diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 219a5d8..010a740 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ Certain values can be set via environment variables, using the `-e` parameter on
 * __AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR__: path to where audio-only downloads will be saved, if you wish to separate them from the video downloads. Defaults to the value of `DOWNLOAD_DIR`.
 * __URL_PREFIX__: base path for the web server (for use when hosting behind a reverse proxy). Defaults to `/`.
 * __OUTPUT_TEMPLATE__: the template for the filenames of the downloaded videos, formatted according to [this spec](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/blob/master/README.md#output-template). Defaults to `%(title)s.%(ext)s`.
+* __YTDL_OPTIONS__: Additional options to pass to youtube-dl, in JSON format. [See available options here](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py#L176). They roughly correspond to command-line options, though some do not have exact equivalents here, for example `--recode-video` has to be specified via `postprocessors`. Also note that dashes are replaced with underscores. Example value: `{"sleep_interval":10}`.
 
 ## Chrome extension
 
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index d94967b..000cb28 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # pylint: disable=no-member,method-hidden
 
 import os
+import sys
 from aiohttp import web
 import socketio
 import logging
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ class Config:
         'AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR': '%%DOWNLOAD_DIR',
         'URL_PREFIX': '',
         'OUTPUT_TEMPLATE': '%(title)s.%(ext)s',
+        'YTDL_OPTIONS': '{}',
     }
 
     def __init__(self):
@@ -27,6 +29,12 @@ class Config:
                 setattr(self, k, getattr(self, v[2:]))
         if not self.URL_PREFIX.endswith('/'):
             self.URL_PREFIX += '/'
+        try:
+            self.YTDL_OPTIONS = json.loads(self.YTDL_OPTIONS)
+            assert isinstance(self.YTDL_OPTIONS, dict)
+        except (json.decoder.JSONDecodeError, AssertionError):
+            log.error('YTDL_OPTIONS is invalid')
+            sys.exit(1)
 
 config = Config()
 
diff --git a/app/ytdl.py b/app/ytdl.py
index ef4ada0..052637d 100644
--- a/app/ytdl.py
+++ b/app/ytdl.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class DownloadInfo:
 class Download:
     manager = None
 
-    def __init__(self, download_dir, output_template, quality, info):
+    def __init__(self, download_dir, output_template, quality, ytdl_opts, info):
         self.download_dir = download_dir
         self.output_template = output_template
         if quality == 'best':
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ class Download:
             self.format = quality[7:]
         else:
             raise Exception(f'unknown quality {quality}')
+        self.ytdl_opts = ytdl_opts
         self.info = info
         self.canceled = False
         self.tmpfilename = None
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ class Download:
                 'cachedir': False,
                 'socket_timeout': 30,
                 'progress_hooks': [put_status],
+                **self.ytdl_opts,
             }).download([self.info.url])
             self.status_queue.put({'status': 'finished' if ret == 0 else 'error'})
         except yt_dlp.utils.YoutubeDLError as exc:
@@ -161,7 +163,7 @@ class DownloadQueue:
             if entry['id'] not in self.queue:
                 dl = DownloadInfo(entry['id'], entry['title'], entry.get('webpage_url') or entry['url'], quality)
                 dldirectory = self.config.DOWNLOAD_DIR if quality != 'audio' else self.config.AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR
-                self.queue[entry['id']] = Download(dldirectory, self.config.OUTPUT_TEMPLATE, quality, dl)
+                self.queue[entry['id']] = Download(dldirectory, self.config.OUTPUT_TEMPLATE, quality, self.config.YTDL_OPTIONS, dl)
                 self.event.set()
                 await self.notifier.added(dl)
             return {'status': 'ok'}