MeTube (yt-dlp Web UI)

beginner

Web GUI for yt-dlp to download videos from YouTube and other sites

Overview

MeTube is a modern web-based frontend for yt-dlp, the most powerful and actively maintained YouTube video downloader available today. Built as a successor to the original youtube-dl project, yt-dlp supports over 1,000 video platforms including YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Twitter, and countless others. MeTube wraps this command-line tool in an intuitive web interface, making video downloading accessible to users who prefer GUI interactions over terminal commands. This Docker deployment creates a self-hosted video downloading service that operates entirely within your network, giving you complete control over your media acquisition workflow. The containerized approach ensures yt-dlp stays updated with the latest site compatibility fixes while maintaining a consistent user experience across different host systems. MeTube is perfect for content creators, researchers, educators, and media enthusiasts who need reliable video downloading capabilities without depending on third-party online services or browser extensions that may compromise privacy or functionality.

Key Features

Clean web interface for yt-dlp with real-time download progress monitoring
Support for over 1,000 video platforms including YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, and Twitch
Flexible download queue management with ability to add multiple URLs simultaneously
Advanced yt-dlp options passthrough via YTDL_OPTIONS environment variable
Automatic video format selection with manual quality override capabilities
Playlist and channel downloading with individual video selection options
Download history tracking and management through persistent state storage
Subtitle and metadata extraction with configurable filename templates

Common Use Cases

1Content creators archiving their own videos from multiple platforms for backup purposes
2Educational institutions downloading lecture videos and course materials for offline access
3Researchers collecting video data from social media platforms for academic analysis
4Media professionals creating local libraries of reference materials and inspiration content
5Home media server operators building collections of legally downloadable content
6Corporate training departments archiving webinars and instructional videos
7Digital preservationists maintaining copies of important cultural or historical video content

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed on host system
Minimum 2GB RAM for handling multiple concurrent downloads
At least 10GB free disk space for video storage (more for extensive downloading)
Port 8081 available on host system (or ability to modify METUBE_PORT)
Basic understanding of yt-dlp options syntax for advanced configuration
Network connectivity to target video platforms (some may require VPN for geo-restrictions)

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  metube: 
3    image: ghcr.io/alexta69/metube:latest
4    container_name: metube
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    ports: 
7      - "${METUBE_PORT:-8081}:8081"
8    volumes: 
9      - ./downloads:/downloads
10    environment: 
11      - UID=${UID:-1000}
12      - GID=${GID:-1000}
13      - DOWNLOAD_DIR=/downloads
14      - STATE_DIR=/downloads/.metube
15      - YTDL_OPTIONS=${YTDL_OPTIONS:-{}}

.env Template

.env

1# MeTube Configuration
2METUBE_PORT=8081
3
4# User/Group IDs for file permissions
5UID=1000
6GID=1000
7
8# yt-dlp options as JSON
9# Example: {"format": "bestvideo+bestaudio/best"}
10YTDL_OPTIONS={}

Usage Notes

1Web interface at http://localhost:8081
2Paste video URLs to download
3Downloads saved to ./downloads folder
4Supports YouTube, Vimeo, and 1000+ sites
5Configure quality via YTDL_OPTIONS
6Based on yt-dlp (youtube-dl fork)

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  metube:
5    image: ghcr.io/alexta69/metube:latest
6    container_name: metube
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    ports:
9      - "${METUBE_PORT:-8081}:8081"
10    volumes:
11      - ./downloads:/downloads
12    environment:
13      - UID=${UID:-1000}
14      - GID=${GID:-1000}
15      - DOWNLOAD_DIR=/downloads
16      - STATE_DIR=/downloads/.metube
17      - YTDL_OPTIONS=${YTDL_OPTIONS:-{}}
18EOF
19
20# 2. Create the .env file
21cat > .env << 'EOF'
22# MeTube Configuration
23METUBE_PORT=8081
24
25# User/Group IDs for file permissions
26UID=1000
27GID=1000
28
29# yt-dlp options as JSON
30# Example: {"format": "bestvideo+bestaudio/best"}
31YTDL_OPTIONS={}
32EOF
33
34# 3. Start the services
35docker compose up -d
36
37# 4. View logs
38docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/metube/run | bash

Troubleshooting

HTTP Error 429 or rate limiting messages: Add delays between downloads using YTDL_OPTIONS with sleep-interval parameter
Downloads failing with 'Video unavailable' errors: Update the container image as yt-dlp frequently patches site compatibility issues
Permission denied errors when writing files: Verify UID and GID environment variables match your host system user ownership
Container fails to start with port binding errors: Check if port 8081 is already in use or modify METUBE_PORT variable
Downloads stuck at 0% progress: Some sites require cookies or authentication - configure these via YTDL_OPTIONS
Large video files causing container crashes: Increase Docker memory limits or use format selection to download smaller files

Community Notes

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