Asset Acquisition

Cookies management

Select Browser Cookies in the upper-right corner of the download page to open the management sidebar. It is divided into three sections: search box, browsers that support local sync, and custom collections.

• Search box: opens the detailed list of supported browsers so you can sync Cookies, search entries, and review the data already pulled in
• Supported browsers: lists browsers that yt-dlp can currently read on this machine. After you click Sync, yt-dlp will request permission to access the Cookies store. Safari on macOS and Windows browsers protected by DPAPI currently fail to sync (waiting on an upstream fix)
• Custom sets: use this when automatic sync is unavailable or you prefer manual management. Netscape, JSON, and Header String formats are supported. Export Cookies with a tool such as Get cookies.txt, then paste them into Custom sets -> New sets. When creating a download task, DreamCreator inspects available Cookies so you can pick the right one

Download videos

Click New Task in the upper-right corner of the download page, paste a link, and hit Parse to start the workflow.

• Cookies check: DreamCreator validates whether the URL has usable Cookies. Refer to “Cookies management” if nothing is configured yet. You can switch to a different collection anytime via the Selected Cookies button in the dialog header
• Download mode: choose between Custom and Quick modes. You can always toggle modes with the header switch if you change your mind
• Custom download: yt-dlp queries the video platform and returns the available video/audio formats, sizes, and subtitles. Pick the resources you need. By default the first video track is selected, and downloading cannot continue if no video is chosen or returned
• Quick download: lets yt-dlp fetch the best video/audio tracks and subtitles in one pass. If the source exposes no downloadable media, the task will fail
• Transcode: both modes trigger yt-dlp’s ffmpeg-based transcode flow. We ship mp4 / webm / mp3 / m4a presets (audio-only tasks support mp3 and m4a). Because ffmpeg runs inside yt-dlp, no progress bar is available and GPU acceleration is not supported, so the UI may pause briefly at 100% while transcoding finishes

Download interface

The download list uses a card layout that surfaces the thumbnail, title, media details, creator information, and quick actions such as Open folder or Delete task. Click a card to open task details.

• Title & thumbnail: successful downloads display a play button on the thumbnail, which launches the system’s default player
• Download process: the Video / Merge / Finalize stages show current progress alongside speed and remaining time
• Subtitle process: when subtitle downloads are requested and available, progress appears here. Subtitles are fetched with a separate yt-dlp call after the video completes. If multiple languages were downloaded, select Edit to choose which one to open in the subtitle editor
• Task info: highlights metadata about the video
• Download info: summarizes task status and history
• Output info: lists every file generated by the task

Known limitations

Because downloads rely on yt-dlp there are a few constraints:

• Pause/resume is not available
• Transcode progress cannot be displayed
• GPU acceleration is not supported

Native transcode pipelines are on the roadmap to improve these areas.