Open Video Downloader requires the yt-dlp.exe (or youtube-dl ) and ffmpeg.exe binaries to function.
The execa top error often occurs when the GUI tries to merge video and audio streams (which requires ffmpeg ), but ffmpeg is missing or inaccessible.
sudo wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -O /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp open video downloader error unhandled error execa top
Based on user reports and developer discussions, the error most often arises from one of the following issues:
Source: Stack Overflow - Open Video Downloader error Open Video Downloader requires the yt-dlp
Article last updated: 2026-05-06. Based on community-sourced troubleshooting for Open Video Downloader v0.4.x and higher.
# Navigate to the app's directory npm install npm rebuild If the Execa error occurs specifically when downloading
If the downloader cannot find or use FFmpeg for merging audio and video, it may trigger an execa error.
Modern operating systems (Windows 10/11, macOS) strictly regulate file system access.
If the Execa error occurs specifically when downloading 1080p, 2K, or 4K videos, it is because the app is failing to merge the separate high-definition video and audio tracks. Installing FFmpeg directly onto your operating system bypasses the app's internal failures.