MeTube

MeTube is a web-based graphical interface that wraps the yt-dlp (youtube-dl fork) engine to manage video and audio downloads from YouTube and many other websites. It provides a queue, playlist support, configurable filename templates, and environment-driven configuration for containerized or local deployments.

Key Features

• Web UI for adding and managing downloads, including playlists and per-item options.
• Queue management with configurable concurrency limits and multiple download modes (sequential, concurrent, limited).
• Filename and playlist output templating with separate audio/video download directories and postprocessing hooks.
• Environment-variable configuration for download paths, concurrency, server host/port, URL prefix and HTTPS settings.
• Support for passing yt-dlp options in JSON and loading options from a monitored file for dynamic changes.
• Integrations and convenience helpers: browser extensions, bookmarklet, iOS shortcut and examples for reverse-proxy setups.

Use Cases

• Run a local/private service to batch-download YouTube videos and playlists for offline viewing or archiving.
• Centralize downloads (audio/video) from multiple sources to a network-mounted storage using a containerized deployment.
• Provide a simple UI for non-technical users to queue and manage media downloads on a home server or NAS appliance.

Limitations and Considerations

• Core download functionality depends on the underlying yt-dlp engine; frequent yt-dlp updates are required to keep compatibility with video sites.
• Some sites or restricted/private content require browser cookies or authentication; users must supply appropriate cookie files or credentials for those cases.
• MeTube itself is a download UI and relies on external tools (yt-dlp and optionally ffmpeg for custom postprocessing) for actual media fetching and transcoding; those tools must be present/updated when needed.

MeTube is a pragmatic, focused UI for managing yt-dlp workloads. It is designed for easy deployment with Docker or local builds (Node/Angular front end and a Python backend) and prioritizes straightforward configuration, playlist handling, and maintainability in environments where users regularly archive or batch-download web-hosted media.