How to Configure YouTube Cookies for Age-Restricted and Member-Only Videos in Agent-Reach

Agent-Reach leverages yt-dlp to download YouTube content, and you can unlock access to age-restricted or channel-membership videos by configuring the youtube-cookies setting to point to your browser's cookie store using the CLI command agent-reach configure youtube-cookies <browser>.

Agent-Reach is an open-source intelligence tool that processes YouTube videos through yt-dlp. When you need to access age-restricted or member-only content, you must configure YouTube cookies so the downloader can authenticate requests using your logged-in browser session.

How Cookie Authentication Works in Agent-Reach

Agent-Reach delegates video downloading to yt-dlp, which supports reading cookies directly from browser SQLite databases. When you configure YouTube cookies for age-restricted videos, Agent-Reach stores the cookie source location in its global configuration and passes it to yt-dlp via the --cookies-from-browser flag.

The configuration flow involves these core components:

• agent_reach/cli.py (lines 1092–1096): Handles the configure sub-command and persists the youtube_cookies_from value
• agent_reach/config.py: Manages the YAML configuration file at ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml
• agent_reach/channels/youtube.py: Validates yt-dlp installation and triggers the download process
• agent_reach/utils/paths.py: Contains render_ytdlp_fix_command() which constructs the yt-dlp command including the cookie flag

Configuring YouTube Cookies via CLI

Setting the Cookie Source

Run the configure command to specify which browser contains your YouTube login session:

agent-reach configure youtube-cookies chrome

Supported values include browser names (chrome, firefox, edge, safari) or absolute paths to browser profile directories:

agent-reach configure youtube-cookies /home/user/.config/google-chrome/Default

Verifying the Configuration

Confirm the setting was written to your configuration file:

agent-reach config show | grep youtube_cookies_from

Expected output:

youtube_cookies_from: chrome

Processing Restricted Videos

Once configured, Agent-Reach automatically includes cookies when processing URLs:

# Fetch an age-restricted video

agent-reach read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RESTRICTED_ID

# Extract transcripts from member-only content

agent-reach read --transcribe https://youtu.be/MEMBER_ONLY_ID

Implementation Details

When you execute agent-reach configure youtube-cookies, the CLI writes the value to the youtube_cookies_from key in ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml. During video processing, the YouTubeChannel class in agent_reach/channels/youtube.py validates that yt-dlp is installed and that a JavaScript runtime is available.

The function render_ytdlp_fix_command() in agent_reach/utils/paths.py constructs the final yt-dlp command, appending --cookies-from-browser <value> when the configuration key exists. This allows yt-dlp to authenticate with YouTube using your existing browser session, bypassing age-verification and membership checks.

Summary

• Agent-Reach uses yt-dlp to download YouTube content, which requires authentication cookies for restricted videos
• Configure the cookie source using agent-reach configure youtube-cookies <browser|path>
• The setting is stored as youtube_cookies_from in ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml via agent_reach/cli.py
• During execution, agent_reach/utils/paths.py appends the --cookies-from-browser flag to yt-dlp commands
• This enables processing of age-restricted and member-only videos without manual cookie extraction

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need cookies for age-restricted videos?

YouTube requires authentication to verify age or membership status before serving restricted content. yt-dlp can read these authentication tokens from your browser's cookie store, allowing Agent-Reach to download videos that would otherwise return HTTP 403 or "content unavailable" errors.

Can I use a custom cookie file instead of a browser profile?

Yes. While the examples show browser names like chrome or firefox, you can provide an absolute path to any directory containing the browser's SQLite cookie database. For example: agent-reach configure youtube-cookies /path/to/custom/cookies.sqlite.

Where is the cookie configuration stored?

The configuration is persisted in the global Agent-Reach configuration file at ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml under the key youtube_cookies_from. This file is managed by agent_reach/config.py and written to by the CLI handler in agent_reach/cli.py at lines 1092–1096.

What happens if yt-dlp cannot read my browser cookies?

If yt-dlp fails to access the specified browser profile—due to permissions, encryption, or the browser being locked—Agent-Reach will return an error indicating the video is unavailable. Ensure your browser is closed or use a copy of the cookie database to avoid file locking issues on Windows or macOS.

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    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
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}