Youtarr

A self-hosted YouTube downloader that follows channels and playlists on a schedule and files videos with metadata for Plex, Jellyfin, Emby or Kodi.

1.8k stars, 88 forks JavaScript On GitHub since May 2023

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Youtarr at a glance

Open sourceYes, ISCNo paid parts in the repository
Health84 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDockerOne-click in YunoHost, Unraid and 1 more
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~17 hoursMedian first reply; 100% of recent issues answered

What is Youtarr?

Youtarr subscribes to YouTube channels and playlists and fetches new videos, shorts and streams through yt-dlp on a cron-style schedule. Downloads land in per-channel folders with NFO files, posters and embedded MP4 tags, and channel groups can feed separate media server libraries. Subscribed playlists are mirrored as native playlists in Plex, Jellyfin and Emby, and watched state is pulled back from those servers one way. It also plays videos in the browser on its own, strips sponsor segments via SponsorBlock, cleans up old files by age, free space or watch status, and exposes a REST API with Swagger docs.

Good fit if

  • You want a family-friendly, ad-free YouTube library on your home media server, split into kids, music or news folders.
  • You keep archives of channels in case videos get deleted or made private.
  • You like queueing a clip from the browser with a bookmarklet or from a phone shortcut.

Look elsewhere if

  • You would rather browse your saved channels in a standalone YouTube media server than through Plex or Jellyfin: Tube Archivist.
  • You only need occasional one-off downloads through a simple yt-dlp web form: MeTube.
  • You would rather watch YouTube through a privacy-friendly front end than store files: Invidious.

Before you adopt it

Youtarr uses the permissive ISC license, and the repository contains no paid parts; the author asks for Patreon donations, and ElfHosted sells a managed deployment. One developer wrote about three quarters of recent commits, so continuity rests largely on that person. It runs only in Docker, with a MariaDB container alongside the app; Node deployments outside Docker are unsupported. The README warns that bind-mounted database folders on NAS or Docker Desktop filesystems can break schema migrations.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run Youtarr yourself

One-click install

Not listed in Umbrel, TrueNAS, CasaOS, Runtipi and Coolify. Checked against each panel’s app catalog on 12 November 2026.

Ways to install

Docker files
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker-compose.yml: 2 services (mysql)
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: youtarr.com or the README on GitHub.

Youtarr health: is it still maintained?

84 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~3 daysLatest: v1.91.0, 6 November 2026
Issue repliesWithin ~17 hoursMedian first reply; 100% of recent issues answered
Bus factorMedium riskThe most active of 5 authors wrote 74% of recent commits
  • Activity
    416 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 6 November 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    5 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 74% of them.
    10 / 20
  • Releases
    15+ releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v1.91.0, on 6 November 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 100% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 17 hours.
    20 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

Youtarr security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code.

Security advisories4 published2 high; all list a fixed version

Latest advisories

All 4 advisories on GitHub

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026.

Youtarr license: is it open source?

Youtarr uses ISC, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. May 2023First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayISC.

Youtarr for developers

Written in

  • JavaScript 52%
  • TypeScript 45%
  • Python 1%
  • Shell <1%
  • CSS <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues58On GitHub
Authors, 90 days5Of the latest 100 commits
Donations2 waysGitHub Sponsors, Patreon

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

Alternatives to Youtarr

  • SeerrOpen-source media request and discovery manager for Jellyfin, Plex, and Emby. 84 health · MIT · 13.2k stars
  • OmbiWant a Movie or TV Show on Plex/Emby/Jellyfin? Use Ombi! 60 health · GPL-2.0 · 4.1k stars
  • MeTubeSelf-hosted video downloader for YouTube and other sites (web UI for yt-dlp) 82 health · AGPL-3.0 · 15.2k stars
  • KodiKodi is an award-winning free and open source home theater/media center software and entertainment hub for… 64 health · GPL-2.0 · 21.5k stars
  • JellyfinThe Free Software Media System - Server Backend & API 85 health · GPL-2.0 · 59.3k stars

All 38 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about Youtarr

Is Youtarr open source?

Yes. Youtarr is published under ISC, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Youtarr still maintained?

Its health score is 84 of 100 (actively developed). It had 416 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 6 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 6 November 2026.

How do I run Youtarr?

You can run it with Docker and in one click from YunoHost, Unraid and Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Youtarr written in?

Youtarr is written mainly in JavaScript (52% of the code), with TypeScript (45%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Youtarr?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include Seerr, Ombi, MeTube.