youtube-local is a browser-based client written in Python for watching YouTube anonymously and without the lag of the slow page used by YouTube. The YouTube API is not used.
One of the primary features is that almost all requests are routed through Tor.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Standard pages of Youtube: search, channels, playlists.
- Anonymity from Google’s tracking by routing requests through Tor.
- Local playlists: These solve the two problems with creating playlists on Youtube: (1) they’re datamined and (2) videos frequently get deleted by Youtube and lost from the playlist, making it very difficult to find a reupload as the title of the deleted video is not displayed.
- Themes: Light, Gray, and Dark.
- Subtitles.
- Easily download videos or their audio.
- No ads.
- View comments.
- JavaScript is not required.
- Theater and non-theater mode.
- Subscriptions that are independent from Youtube:
- Can import subscriptions from Youtube.
- Works by checking channels individually.
- Can be set to automatically check channels.
- For efficiency of requests, frequency of checking is based on how quickly channel posts videos.
- Can mute channels, so as to have a way to “soft” unsubscribe. Muted channels won’t be checked automatically or when using the “Check all” button. Videos from these channels will be hidden.
- Can tag subscriptions to organize them or check specific tags.
- Fast page:
- No distracting/slow layout rearrangement.
- No lazy-loading of comments; they are ready instantly.
- Settings allow fine-tuned control over when/how comments or related videos are shown:
- Shown by default, with click to hide.
- Hidden by default, with click to show.
- Never shown.
- Optionally skip sponsored segments using SponsorBlock’s API.
- Custom video speeds.
- Video transcript.
- Supports all available video qualities: 144p through 2160p.
- Information about video (geographic regions, region of Tor exit node, etc)
- Video qualities other than 360p and 720p by muxing video and audio
- Video transcript.
Website: github.com/user234683/youtube-local
Support:
Developer: James Taylor
License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
youtube-local is written in JavaScript and Python. Learn JavaScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| YouTube Tools | |
|---|---|
| FreeTube | Privacy-based YouTube app |
| Media Downloader | Frontend for youtube-dl, gallery-dl, Lux, you-get, svtplay-dl, aria2c, ... |
| pipe-viewer | Lightweight YouTube client without requiring an API key |
| Piped | Uses NewPipe Extractor, a library for extracting |
| OmniGet | Download media and other files from a broad range of online sources |
| AudioTube | Qt-based music streamer |
| ClipGrab | Downloader for YouTube and other sites |
| Minitube | Application for watching YouTube without using Flash |
| Materialious | Fontend for YouTube and Invidious |
| youtube-local | Browser-based YouTube client |
| SMTube | Search, play and download YouTube videos |
| Pipeline | Watch YouTube and PeerTube videos |
| MellowPlayer | Multi-platform cloud music integration |
| ytdl-gui | Graphical interface for yt-dlp |
| Youwee | Built with Tauri and React |
| PlasmaTube | Designed to be integrated with KDE Plasma |
| PsTube | Flutter-based video client |
| Video Downloader | Tool which lets you download videos from YouTube and other websites |
| VacuumTube | Unofficial wrapper of YouTube Leanback |
| NeoDLP | Feature-rich video/audio downloader based on yt-dlp |
| Mixtapes | Modern, Linux-first YouTube Music player |
| Sunder | Built with Tauri v2 and Rust |
| SpMp | YouTube music client with a focus on customization |
| Pulsar | yt-dlp GUI |
| NouTube | YouTube and YouTube Music in a single app |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Discovered a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |
YouTube-Local is practically the only way I use YouTube these days. YouTube-Local cuts through all the clutter and fluff that the normal interface to YouTube has. Hats off to everyone who took part in creating this!