# Environment variables

Certain configuration values can be set via environment variables, using the `-e` parameter on the docker command line, 
or the `environment:` section in `compose.yaml` file.

| Environment Variable           | Description                                                        | Default                    |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------- |
| TZ                             | The timezone to use for the application                            | `(not_set)`                |
| YTP_OUTPUT_TEMPLATE            | The template for the filenames of the downloaded videos            | `%(title)s.%(ext)s`        |
| YTP_DEFAULT_PRESET             | The default preset to use for the download                         | `default`                  |
| YTP_INSTANCE_TITLE             | The title of the instance                                          | `empty string`             |
| YTP_FILE_LOGGING               | Whether to log to file                                             | `false`                    |
| YTP_DOWNLOAD_PATH              | Path to where the downloads will be saved                          | `/downloads`               |
| YTP_MAX_WORKERS                | How many works to use for downloads                                | `1`                        |
| YTP_AUTH_USERNAME              | Username for basic authentication                                  | `empty string`             |
| YTP_AUTH_PASSWORD              | Password for basic authentication                                  | `empty string`             |
| YTP_CONSOLE_ENABLED            | Whether to enable the console                                      | `false`                    |
| YTP_REMOVE_FILES               | Remove the actual file when clicking the remove button             | `false`                    |
| YTP_CONFIG_PATH                | Path to where the config files will be stored.                     | `/config`                  |
| YTP_TEMP_PATH                  | Path to where tmp files are stored.                                | `/tmp`                     |
| YTP_TEMP_KEEP                  | Whether to keep the Individual video temp directory or remove it   | `false`                    |
| YTP_HOST                       | Which IP address to bind to                                        | `0.0.0.0`                  |
| YTP_PORT                       | Which port to bind to                                              | `8081`                     |
| YTP_LOG_LEVEL                  | Log level                                                          | `info`                     |
| YTP_STREAMER_VCODEC            | The video codec to use for in-browser streaming                    | `libx264`                  |
| YTP_STREAMER_ACODEC            | The audio codec to use for in-browser streaming                    | `aac`                      |
| YTP_ACCESS_LOG                 | Whether to log access to the web server                            | `true`                     |
| YTP_DEBUG                      | Whether to turn on debug mode                                      | `false`                    |
| YTP_DEBUGPY_PORT               | The port to use for the debugpy debugger                           | `5678`                     |
| YTP_EXTRACT_INFO_TIMEOUT       | The timeout for extracting video information                       | `70`                       |
| YTP_UI_UPDATE_TITLE            | Whether to update the title of the page with the current stats     | `true`                     |
| YTP_PIP_PACKAGES               | A space separated list of pip packages to install                  | `empty string`             |
| YTP_PIP_IGNORE_UPDATES         | Do not update the custom pip packages                              | `false`                    |
| YTP_PICTURES_BACKENDS          | A comma separated list of pictures urls to use                     | `empty string`             |
| YTP_BROWSER_CONTROL_ENABLED    | Whether to enable the file browser actions                         | `false`                    |
| YTP_YTDLP_AUTO_UPDATE          | Whether to enable the auto update for yt-dlp                       | `true`                     |
| YTP_YTDLP_DEBUG                | Whether to turn debug logging for the internal `yt-dlp` package    | `false`                    |
| YTP_YTDLP_VERSION              | The version of yt-dlp to use. Defaults to latest version           | `empty string`             |
| YTP_BASE_PATH                  | Set this if you are serving YTPTube from sub-folder                | `/`                        |
| YTP_PREVENT_LIVE_PREMIERE      | Prevents the initial youtube premiere stream from being downloaded | `false`                    |
| YTP_TASKS_HANDLER_TIMER        | The cron expression for the tasks handler timer                    | `15 */1 * * *`             |
| YTP_PLAYLIST_ITEMS_CONCURRENCY | The number of playlist items be to processed at same time          | `1`                        |
| YTP_TEMP_DISABLED              | Disable temp files handling.                                       | `false`                    |
| YTP_DOWNLOAD_PATH_DEPTH        | How many subdirectories to show in auto complete.                  | `1`                        |

# Browser extensions & bookmarklets

## Simple bookmarklet

```javascript
javascript:(() => { const url = "https://ytptube.example.org"; const preset = "default"; const mUrl = new URL(url); mUrl.pathname = "/api/history"; fetch(mUrl, { method: "POST", headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" }, body: JSON.stringify({ url: document.location.href, preset: preset }) }).then(res => alert(res.ok ? "URL sent!" : "Failed to send URL.")); })()
```

Change the the variable `url` and `preset` variables to match your YTPTube instance and preset name.

## Browser stores

- For Firefox via [Firefox Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ytptube-extension/)
- For Chrome/Chromium Browsers via [Chrome Store](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ytptube-extension/kiepfnpeflemfokokgjiaelddchglfil)

## iOS Shortcuts

You can download [Add To YTPTube](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/18b8f70666a04a06aed09424f97ce951) shortcut and use it to send links to your YTPTube instance.
You have to edit the shortcut and replace the following:

- `https://ytp.example.org` with your YTPTube instance.
- `username:password` replace this with your own username & password or leave it empty if you don't have authentication enabled.

This shortcut is powerful, as it's allow you to select your preset on the fly pulled directly from your instance.
Combined with the new and powerful presets system, you could add presets for specific websites that need cookies,
and use that preset to download directly from your iOS device.

### Advanced iOS Shortcut

This shortcut [YTPTube To Media](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/6e3db0bd532843e3aec70e6ce211be08) is more advanced, as it's parses
the `yt-dlp` output and attempt to download the media directly to your iOS device. It doesn't always work, but it's a good
starting point for those who want to download media directly to their iOS device. We provide no support for this use case
other than the shortcut itself. this shortcut missing support for parsing the http_headers, it's only parse the cookies.





# Authentication

To enable basic authentication, set the `YTP_AUTH_USERNAME` and `YTP_AUTH_PASSWORD` environment variables. And restart 
the container. This will prompt the user to enter the username and password before accessing the web interface/API.
As this is a simple basic authentication, if your browser doesn't show the prompt, you can use the following URL

`http://username:password@your_ytptube_url:port`

# Basic mode

What does the basic mode do? it basically strips down the interface to the bare minimum, 
to make it easier for non-technical users to use it.

# I cant download anything

If you are receiving errors like:
- "OSError: [Errno 5] I/O error"
- "OSError: [Errno 18] Cross-device link: '/tmp/random_id/name.webm' -> '/downloads/name.webm'
- "Operation not permitted: '/downloads/name.webm'

This indicates an error with your mounts and how they interact with the container. So, the basic solution is to do the following:

```yaml
services:
  ytptube:
    user: "${UID:-1000}:${UID:-1000}" # change this to your user id and group id, for example: "1000:1000"
    image: ghcr.io/arabcoders/ytptube:latest
    container_name: ytptube
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - YTP_TEMP_PATH=/downloads/tmp
      - YTP_DOWNLOAD_PATH=/downloads/files
    ports:
      - "8081:8081"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config:rw
      - ./downloads:/downloads:rw
```

Then run the following command to create the necessary directories and start the container:

```bash
mkdir -p ./config && mkdir -p ./downloads/{tmp,files} && docker compose -f compose.yaml up -d
```

Reference: [Issue #363](https://github.com/arabcoders/ytptube/issues/363)

# I want to use link with playlist but only download the video not all the videos in the playlist?

Simply create a preset, and in the `Command options for yt-dlp` field set `--no-playlist`. Then select the preset 
whenever the link includes a playlist id.

> [!NOTE]
> You can also do the same via advanced options `Command options for yt-dlp` field, but presets are more convenient.

# Install specific yt-dlp version?

You can force specific version of `yt-dlp` by setting the `YTP_YTDLP_VERSION` environment variable for example

```env
YTP_YTDLP_VERSION=2025.07.21 or master or nightly
```

Then restart the container to apply the changes.

# How to generate POT tokens?

You need a pot provider server we already have the extractor `bgutil-ytdlp-pot-provider` pre-installed in the container.
You can simply do the following to enable the support for it.

```yaml
services:
  ytptube:
    user: "${UID:-1000}:${UID:-1000}" # change this to your user id and group id, for example: "1000:1000"
    image: ghcr.io/arabcoders/ytptube:latest
    container_name: ytptube
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8081:8081"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config:rw
      - ./downloads:/downloads:rw
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp
    depends_on:
      - bgutil_provider
  bgutil_provider:
    init: true
    image: brainicism/bgutil-ytdlp-pot-provider:latest
    container_name: bgutil_provider
    restart: unless-stopped    
```

Then simply create a new preset, and in the `Command options for yt-dlp` field set the following:

```bash
--extractor-args "youtubepot-bgutilhttp:base_url=http://bgutil_provider:4416" 
--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=default,tv,mweb;formats=incomplete"
```

you and also enable the fallback by using the follow extractor args

```bash
--extractor-args "youtubepot-bgutilhttp:base_url=http://bgutil_provider:4416;disable_innertube=1"
--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=default,tv,mweb;formats=incomplete"
```

Use this alternative extractor args in case the extractor fails to get the pot tokens from the bgutil provider server. 
For more information please visit [bgutil-ytdlp-pot-provider](https://github.com/Brainicism/bgutil-ytdlp-pot-provider) project.

# Troubleshooting and submitting issues

Before asking a question or submitting an issue for YTPTube, please remember that YTPTube is only a thin wrapper for 
[yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp). Any issues you might be experiencing with authentication to video websites, 
postprocessing, permissions, other `yt-dlp options` configurations which seem not to work, or anything else that 
concerns the workings of the underlying yt-dlp library, need not be opened on the YTPTube project.

In order to debug and troubleshoot them, it's advised to try using the yt-dlp binary directly first, bypassing the UI, 
and once that is working, importing the options that worked for you into a new `preset`.

## Via HTTP

If you have enabled the web terminal via `YTP_CONSOLE_ENABLED` environment variable, simply go to `Other > Terminal` use
 the yt-dlp command, the interface is jailed to the `yt-dlp` binary you can't access anything else.

## Via CLI 

Assuming your YTPTube container is called `ytptube`, run the following on your docker host to get a shell inside the container:

```bash
docker exec -ti ytptube bash
cd /downloads
yt-dlp ....
```

Once there, you can use the yt-dlp command freely.

# Run behind reverse proxy.

It's advisable to run YTPTube behind a reverse proxy, if better authentication and/or HTTPS support are required.

## Caddy http server

The following example Caddyfile gets a reverse proxy going behind [caddy](https://caddyserver.com).

```caddyfile
# If you are using sub-domain.
# make sure to change "ytptube:8081" to the actual name of your YTPTube container/port.
ytp.example.org {
  reverse_proxy ytptube:8081
}

# If you are using sub-folder, for example: https://example.org/ytptube/
# Also make sure to set the `YTP_BASE_PATH` environment variable to `/ytptube/`
# make sure to change "ytptube:8081" to the actual name of your YTPTube container/port.
example.org {
  redir /ytptube /ytptube/
  route /ytptube/* {
    reverse_proxy ytptube:8081
  }
}
```

# How to autoload yt-dlp plugins?

Loading yt-dlp plugins in YTPTube is quite simple, we already have everything setup for you. simply, create a folder 
inside the `/config` directory named `yt-dlp` so, the path will be `/config/yt-dlp`. then follow 
[yt-dlp plugins docs](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?tab=readme-ov-file#plugins) to know how to install the plugins.

Once you have installed the plugins, restart the container and the plugins will be auto-loaded on demand.

# How to load random backgrounds from WatchState or any other source?

YTPTube can be configured to pull random background images from different sources, including `WatchState` which is another 
project of mine, simply change the `YTP_PICTURES_BACKENDS` environment variable to the following url

```env
YTP_PICTURES_BACKENDS=https://watchstate.ip/v1/api/system/images/background?apikey=[api_key]
```

Where `[api_key]` is the api key you get from your WatchState instance.

# The origin of the project.

The project first started as a fork [meTube](https://github.com/alexta69/metube), since then it has been completely 
rewritten and redesigned. The original project was a great starting point, but it didn't align with my vision for the 
project and what i wanted to achieve with it.
