dash container, avc1.4d401f@ 513k, 30fps, video only, 19.34MiB
247 webm 1280x720 720p 590k , webm_dash container, vp9@ 590k, 30fps, video only, 22.24MiB
302 webm 1280x720 720p60 846k , webm_dash container, vp9@ 846k, 60fps, video only, 31.86MiB
136 mp4 1280x720 720p 994k , mp4_dash container, avc1.64001f@ 994k, 30fps, video only, 37.44MiB
298 mp4 1280x720 720p60 1381k , mp4_dash container, avc1.640020@1381k, 60fps, video only, 52.01MiB
303 webm 1920x1080 1080p60 1306k , webm_dash container, vp9@1306k, 60fps, video only, 49.19MiB
299 mp4 1920x1080 1080p60 2653k , mp4_dash container, avc1.64002a@2653k, 60fps, video only, 99.91MiB
308 webm 2560x1440 1440p60 4855k , webm_dash container, vp9@4855k, 60fps, video only, 182.84MiB
315 webm 3840x2160 2160p60 10896k , webm_dash container, vp9@10896k, 60fps, video only, 410.31MiB
18 mp4 640x360 360p 374k , avc1.42001E, 30fps, mp4a.40.2 (44100Hz), 14.11MiB
22 mp4 1280x720 720p 1122k , avc1.64001F, 30fps, mp4a.40.2 (44100Hz) (best)
(note I’m on Linux, so no .exe there)
To pick a format from that list you need to use the number in the first column. To get an MP4 audio you would use:
[tarulia@localhost]~% youtube-dl "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lxxjz6-lmM" -f 140
[youtube] 4lxxjz6-lmM: Downloading webpage
[download] Destination: L1 Giveaway! TerraMaster TD2 - Thunderbolt w_RAID-4lxxjz6-lmM.m4a
[download] 100% of 4.88MiB in 00:00
[ffmpeg] Correcting container in "L1 Giveaway! TerraMaster TD2 - Thunderbolt w_RAID-4lxxjz6-lmM.m4a"
Obviously there is a lot more you can use for more flexibility, but that is the basic usage.