Batch file to play a YouTube Video or YouTube Playlist

A batch file is a type of script that can be used to automate repetitive tasks on Windows. By creating a batch file to open a YouTube video, you can save time and effort by not having to manually type the URL and open your web browser every time you want to watch a specific video.

Batch file to play a YouTube Video

Here’s an example of a batch file that opens a YouTube video in your default web browser: (Batch file to play a YouTube Video)

@echo off
start "" "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

In the example code, the first line @echo off is used to turn off the display of commands in the Command Prompt window. This line is optional, but it makes the batch file run more smoothly as it won’t display each command being executed.

The second line start “” “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID” is used to open the URL of the YouTube video in the default web browser. The “start”” “” ” syntax is used to specify the target (URL of the video), start the default browser and run it. The double quotation marks are used to specify the title of the Command Prompt window, but in this case, it is left blank, hence the two double quotation marks.

Replace “VIDEO_ID” with the 11-character ID of the video that you want to open. For example, if the video URL is “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPM2aV22ZDU“, the ID of the video is “fPM2aV22ZDU“.

Save the file with a “.bat” extension, such as “open_video.bat“. Double-click the file to run it, and the specified YouTube video should open in your default web browser.

Here’s an example of a batch file that opens a YouTube playlist in your default web browser:

@echo off
start "" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID"

Replace “PLAYLIST_ID” with the ID of the YouTube playlist that you want to open. The “start”” “” ” syntax is used to open the URL in your default web browser.

Save the file with a “.bat” extension and double-click it to run it. The specified YouTube playlist should open in your default web browser.

Note: As with all batch files, it is important to be cautious when downloading and running batch files from unknown sources. Make sure to only run batch files from sources that you trust, as malicious batch files can potentially cause harm to your computer.

Update – Batch file that creates a playlist by taking multiple YouTube video links as input

Certainly! Here’s an example of a batch file that creates a playlist by taking multiple YouTube video links as input:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

REM Set the path to your web browser executable
set "browser=C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe"

REM Initialize the playlist file
echo [playlist] > playlist.m3u

REM Loop through the command line arguments
for %%A in (%*) do (
    REM Append the video link to the playlist file
    echo %%A >> playlist.m3u
    
    REM Open each video link in the web browser
    start "" "%browser%" "%%A"
)

REM Open the playlist file with the default media player
start "" playlist.m3u

endlocal

To use this batch file, follow these steps:

Open a text editor such as Notepad.
Copy and paste the above code into the text editor.
Save the file with a .bat extension (e.g., create_playlist.bat).
Double-click the batch file to execute it.

The batch file will create a playlist file named playlist.m3u in the same directory where the batch file is located. It will open each YouTube video link in the web browser and also open the playlist file with the default media player.

To add multiple YouTube video links to the playlist, you can pass them as command line arguments when executing the batch file. For example:

create_playlist.bat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO3

Replace VIDEO1, VIDEO2, and VIDEO3 with the actual YouTube video IDs or URLs you want to add to the playlist.

Note that the batch file above assumes that you have a web browser installed at the specified path (C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe). You may need to adjust the browser variable in the script if your browser is installed at a different location.

Additionally, please note that YouTube’s website and video playback methods are subject to change over time. Therefore, the script provided might need to be adapted accordingly to accommodate any changes.

Batch file to play a YouTube Video or YouTube Playlist