(Youtubedl) YouTube Downloader Web App Installation Guide

Self-hosted web GUI for yt-dlp. Youtube URL MP4 downloader

Overview

This web application allows users to download YouTube videos in various quality formats through a browser interface. It uses Flask as the web server, connects to YouTube for video information, and uses yt-dlp and ffmpeg to download and process videos.

Deployment Steps

1. Prepare Environment

# Create directory for the application
mkdir -p /volume/youtubedl
cd /volume/youtubedl

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

2. Install Dependencies

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install flask
pip install --upgrade yt-dlp

# Install FFmpeg (system package)
# Debian/Ubuntu:
apt-get install ffmpeg

# CentOS/RHEL:
yum install ffmpeg

# Alpine:
apk add ffmpeg

3. Create Application Files

Copy the provided files to their proper locations:

• youtubedl.py → /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.py
• youtubedl.html → /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.html
• youtubedl.sh → /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.sh

4. Set Permissions

# Make the scripts executable
chmod +x /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.py
chmod +x /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.sh

# Create download directories
mkdir -p /volume/youtubedl/downloads
mkdir -p /volume/youtubedl/downloads/temp

# Set proper ownership (replace "your_username" with your actual username)
chown -R your_username:your_group /volume/youtubedl

5. Configure Service Script

Edit youtubedl.sh to set the correct username:

# Replace "user" with your actual username
USER="your_username"

Optionally, create a system service file for automatic startup:

# For systemd-based systems, create a service file
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/youtubedl.service

Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=YouTube Downloader Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=your_username
WorkingDirectory=/volume/youtubedl
ExecStart=/volume/youtubedl/venv/bin/python /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.py
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

6. Set Up Service for NAS Systems (Optional)

For Synology or other NAS systems, install as a service:

# Copy the service script to startup location
sudo cp /volume/youtubedl/youtubedl.sh /usr/local/etc/rc.d/

# Make it executable
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/etc/rc.d/youtubedl.sh

7. Start the Application

Option A: Run directly

cd /volume/youtubedl
./youtubedl.sh start

Option B: Run as a system service (systemd)

# Enable and start the service
sudo systemctl enable youtubedl.service
sudo systemctl start youtubedl.service

Option C: Run as a NAS service

# Start the service
sudo /usr/local/etc/rc.d/youtubedl.sh start

# Stop the service
sudo /usr/local/etc/rc.d/youtubedl.sh stop

# Check status
sudo /usr/local/etc/rc.d/youtubedl.sh status

# View debug information
sudo /usr/local/etc/rc.d/youtubedl.sh debug

# Clean downloads older than 7 days
sudo /usr/local/etc/rc.d/youtubedl.sh clean

8. Access the Web Interface

Open a browser and navigate to:

http://your_server_ip:6776

Important Notes

• Make sure port 6776 is open in your firewall
• The application logs are stored in /var/log/youtubedl.log
• Downloaded files are stored in /volume/youtubedl/downloads
• FFmpeg must be installed for video processing and conversion
• View logs in real-time with: tail -f /var/log/youtubedl.log
• The web interface has no authentication - consider using a reverse proxy with authentication for public deployments
• This tool is intended for personal use with content you have the right to download
• Use the debug command to troubleshoot issues: sudo ./youtubedl.sh debug
• To update yt-dlp: source /volume/youtubedl/venv/bin/activate && pip install --upgrade yt-dlp

Screenshots