youtube-dl-server
Web and REST interface to download videos using yt-dlp or youtube-dl
314 stars 32 forks last commit first released MIT
Actively maintained
Last commit 28 Jul 2026.
A lightweight web and REST frontend for yt-dlp / youtube-dl that runs on a server and saves downloaded media to the host filesystem. It provides both a browser UI and an API for triggering and managing downloads, and is commonly deployed via Docker.
Key Features
- Web-based user interface plus a REST API for programmatic downloads and integration
- Supports yt-dlp or legacy youtube-dl backends for broad site support
- Docker image and docker-compose examples for easy deployment; can also run directly with Python
- Configurable via a YAML config file including global options, cache and output paths, and a metadata DB path
- Profiles support to define reusable download option sets (format, audio extraction, output directories, etc.)
- Saves downloaded files to a host-mounted directory and stores metadata in a local database (configurable path)
- Bookmarklet and simple curl/fetch examples for one-click or scripted submissions
- Frontend implemented with a JavaScript framework alongside a Python ASGI backend
Use Cases
- Centralized server for archiving YouTube videos, podcasts, lectures, and playlists
- Triggering downloads from other services or browser bookmarklets via the REST API
- Running scheduled or bulk downloads in a containerized environment with configurable profiles
Limitations and Considerations
- The project does not bundle HTTPS termination; it is intended to be placed behind a reverse proxy for TLS
- Upstream youtube-dl releases may be outdated; using yt-dlp is recommended for better site compatibility
- Some format conversions and audio extraction require external tools such as ffmpeg to be available
- No built-in authentication or access-control features are documented, so deploy behind an authenticated proxy for public access
In summary, youtube-dl-server provides a simple, Docker-friendly web and API front end to yt-dlp/youtube-dl for managing server-side downloads. It is configuration-driven with profiles and is suitable for automating or centralizing media downloads on a server.
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