2 jobs · 11 apps
Best open source YouTube downloaders you can self-host
To download YouTube videos on your own server, the best self-hosted picks are MeTube for one-off downloads from a web UI and Tube Archivist for archiving channels on a schedule. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job from apps whose own description or topics match it, and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026.
Most of these are web front ends for yt-dlp or youtube-dl that run on a home server or NAS: paste a link, or subscribe to a channel, and files land in your own library (often next to Plex or Jellyfin).
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
MeTube
alexta69/metube
Web GUI for youtube-dl, with playlist support. Allows downloading videos from dozens of websites.
Media ManagementPythonDockerMeTube has 14,927 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 309 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.
- Rank 2:
yt-dlp Web UI
marcopiovanello/yt-dlp-web-ui
Web GUI for yt-dlp.
Media ManagementGoDockeryt-dlp Web UI has 2,603 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 7 commits in the last year.
- Rank 3:
HomeTube
EgalitarianMonkey/hometube
Web UI to download videos and playlists from 1700+ sites into a Plex or Jellyfin library, with quality selection, SponsorBlock sponsor removal, subtitles, clip cutting and resilient playlist sync.
Media ManagementPythonDockerHomeTube has 1,503 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 59 commits in the last year.
1 of 2 · 6 picks
Download videos from a web UI
- 1
MeTube
Web GUI for youtube-dl, with playlist support. Allows downloading videos from dozens of websites.
Media ManagementDockerMeTube has 14,927 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 309 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.
- 2
yt-dlp Web UI
Web GUI for yt-dlp.
Media ManagementDockeryt-dlp Web UI has 2,603 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 7 commits in the last year.
- 3
HomeTube
Web UI to download videos and playlists from 1700+ sites into a Plex or Jellyfin library, with quality selection, SponsorBlock sponsor removal, subtitles, clip cutting and resilient playlist sync.
Media ManagementDockerHomeTube has 1,503 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 59 commits in the last year.
- 4
MyTube
Downloader and player for yt-dlp-supported sites with channel subscriptions, cloud upload support, and local library organization.
Media ManagementDockerMyTube has 1,243 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,383 commits in the last year.
- 5
youtube-dl-nas
Authenticated yt-dlp download queue for video, audio and subtitles, with history, mobile sharing and NAS file management (fork of youtube-dl-server).
Media ManagementDockeryoutube-dl-nas has 200 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 55 commits in the last year.
- 6
YoutubeDL-Server
Web and REST interface to Youtube-DL for downloading videos onto a server.
Media ManagementDockerYoutubeDL-Server has 318 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 72 commits in the last year.
2 of 2 · 5 picks
Subscribe to channels and archive
- 1
Tube Archivist
Organize, search, and enjoy your YouTube collection. Subscribe, download, and track viewed content with metadata indexing and a user-friendly interface.
Media ServersDockerTube Archivist has 8,499 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 204 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.
- 2
Pinchflat
Download YouTube content built using yt-dlp.
Media ManagementDockerPinchflat has 5,395 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3 commits in the last year.
- 3
tubesync
Syncs YouTube channels and playlists to a locally hosted media server.
Media ManagementDockertubesync has 2,800 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 794 commits in the last year.
- 4
Youtarr
Download videos from YouTube channels on a schedule via yt-dlp, with a web UI to browse and selectively download videos. Integrates with Plex Media Server and generates NFO metadata for Jellyfin…
Media ManagementDockerYoutarr has 1,718 GitHub stars, uses the ISC license, ships a Docker image and had 879 commits in the last year.
- 5
ChannelTube
Download video or audio from YouTube channels on a schedule via yt-dlp.
Media ManagementDockerChannelTube has 328 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 32 commits in the last year.
What is the best open source YouTube downloader?
To download YouTube videos on your own server, the best self-hosted picks are MeTube for one-off downloads from a web UI and Tube Archivist for archiving channels on a schedule. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job from apps whose own description or topics match it, and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026.
Is it legal to download YouTube videos?
It depends on the video and where you live. Respect copyright and the platform's terms of service: download only content you own, content with a license that allows it, or content you have permission to save. This is not legal advice.
Can these tools save audio only (MP3)?
YouTube-DL NAS and ChannelTube mention audio downloads in their own descriptions, and yt-dlp itself can extract audio. Check each front end's settings for audio-only and format options.
Is MeTube free?
Yes. MeTube is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I run this stack with Docker?
All 11 apps here publish Docker images, including MeTube, yt-dlp Web UI and HomeTube, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups.
The weekly digest
New self-hosted apps, every week
Fresh releases, rising projects and one deploy guide a week. Join home labbers and engineers who self-host.