Report · marked 25 Aug 2026
ytdl-org/youtube-dl
An agent will struggle here, mostly for fixable reasons.
Python · 141,031 stars · 981 files · branch master
52
/100
C+
Instructions
0/27Whether the repo tells an agent how to behave before it starts guessing. Losing marks on agent instruction file and instruction quality.Setup
6/14Whether an agent can install the project and get it running without a human. Losing marks on deterministic install and pinned runtime version.Verification loop
20/25Whether an agent can check its own work. This is the category that most decides whether agent output is trustworthy. Losing marks on tests exist and static type checking.Context economy
15/20Whether the repo fits in a context window, or fights it. Losing marks on file sizes fit in context and repository weight.Navigability
9/10How quickly anything new can orient itself. Losing marks on repository description.
Higher is better. Accent marks what is costing you most.
Fix these first
01
Agent instruction file
Add an AGENTS.md at the root: what the project is, how to install, how to run, how to test, and the two or three conventions a newcomer always gets wrong.
02
Instruction quality
Instructions earn their keep by naming exact commands. 'Run the tests with `pnpm test`' beats three paragraphs of philosophy.
03
Deterministic install
Commit the lockfile your package manager generates. Without it, an agent's install and your install are different builds, and 'works on my machine' becomes unfalsifiable.
The full marking
Every deduction below names the file or setting it came from.
Instructions 0/27 F
Whether the repo tells an agent how to behave before it starts guessing.
✗Agent instruction file
0/12
None found. Every agent that opens this repo starts from zero.
Add an AGENTS.md at the root: what the project is, how to install, how to run, how to test, and the two or three conventions a newcomer always gets wrong.
Looked for AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md, .cursorrules
✗Instruction quality
0/12
Nothing to judge, since there are no instructions.
Instructions earn their keep by naming exact commands. 'Run the tests with `pnpm test`' beats three paragraphs of philosophy.
✗README as an entry point
0/3
No README. This is the first file anything reads, human or machine.
Give the README an Install and a Usage heading with real commands under each. Agents pattern-match on those headings.
Setup 6/14 C
Whether an agent can install the project and get it running without a human.
✗Deterministic install
0/6
No lockfile. An agent installing dependencies may not get what CI got.
Commit the lockfile your package manager generates. Without it, an agent's install and your install are different builds, and 'works on my machine' becomes unfalsifiable.
✓Discoverable commands
6/6
Commands are declared where an agent will look for them.
Makefile
–Environment config
n/a
Not applicable — this reads as a library, with no environment to configure.
✗Pinned runtime version
0/2
No pinned runtime version.
Add a .nvmrc, .python-version, or equivalent so the agent's toolchain matches yours.
–Reproducible environment
n/a
Not applicable — a library doesn't need a container to be worked on.
Verification loop 20/25 A-
Whether an agent can check its own work. This is the category that most decides whether agent output is trustworthy.
✗Tests exist
6/8
70 test files against 906 source files.
e.g. test/__init__.py, test/helper.py, test/parameters.json
✓Test command is discoverable
7/7
An agent can find and run `make test`.
✓Continuous integration
4/4
1 GitHub Actions workflow define what "passing" means.
✓Lint and format rules
3/3
pyproject.toml encodes the house style.
✗Static type checking
0/3
No static type checking.
A type checker gives an agent an error message instead of a runtime surprise. It's the second-fastest feedback loop after the compiler.
Context economy 15/20 B+
Whether the repo fits in a context window, or fights it.
✓No committed build output
6/6
No generated directories committed.
✓.gitignore hygiene
3/3
.gitignore covers 48 patterns.
✗File sizes fit in context
2/6
6 source files are over 100KB.
A single file that fills the context window forces an agent to work from fragments, and it will confidently edit code it never saw. Splitting the worst offenders pays for itself immediately.
youtube_dl/utils.py — 208KB
youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py — 196KB
youtube_dl/extractor/common.py — 156KB
✗Repository weight
4/5
About 65.5MB checked out, which is comfortable.
Here is your AGENTS.md
Drafted from what is actually in this repository: the install
command from your lockfile, the commands you already declare, your real directory layout. Anything
marked TODO needs a person. Save it at the root as AGENTS.md.
# AGENTS.md Command-line program to download videos from YouTube.com and other video sites ## Setup ``` # TODO: the install command. No lockfile was found, so this could not be inferred. ``` ## Commands ``` make clean make install make codetest make test # run the test suite, must pass before any commit make ot make offlinetest ``` ## Layout - `youtube_dl/` 844 source files - `test/` 32 source files - `devscripts/` 28 source files - `docs/` 1 source file ## Conventions - Tests live alongside the code they cover, following `test/__init__.py`. - CI defines what passing means. See `.github/workflows/ci.yml`, and keep it green. - TODO: add the two or three conventions a newcomer always gets wrong here. ## Gotchas - `youtube_dl/utils.py` is 208KB. It will not fit comfortably in context, so read it in parts. - No lockfile is committed, so an install here may not match what CI produced. --- Drafted by agentreadme.com from what is in this repository. Everything marked TODO needs a human. Check it in as AGENTS.md at the root.
Open the raw markdown
or
curl -o AGENTS.md agentreadme.com/draft/ytdl-org/youtube-dl.md
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Think this mark is wrong?
Every deduction above names the file it came from, so this can be settled by looking. If a check missed something, that is a rule worth fixing.