diff --git a/api/package.json b/api/package.json
index 0498fe23..886df9fb 100644
--- a/api/package.json
+++ b/api/package.json
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@
         "set-cookie-parser": "2.6.0",
         "undici": "^5.19.1",
         "url-pattern": "1.0.3",
-        "youtubei.js": "^11.0.1",
+        "youtube-dl-exec": "^3.0.12",
+        "youtubei.js": "^12.0.0",
         "zod": "^3.23.8"
     },
     "optionalDependencies": {
diff --git a/api/src/processing/match-action.js b/api/src/processing/match-action.js
index 8d2c1e38..cef2481c 100644
--- a/api/src/processing/match-action.js
+++ b/api/src/processing/match-action.js
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ export default function({ r, host, audioFormat, isAudioOnly, isAudioMuted, disab
                 type: Array.isArray(r.urls) ? "merge" : "remux",
                 isHLS: true,
             }
+            responseType = "redirect";
             break;
 
         case "muteVideo":
diff --git a/api/src/processing/match.js b/api/src/processing/match.js
index 57f04b36..954e4409 100644
--- a/api/src/processing/match.js
+++ b/api/src/processing/match.js
@@ -295,7 +295,8 @@ export default async function({ host, patternMatch, params }) {
             audioBitrate: params.audioBitrate,
             alwaysProxy: params.alwaysProxy,
         })
-    } catch {
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.error(e);
         return createResponse("error", {
             code: "error.api.fetch.critical",
             context: {
diff --git a/api/src/processing/request.js b/api/src/processing/request.js
index d512bfe5..4fd7750f 100644
--- a/api/src/processing/request.js
+++ b/api/src/processing/request.js
@@ -71,7 +71,8 @@ export function createResponse(responseType, responseData) {
                 ...response
             }
         }
-    } catch {
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.error(e);
         return internalError()
     }
 }
diff --git a/api/src/processing/services/youtube.js b/api/src/processing/services/youtube.js
index 3af6ba94..a045e42d 100644
--- a/api/src/processing/services/youtube.js
+++ b/api/src/processing/services/youtube.js
@@ -1,487 +1,72 @@
-import HLS from "hls-parser";
-
-import { fetch } from "undici";
-import { Innertube, Session } from "youtubei.js";
-
-import { env } from "../../config.js";
-import { getCookie, updateCookieValues } from "../cookie/manager.js";
-
-const PLAYER_REFRESH_PERIOD = 1000 * 60 * 15; // ms
-
-let innertube, lastRefreshedAt;
-
-const codecList = {
-    h264: {
-        videoCodec: "avc1",
-        audioCodec: "mp4a",
-        container: "mp4"
-    },
-    av1: {
-        videoCodec: "av01",
-        audioCodec: "opus",
-        container: "webm"
-    },
-    vp9: {
-        videoCodec: "vp9",
-        audioCodec: "opus",
-        container: "webm"
-    }
-}
-
-const hlsCodecList = {
-    h264: {
-        videoCodec: "avc1",
-        audioCodec: "mp4a",
-        container: "mp4"
-    },
-    vp9: {
-        videoCodec: "vp09",
-        audioCodec: "mp4a",
-        container: "webm"
-    }
-}
-
-const videoQualities = [144, 240, 360, 480, 720, 1080, 1440, 2160, 4320];
-
-const transformSessionData = (cookie) => {
-    if (!cookie)
-        return;
-
-    const values = { ...cookie.values() };
-    const REQUIRED_VALUES = [ 'access_token', 'refresh_token' ];
-
-    if (REQUIRED_VALUES.some(x => typeof values[x] !== 'string')) {
-        return;
-    }
-
-    if (values.expires) {
-        values.expiry_date = values.expires;
-        delete values.expires;
-    } else if (!values.expiry_date) {
-        return;
-    }
-
-    return values;
-}
-
-const cloneInnertube = async (customFetch) => {
-    const shouldRefreshPlayer = lastRefreshedAt + PLAYER_REFRESH_PERIOD < new Date();
-    if (!innertube || shouldRefreshPlayer) {
-        innertube = await Innertube.create({
-            fetch: customFetch
-        });
-        lastRefreshedAt = +new Date();
-    }
-
-    const session = new Session(
-        innertube.session.context,
-        innertube.session.key,
-        innertube.session.api_version,
-        innertube.session.account_index,
-        innertube.session.player,
-        undefined,
-        customFetch ?? innertube.session.http.fetch,
-        innertube.session.cache
-    );
-
-    const cookie = getCookie('youtube_oauth');
-    const oauthData = transformSessionData(cookie);
-
-    if (!session.logged_in && oauthData) {
-        await session.oauth.init(oauthData);
-        session.logged_in = true;
-    }
-
-    if (session.logged_in) {
-        if (session.oauth.shouldRefreshToken()) {
-            await session.oauth.refreshAccessToken();
-        }
-
-        const cookieValues = cookie.values();
-        const oldExpiry = new Date(cookieValues.expiry_date);
-        const newExpiry = new Date(session.oauth.oauth2_tokens.expiry_date);
-
-        if (oldExpiry.getTime() !== newExpiry.getTime()) {
-            updateCookieValues(cookie, {
-                ...session.oauth.client_id,
-                ...session.oauth.oauth2_tokens,
-                expiry_date: newExpiry.toISOString()
-            });
-        }
-    }
-
-    const yt = new Innertube(session);
-    return yt;
-}
+import youtubedl from 'youtube-dl-exec';
+import { env } from '../../config.js';
 
 export default async function(o) {
-    let yt;
     try {
-        yt = await cloneInnertube(
-            (input, init) => fetch(input, {
-                ...init,
-                dispatcher: o.dispatcher
-            })
-        );
-    } catch (e) {
-        if (e.message?.endsWith("decipher algorithm")) {
-            return { error: "youtube.decipher" }
-        } else if (e.message?.includes("refresh access token")) {
-            return { error: "youtube.token_expired" }
-        } else throw e;
-    }
+        const output = await youtubedl(`https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=${o.id}`, {
+            dumpSingleJson: true,
+            noCheckCertificates: true,
+            noWarnings: true,
+            addHeader: [
+                'referer:youtube.com',
+                'user-agent:googlebot'
+            ]
+        });
 
-    let useHLS = o.youtubeHLS;
+        const { is_live, duration, formats, title } = output;
 
-    // HLS playlists don't contain the av1 video format, at least with the iOS client
-    if (useHLS && o.format === "av1") {
-        useHLS = false;
-    }
-
-    let info;
-    try {
-        info = await yt.getBasicInfo(o.id, useHLS ? 'IOS' : 'ANDROID');
-    } catch (e) {
-        if (e?.info) {
-            const errorInfo = JSON.parse(e?.info);
-
-            if (errorInfo?.reason === "This video is private") {
-                return { error: "content.video.private" };
-            }
-            if (["INVALID_ARGUMENT", "UNAUTHENTICATED"].includes(errorInfo?.error?.status)) {
-                return { error: "youtube.api_error" };
-            }
+        if (is_live) {
+            return { error: "content.video.live" };
         }
 
-        if (e?.message === "This video is unavailable") {
+        if (duration > env.durationLimit) {
+            return { error: "content.too_long" };
+        }
+
+        const videoFormats = formats.filter(format => 
+            format.vcodec !== 'none' && 
+            format.acodec !== 'none'
+        );
+
+        if (videoFormats.length === 0) {
+            return { error: "youtube.no_matching_format" };
+        }
+
+        const qualityDict = videoFormats.reduce((acc, format) => {
+            const qualityLabel = format.height ? `${format.height}p` : "unknown";
+            acc[qualityLabel] = {
+                url: format.url,
+                extension: format.ext,
+                resolution: format.height ? `${format.height}p` : "unknown",
+                youtubeFormat: format.ext
+            };
+            return acc;
+        }, {});
+
+        return {
+            type: "merge",
+            urls: qualityDict,
+            filenameAttributes: {
+                title,
+            },
+            fileMetadata: {},
+            isHLS: true,
+        };
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.error(e);
+
+        if (e.message.includes("This video is unavailable")) {
             return { error: "content.video.unavailable" };
         }
 
+        if (e.message.includes("Private video")) {
+            return { error: "content.video.private" };
+        }
+
+        if (e.message.includes("age verification")) {
+            return { error: "content.video.age" };
+        }
+
         return { error: "fetch.fail" };
     }
-
-    if (!info) return { error: "fetch.fail" };
-
-    const playability = info.playability_status;
-    const basicInfo = info.basic_info;
-
-    switch(playability.status) {
-        case "LOGIN_REQUIRED":
-            if (playability.reason.endsWith("bot")) {
-                return { error: "youtube.login" }
-            }
-            if (playability.reason.endsWith("age")) {
-                return { error: "content.video.age" }
-            }
-            if (playability?.error_screen?.reason?.text === "Private video") {
-                return { error: "content.video.private" }
-            }
-            break;
-
-        case "UNPLAYABLE":
-            if (playability?.reason?.endsWith("request limit.")) {
-                return { error: "fetch.rate" }
-            }
-            if (playability?.error_screen?.subreason?.text?.endsWith("in your country")) {
-                return { error: "content.video.region" }
-            }
-            if (playability?.error_screen?.reason?.text === "Private video") {
-                return { error: "content.video.private" }
-            }
-            break;
-
-        case "AGE_VERIFICATION_REQUIRED":
-            return { error: "content.video.age" };
-    }
-
-    if (playability.status !== "OK") {
-        return { error: "content.video.unavailable" };
-    }
-
-    if (basicInfo.is_live) {
-        return { error: "content.video.live" };
-    }
-
-    if (basicInfo.duration > env.durationLimit) {
-        return { error: "content.too_long" };
-    }
-
-    // return a critical error if returned video is "Video Not Available"
-    // or a similar stub by youtube
-    if (basicInfo.id !== o.id) {
-        return {
-            error: "fetch.fail",
-            critical: true
-        }
-    }
-
-    const quality = o.quality === "max" ? 9000 : Number(o.quality);
-
-    const normalizeQuality = res => {
-        const shortestSide = res.height > res.width ? res.width : res.height;
-        return videoQualities.find(qual => qual >= shortestSide);
-    }
-
-    let video, audio, dubbedLanguage,
-        codec = o.format || "h264";
-
-    if (useHLS) {
-        const hlsManifest = info.streaming_data.hls_manifest_url;
-
-        if (!hlsManifest) {
-            return { error: "youtube.no_hls_streams" };
-        }
-
-        const fetchedHlsManifest = await fetch(hlsManifest, {
-            dispatcher: o.dispatcher,
-        }).then(r => {
-            if (r.status === 200) {
-                return r.text();
-            } else {
-                throw new Error("couldn't fetch the HLS playlist");
-            }
-        }).catch(() => {});
-
-        if (!fetchedHlsManifest) {
-            return { error: "youtube.no_hls_streams" };
-        }
-
-        const variants = HLS.parse(fetchedHlsManifest).variants.sort(
-            (a, b) => Number(b.bandwidth) - Number(a.bandwidth)
-        );
-
-        if (!variants || variants.length === 0) {
-            return { error: "youtube.no_hls_streams" };
-        }
-
-        const matchHlsCodec = codecs => (
-            codecs.includes(hlsCodecList[codec].videoCodec)
-        );
-
-        const best = variants.find(i => matchHlsCodec(i.codecs));
-
-        const preferred = variants.find(i =>
-            matchHlsCodec(i.codecs) && normalizeQuality(i.resolution) === quality
-        );
-
-        let selected = preferred || best;
-
-        if (!selected) {
-            codec = "h264";
-            selected = variants.find(i => matchHlsCodec(i.codecs));
-        }
-
-        if (!selected) {
-            return { error: "youtube.no_matching_format" };
-        }
-
-        audio = selected.audio.find(i => i.isDefault);
-
-        // some videos (mainly those with AI dubs) don't have any tracks marked as default
-        // why? god knows, but we assume that a default track is marked as such in the title
-        if (!audio) {
-            audio = selected.audio.find(i => i.name.endsWith("- original"));
-        }
-
-        if (o.dubLang) {
-            const dubbedAudio = selected.audio.find(i =>
-                i.language?.startsWith(o.dubLang)
-            );
-
-            if (dubbedAudio && !dubbedAudio.isDefault) {
-                dubbedLanguage = dubbedAudio.language;
-                audio = dubbedAudio;
-            }
-        }
-
-        selected.audio = [];
-        selected.subtitles = [];
-        video = selected;
-    } else {
-        // i miss typescript so bad
-        const sorted_formats = {
-            h264: {
-                video: [],
-                audio: [],
-                bestVideo: undefined,
-                bestAudio: undefined,
-            },
-            vp9: {
-                video: [],
-                audio: [],
-                bestVideo: undefined,
-                bestAudio: undefined,
-            },
-            av1: {
-                video: [],
-                audio: [],
-                bestVideo: undefined,
-                bestAudio: undefined,
-            },
-        }
-
-        const checkFormat = (format, pCodec) => format.content_length &&
-                (format.mime_type.includes(codecList[pCodec].videoCodec)
-                || format.mime_type.includes(codecList[pCodec].audioCodec));
-
-        // sort formats & weed out bad ones
-        info.streaming_data.adaptive_formats.sort((a, b) =>
-            Number(b.bitrate) - Number(a.bitrate)
-        ).forEach(format => {
-            Object.keys(codecList).forEach(yCodec => {
-                const sorted = sorted_formats[yCodec];
-                const goodFormat = checkFormat(format, yCodec);
-                if (!goodFormat) return;
-
-                if (format.has_video) {
-                    sorted.video.push(format);
-                    if (!sorted.bestVideo) sorted.bestVideo = format;
-                }
-                if (format.has_audio) {
-                    sorted.audio.push(format);
-                    if (!sorted.bestAudio) sorted.bestAudio = format;
-                }
-            })
-        });
-
-        const noBestMedia = () => {
-            const vid = sorted_formats[codec]?.bestVideo;
-            const aud = sorted_formats[codec]?.bestAudio;
-            return (!vid && !o.isAudioOnly) || (!aud && o.isAudioOnly)
-        };
-
-        if (noBestMedia()) {
-            if (codec === "av1") codec = "vp9";
-            else if (codec === "vp9") codec = "av1";
-
-            // if there's no higher quality fallback, then use h264
-            if (noBestMedia()) codec = "h264";
-        }
-
-        // if there's no proper combo of av1, vp9, or h264, then give up
-        if (noBestMedia()) {
-            return { error: "youtube.no_matching_format" };
-        }
-
-        audio = sorted_formats[codec].bestAudio;
-
-        if (audio?.audio_track && !audio?.audio_track?.audio_is_default) {
-            audio = sorted_formats[codec].audio.find(i =>
-                i?.audio_track?.audio_is_default
-            );
-        }
-
-        if (o.dubLang) {
-            const dubbedAudio = sorted_formats[codec].audio.find(i =>
-                i.language?.startsWith(o.dubLang) && i.audio_track
-            );
-
-            if (dubbedAudio && !dubbedAudio?.audio_track?.audio_is_default) {
-                audio = dubbedAudio;
-                dubbedLanguage = dubbedAudio.language;
-            }
-        }
-
-        if (!o.isAudioOnly) {
-            const qual = (i) => {
-                return normalizeQuality({
-                    width: i.width,
-                    height: i.height,
-                })
-            }
-
-            const bestQuality = qual(sorted_formats[codec].bestVideo);
-            const useBestQuality = quality >= bestQuality;
-
-            video = useBestQuality
-                ? sorted_formats[codec].bestVideo
-                : sorted_formats[codec].video.find(i => qual(i) === quality);
-
-            if (!video) video = sorted_formats[codec].bestVideo;
-        }
-    }
-
-    const fileMetadata = {
-        title: basicInfo.title.trim(),
-        artist: basicInfo.author.replace("- Topic", "").trim()
-    }
-
-    if (basicInfo?.short_description?.startsWith("Provided to YouTube by")) {
-        const descItems = basicInfo.short_description.split("\n\n", 5);
-
-        if (descItems.length === 5) {
-            fileMetadata.album = descItems[2];
-            fileMetadata.copyright = descItems[3];
-            if (descItems[4].startsWith("Released on:")) {
-                fileMetadata.date = descItems[4].replace("Released on: ", '').trim();
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    const filenameAttributes = {
-        service: "youtube",
-        id: o.id,
-        title: fileMetadata.title,
-        author: fileMetadata.artist,
-        youtubeDubName: dubbedLanguage || false,
-    }
-
-    if (audio && o.isAudioOnly) {
-        let bestAudio = codec === "h264" ? "m4a" : "opus";
-        let urls = audio.url;
-
-        if (useHLS) {
-            bestAudio = "mp3";
-            urls = audio.uri;
-        }
-
-        return {
-            type: "audio",
-            isAudioOnly: true,
-            urls,
-            filenameAttributes,
-            fileMetadata,
-            bestAudio,
-            isHLS: useHLS,
-        }
-    }
-
-    if (video && audio) {
-        let resolution;
-
-        if (useHLS) {
-            resolution = normalizeQuality(video.resolution);
-            filenameAttributes.resolution = `${video.resolution.width}x${video.resolution.height}`;
-            filenameAttributes.extension = hlsCodecList[codec].container;
-
-            video = video.uri;
-            audio = audio.uri;
-        } else {
-            resolution = normalizeQuality({
-                width: video.width,
-                height: video.height,
-            });
-            filenameAttributes.resolution = `${video.width}x${video.height}`;
-            filenameAttributes.extension = codecList[codec].container;
-
-            video = video.url;
-            audio = audio.url;
-        }
-
-        filenameAttributes.qualityLabel = `${resolution}p`;
-        filenameAttributes.youtubeFormat = codec;
-
-        return {
-            type: "merge",
-            urls: [
-                video,
-                audio,
-            ],
-            filenameAttributes,
-            fileMetadata,
-            isHLS: useHLS,
-        }
-    }
-
-    return { error: "youtube.no_matching_format" };
 }