Should I use --cookies or --cookies-from-browser?

--cookies-from-browser reads the profile on that machine. --cookies reads a file. Use the file when the downloader runs on another host, in CI, or when you do not want yt-dlp opening the browser profile.

Why does yt-dlp say the Netscape file is invalid?

Tabs replaced by spaces, 13-digit expiry, or HttpOnly lines dropped as comments. Paste the file here, export Netscape again, and retry. Exact errors are documented under Skipped invalid Netscape line.

Can this website log into a video site for me?

No. Export cookies from a browser where you are already logged in. The converter only changes formats.

yt-dlp cookies.txt from Chrome Export

Build a yt-dlp cookies.txt from a Chrome export

yt-dlp reads a Netscape cookies.txt via --cookies; convert a Chrome JSON export (CookieMan, Cookie-Editor, EditThisCookie) into that file here. This page is not yt-dlp, and it will not pull cookies out of Chrome by itself.

--cookies-from-browser is a different path that talks to the browser profile directly. Use this converter when you already have an export and want a file you can pass in CI or on a machine without the profile.

yt-dlp cookies.txtyt-dlp --cookiesyt-dlp cookies from Chromeyoutube-dl cookies.txt

1
Export cookies from Chrome
Open the site in Chrome, export JSON from CookieMan (current site). Alternatively paste an existing Netscape dump — it will be normalised (tabs, header, seconds).
2
Convert to Netscape here
Paste the export. Output is cookies.txt. Check that HttpOnly session cookies appear with #HttpOnly_ and that expiry is 10 digits, not 13.
3
Pass the file to yt-dlp
Save as cookies.txt and run yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt URL. Keep the file out of git. When finished, delete it and rotate the site session if it was privileged.

Paste Chrome JSON or cookies.txt

Output format

Output

Cookies are credentials. Conversion stays in this page — delete the file when you are done.

yt-dlp cookie flags that matter

Flag	When to use it	What this converter does
`--cookies FILE`	You already have a Netscape file	Writes that file from JSON or repairs a broken dump
`--cookies-from-browser chrome`	yt-dlp can see your local profile	Nothing — that bypasses the file
`--no-cookies-from-browser`	CI, or you must use the file	Use the file this page produced

            yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt "https://www.example.com/watch?v=..."

# youtube-dl uses the same Netscape reader:
# youtube-dl --cookies cookies.txt URL

A cookies.txt for a logged-in video site is a credential. Do not paste it into an issue tracker. yt-dlp’s parser is strict about tabs and Unix seconds — millisecond expiry is a common failure, fixed here: millisecond expiry.

What yt-dlp will not read

JSON arrays — it wants Netscape, not CookieMan JSON.
Space-separated columns — tabs only, unless you repair the file here first.
A leading UTF-8 BOM on some builds — the converter strips BOM on paste.
CHIPS partitionKey — not in the format; partitioned cookies will not appear in a Netscape dump.

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