Extract Audio from YouTube for Video Editing

What does B-ROLL’s audio extraction do?#

B-ROLL saves audio as MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC or OPUS, optionally in a separate audio folder. Flip the Video / Audio switch to Audio and B-ROLL keeps only the sound of the video: no picture track to unlink and delete in your editor later.

Under the hood, B-ROLL asks yt-dlp for an audio-only file with its -x and --audio-format options, and ffmpeg does any conversion. The yt-dlp README documents both options. Audio works for whole videos, clips cut from a range, playlists and channels, and every download gets a credits file while Save credits is on (the default).

One limit applies to every format: as of September 2026, YouTube serves its sound as lossy Opus or AAC streams. No format you pick can sound better than that stream: the format decides how well your editor handles the file and how much disk it takes, and a lossy re-encode can only lose detail. Audio sits beside video, subtitles and credits among the B-ROLL features for video editors.

Which audio options does B-ROLL offer?#

B-ROLL offers five audio formats (MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC and OPUS) and one Quality menu with five settings (Best, 320 kbps, 256 kbps, 192 kbps and 128 kbps). The table shows what each format is and what the Quality menu does to it.

For a timeline, WAV is the least fuss: your editor reads uncompressed samples instead of decoding them. FLAC holds the same audio in a smaller file for an archive; the FFmpeg codecs documentation lists it as the Free Lossless Audio Codec. M4A and OPUS are the compact copies, and MP3 is for scratch tracks and quick listening. The full trade-off is on MP3 vs WAV vs FLAC for video editing.

Sample rate is a separate question from format. Set your project rate first, then read choosing a sample rate for video editing before you mix YouTube audio with your own recordings.

What do B-ROLL’s audio quality settings change?#

B-ROLL’s audio quality menu (Best, 320, 256, 192, 128 kbps) has no effect on WAV and FLAC. The menu only matters when ffmpeg encodes a lossy file: Best passes yt-dlp’s --audio-quality 0 (best variable quality), and the kbps values pass a fixed bitrate such as 320K.

Whether ffmpeg encodes at all depends on the stream. The yt-dlp audio extraction code copies the stream unchanged when its codec already matches the format you asked for (an Opus stream saved as OPUS, an AAC stream saved as M4A), and in that case skips the quality setting. Any other combination is converted, and MP3 is always an encode.

A 320 kbps MP3 made from YouTube audio is a re-encode, not an upgrade: the extra bits describe a stream that was already compressed. WAV and FLAC avoid a second lossy step but cannot restore what the first one removed; the reasons are in YouTube audio quality explained: Opus, AAC and bitrates.

Disk cost is where the Quality menu really shows. A 320 kbps MP3 takes 2.4 MB per minute (320 kbps x 60 s / 8 bits per byte / 1,000), a 128 kbps MP3 takes 0.96 MB. A 16-bit stereo WAV at 48 kHz runs at 1,536 kbps (48,000 x 16 bits x 2 channels), or 11.5 MB per minute: worth it on a timeline, wasted in a reference library.

B-ROLL measures the real bitrate of the finished file and shows it in kbps on the card.

How do you extract audio from only part of a video?#

B-ROLL saves an audio clip the same way it saves a video clip: switch Advanced options to a part mode, mark the range, and only that range downloads. Clips work with every audio format.

A part is named after the video and its range, for example Interview [02-10 to 02-38].mp3, so a quote is easy to find in a bin. The player sets in and out points to the whole second; typed times in the prompt may use decimals.

The clip name keeps minutes and seconds only: a part starting at 1:05:30 reads [05-30 to ...]. Two parts with the same minutes and seconds in different hours get the same name, and B-ROLL treats the second as already downloaded.

For clips, B-ROLL prefers YouTube’s HLS streams, which fixed downloads that stalled when a range sat deep inside a long video. The stream picked for a clip can differ from a full download of the same video. Previews, key controls and cut modes are covered on the YouTube clip downloader with preview and in and out points.

Can you extract audio from a whole playlist?#

Yes. In Audio mode, a playlist or channel link leads to B-ROLL’s Download from channel dialog, and every video you choose is saved as audio in the format you set.

The dialog offers Choose videos from a list (the latest 60, with thumbnails and duration), Latest 5 videos (the number is editable) and Download every video in the channel. Channel downloads are off by default: set Download channels in Advanced options to Ask or Yes before you paste a channel link.

A single video link that belongs to a playlist asks Just this video or Whole playlist, unless Download playlists in Advanced options is set to Yes or No. For a loose set of episodes, the URL list (.txt) button queues every YouTube link in a text file.

Every option for batches, including subfolder names, is on the YouTube playlist and channel downloader page.

Where do B-ROLL audio files and credits go?#

B-ROLL saves audio to the main SAVE TO folder, %USERPROFILE%\Downloads by default, or to its own folder when Save audio to a different folder is on. Video downloads keep using the main folder.

One exception: downloads started from the Download from channel dialog go into a subfolder named after the channel, inside the main video folder, even in Audio mode. A playlist subfolder takes the channel name of the first video in the list.

With Save credits on, B-ROLL writes <file name>.credits.txt next to each audio file and appends the same block to a credits.txt for the whole folder. The block records title, creator, channel, source URL, upload date and license, and the audio file gets title, uploader, date and URL as embedded metadata.

A clip gets its own credits file, for example Interview [02-10 to 02-38].credits.txt, with the full video URL as the source. Credits are best effort: if the metadata lookup fails, for example behind a sign-in wall, B-ROLL writes no credits file for that download and shows no error.

The License line is whatever yt-dlp reports, and it reads “Standard YouTube License” when nothing is reported, so check the license on the video page. A credits file records where the audio came from; it is not proof that you may use it. Using YouTube clips in your own video explains what does.