Tube Archivist

A self-hosted YouTube archive that subscribes to channels, downloads videos with yt-dlp and makes them searchable and playable in a web app.

8.6k stars, 434 forks Python On GitHub since September 2021

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Tube Archivist at a glance

Open sourceYes, GPL-3.0No paid parts in the repository
Health72 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDockerCompose file, 3 services
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~18 hoursMedian first reply; 86% of recent issues answered

What is Tube Archivist?

Tube Archivist is built for people whose saved YouTube collection has grown too big to browse as files. It subscribes to channels, downloads new videos through yt-dlp, and indexes them with YouTube metadata so you can search, play and mark them as watched in a web interface, offline. A companion extension for Firefox and Chrome sends videos to it from the browser, and plugins add the archive to Jellyfin or Plex libraries.

Good fit if

  • You archive channels that might disappear and want them organized like a streaming service.
  • You want to watch saved videos offline in your home media setup.

Look elsewhere if

  • You just need a quick page to download a video or playlist: MeTube.
  • You want to stream YouTube privately without storing files: Invidious.

Before you adopt it

Tube Archivist is GPL-3.0 with no paid parts. One developer writes almost all of it. The stack requires Docker, runs Redis and another service alongside the app, and needs about 2 GB of memory for testing and 4 GB for larger libraries.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

How to run Tube Archivist yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker-compose.yml: 3 services (redis)
Setup effort
2 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: tubearchivist.com or the README on GitHub.

Tube Archivist health: is it still maintained?

72 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~49 days6 releases in 12 months; latest v0.6.0
Issue repliesWithin ~18 hoursMedian first reply; 86% of recent issues answered
Bus factorHigh riskThe most active of 5 authors wrote 93% of recent commits
  • Activity
    58 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 25 October 2026.
    21 / 30
  • Contributors
    5 people wrote the 58 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 93% of them.
    10 / 20
  • Releases
    6 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v0.6.0, on 25 October 2026.
    17 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 86% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 18 hours.
    19 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 5 November 2026. How the score works

Tube Archivist license: is it open source?

Tube Archivist uses GPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. September 2021First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayGPL-3.0.

Tube Archivist for developers

Written in

  • Python 58%
  • TypeScript 38%
  • CSS 3%
  • Shell <1%
  • Dockerfile <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues14On GitHub
Authors, 90 days5Of 58 commits
Donations3 waysGitHub Sponsors, Ko-fi, own page

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to Tube Archivist

  • MeTubeSelf-hosted video downloader for YouTube and other sites (web UI for yt-dlp) 79 health · AGPL-3.0 · 15.2k stars
  • MediaMTXReady-to-use Media-over-QUIC / SRT / WebRTC / RTSP / RTMP / LL-HLS / MPEG-TS / RTP live media server and… 79 health · MIT · 20.6k stars
  • SRSSRS is a simple, high-performance, AI-driven real-time media server supporting RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP-FLV,… 74 health · MIT · 29.4k stars
  • InvidiousInvidious is an alternative front-end to YouTube 75 health · AGPL-3.0 · 25.9k stars
  • NavidromeYour Personal Streaming Service 84 health · GPL-3.0 · 24.5k stars

All 18 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about Tube Archivist

Is Tube Archivist open source?

Yes. Tube Archivist is published under GPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Tube Archivist still maintained?

Its health score is 72 of 100 (actively developed). It had 58 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 25 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 25 October 2026.

How do I run Tube Archivist?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Tube Archivist written in?

Tube Archivist is written mainly in Python (58% of the code), with TypeScript (38%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Tube Archivist?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include MeTube, MediaMTX, SRS.