13.2k
Metube
Self-hosted YouTube downloader with a web UI for youtube-dl and yt-dlp, allowing users to easily download videos from YouTube.
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Web🏠
Self-Hosted🛠️
Tools🌐
Web
4 Open Source Alternatives to yt-dlp
There are 4 open-source alternatives to yt-dlp in this directory. The most popular is Metube with 13.2k GitHub stars, followed by Streamlink(11.4k stars). All are open source, free to use, and many can be self-hosted.
Quick comparison
| # | Tool | Stars | Language | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metube Self-hosted YouTube downloader with a web UI for youtube-dl and yt-dlp, allowing users to easily download videos from YouTube. | 13.2k | Python | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 |
| 2 | Streamlink Streamlink is a command-line utility that allows you to extract video streams from popular streaming services and pipe them directly into a video player of your choice. It is widely used for watching live or on-demand content outside a browser. | 11.4k | Python | BSD 2-Clause "Simplified" License |
| 3 | YouTube.js YouTube.js is a powerful JavaScript client for YouTube's private InnerTube API, enabling developers to interact programmatically with YouTube's internal features that aren't available via the official public API. | 4.6k | TypeScript | MIT License |
| 4 | Youtube-transcript-generator An Express.js-based service that fetches YouTube video information and generates transcripts (subtitles) in any available language. It leverages the ytdl-core library to extract video metadata and the youtube-captions-scraper library to retrieve subtitles, providing an easy way to access and utilize YouTube video captions programmatically. | 6 | JavaScript | — |
All open-source alternatives to yt-dlp
11.4k
Streamlink
Streamlink is a command-line utility that allows you to extract video streams from popular streaming services and pipe them directly into a video player of your choice. It is widely used for watching live or on-demand content outside a browser.
⌨️
CLI🛠️
Tools🌐
Web
4.6k
YouTube.js
YouTube.js is a powerful JavaScript client for YouTube's private InnerTube API, enabling developers to interact programmatically with YouTube's internal features that aren't available via the official public API.
🔁
API🟡
JavaScript👨💻
Development
6
Youtube-transcript-generator
An Express.js-based service that fetches YouTube video information and generates transcripts (subtitles) in any available language. It leverages the ytdl-core library to extract video metadata and the youtube-captions-scraper library to retrieve subtitles, providing an easy way to access and utilize YouTube video captions programmatically.
🔁
API🌐
Web👨💻
Development
Frequently asked questions
What are the best open-source alternatives to yt-dlp?
The top three are Metube(13.2k stars), Streamlink(11.4k stars), YouTube.js(4.6k stars). All are open source and free to use.
Are these alternatives to yt-dlp free?
Yes. Every tool listed here is open source and free to use in your own projects. Many can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure, which means no subscription fees and full control over your data.
Can I self-host an alternative to yt-dlp?
Many of the alternatives listed are self-hostable. Each tool's page lists hosting details, system requirements, and licensing terms.
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