diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 1002308b..7f70197c 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -533,7 +533,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "rustc-hash 1.1.0",
  "shlex",
  "syn 2.0.87",
- "which",
+ "which 4.4.2",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2014,7 +2014,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "f364860e764787163c8c8f58231003839be31276e821e2ad2092ddf496b1aa09"
 dependencies = [
  "tempfile",
- "which",
+ "which 4.4.2",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -4813,6 +4813,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing",
  "uuid",
  "vergen-gix",
+ "which 7.0.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -7848,6 +7849,19 @@ dependencies = [
  "rustix",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "which"
+version = "7.0.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c9cad3279ade7346b96e38731a641d7343dd6a53d55083dd54eadfa5a1b38c6b"
+dependencies = [
+ "either",
+ "home",
+ "rustix",
+ "tracing",
+ "winsafe",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "whoami"
 version = "1.5.2"
@@ -8443,6 +8457,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "winsafe"
+version = "0.0.19"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d135d17ab770252ad95e9a872d365cf3090e3be864a34ab46f48555993efc904"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "write16"
 version = "1.0.0"
diff --git a/libplatune/player/src/resolver/yt_dlp.rs b/libplatune/player/src/resolver/yt_dlp.rs
index 4b20a1c6..ba5ca9fa 100644
--- a/libplatune/player/src/resolver/yt_dlp.rs
+++ b/libplatune/player/src/resolver/yt_dlp.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use std::cmp::Ordering;
 use std::collections::HashSet;
+use std::env;
 use std::num::NonZeroUsize;
 use std::time::Duration;
 
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ use stream_download::storage::temp::TempStorageProvider;
 use stream_download::{Settings, StreamDownload};
 use tap::TapFallible;
 use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
-use tracing::{error, info};
+use tracing::{error, info, warn};
 use youtube_dl::{YoutubeDl, YoutubeDlOutput};
 
 macro_rules! url_regex {
@@ -42,6 +43,12 @@ fn ytdl_rules() -> Vec<Rule> {
     ]
 }
 
+fn ytdl_exe() -> String {
+    let path = env::var("YT_DLP_PATH").unwrap_or_else(|_| "yt-dlp".to_string());
+    info!("Using yt-dlp path: {path:?}");
+    path
+}
+
 pub(crate) struct YtDlpUrlResolver {
     rules: Vec<Rule>,
     skip_flat_playlist: HashSet<&'static str>,
@@ -50,6 +57,8 @@ pub(crate) struct YtDlpUrlResolver {
 impl YtDlpUrlResolver {
     pub(crate) fn new() -> Self {
         let mut skip = HashSet::new();
+        // some sites don't populate urls when using --flat-playlist so we need to explicitly skip
+        // it
         skip.insert("audius.co");
         Self {
             rules: ytdl_rules(),
@@ -74,6 +83,7 @@ impl RegistryEntry<Result<Vec<Input>>> for YtDlpUrlResolver {
             .skip_flat_playlist
             .contains(input.source.clone().into_url().domain().unwrap_or_default());
         let mut command = YoutubeDl::new(input.source.clone());
+        command.youtube_dl_path(ytdl_exe());
         if flat_playlist {
             // --flat-playlist prevents it from enumerating all videos in the playlist, which could
             // take a long time
@@ -149,9 +159,6 @@ impl RegistryEntry<Result<(Box<dyn Source>, CancellationToken)>> for YtDlpSource
         info!("extracting video metadata - this may take a few seconds");
         let output = YoutubeDl::new(input.source.clone())
             .extract_audio(true)
-            // --flat-playlist prevents it from enumerating all videos in the playlist, which could
-            // take a long time
-            .extra_arg("--flat-playlist")
             .run_async()
             .await?;
         info!("metadata extraction complete");
@@ -179,11 +186,14 @@ impl RegistryEntry<Result<(Box<dyn Source>, CancellationToken)>> for YtDlpSource
                 valid_formats.pop()
             }
             YoutubeDlOutput::Playlist(playlist) => {
-                info!("found playlist: {:?}", playlist.title);
+                // This shouldn't happen since we're enumerating playlists in the URL resolver
+                warn!("found playlist in source resolver: {:?}", playlist.title);
                 None
             }
         };
-        let cmd = YtDlpCommand::new(input.source).extract_audio(true);
+        let cmd = YtDlpCommand::new(input.source)
+            .yt_dlp_path(ytdl_exe())
+            .extract_audio(true);
 
         let params = if let Some(format) = &found_format {
             info!("source quality: {:?}", format.quality);
diff --git a/platuned/server/Cargo.toml b/platuned/server/Cargo.toml
index 9c9d25a3..d6f7eada 100644
--- a/platuned/server/Cargo.toml
+++ b/platuned/server/Cargo.toml
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ tracing = "0.1.40"
 uuid = { version = "1.11.0", features = ["v4"] }
 vergen-gix = { version = "1.0.2" }
 console = "0.15.8"
+which = { version = "7.0.0", features = ["tracing"] }
 
 [features]
 default = ["management", "player"]
diff --git a/platuned/server/src/bin/platunectl.rs b/platuned/server/src/bin/platunectl.rs
index dd8e2098..b3d8ef85 100644
--- a/platuned/server/src/bin/platunectl.rs
+++ b/platuned/server/src/bin/platunectl.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ use daemon_slayer::logging::cli::LoggingCliProvider;
 use daemon_slayer::logging::tracing_subscriber::util::SubscriberInitExt;
 use daemon_slayer::process::cli::ProcessCliProvider;
 use platuned::{build_info, clap_base_command, main_server_port, service_label};
+use which::which;
 
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<(), ErrorSink> {
@@ -66,6 +67,10 @@ async fn run() -> Result<(), BoxedError> {
             .with_environment_variable_if_exists("PLATUNE_MTLS_CLIENT_CERT_PATH")
             .with_environment_variable_if_exists("PLATUNE_MTLS_CLIENT_KEY_PATH");
     }
+    if let Ok(yt_dlp) = which("yt-dlp") {
+        manager_builder =
+            manager_builder.with_environment_variable("YT_DLP_PATH", yt_dlp.to_string_lossy());
+    }
     let manager = manager_builder.build().await.unwrap();
     let logger_builder = LoggerBuilder::new(label.clone());