YouTube Backup

A modern desktop application for archiving YouTube channels using yt-dlp. Browse your downloaded channels, manage downloads, and play videos with your preferred media player—all from a clean, user-friendly GUI.

Features

• Channel Browser: Browse downloaded YouTube channels and videos with thumbnails
• Download Queue: Queue new channels or videos for download with a simple interface
• Video Playback: Play videos directly using your preferred video player (mpv, VLC, etc.)
• Live Chat Archives: Identify and manage downloaded live chat archives
• Search: Search across your entire video library
• System Tray: Minimize to system tray for quick access
• Configurable: Customize backup location and video player via config.toml
• SQLite Database: Efficient metadata storage and retrieval

Requirements

• Rust 1.70+ (for building from source)
• yt-dlp: Required for downloading videos. Install via:
  • pip install yt-dlp (Python)
  • apt install yt-dlp (Debian/Ubuntu)
  • brew install yt-dlp (macOS)
  • Or build from source
• Video Player: A command-line compatible player like:
  • mpv (default)
  • VLC
  • ffplay
  • Any player accepting a file path as argument

Installation

From Source

git clone https://codeberg.org/your-username/youtube-backup
cd youtube-backup
cargo build --release

The compiled binary will be at target/release/youtube-backup.

Linux Desktop Integration

A .desktop file is included for easy launcher integration:

cp youtube-backup.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Configuration

Create a config.toml file in the same directory as the binary:

[backup]
directory = "/path/to/your/video/library"

[player]
command = "mpv"  # or "vlc", "ffplay", etc.

Configuration Options

Setting	Type	Default	Description
backup.directory	string	./channels	Where downloaded videos are stored
player.command	string	mpv	Command to launch video player

Usage

Running the Application

./youtube-backup

Or from your application launcher after installing the .desktop file.

Workflow

1. Add a Channel:

   • Click the "Download" tab
   • Enter the YouTube channel URL (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/@channelname)
   • Optionally specify a custom directory
   • Click "Queue Download"

2. Browse Downloads:

   • Videos are automatically organized by channel
   • Browse channels in the left sidebar
   • Click a channel to view its videos
   • Videos display with thumbnails and metadata

3. Play a Video:

   • Click any video card
   • Select "Play" to launch it in your configured player

4. Search:

   • Use the search bar to find videos by title
   • Results update in real-time across your entire library

5. View Downloads:

   • Toggle the "Show Downloads" button to monitor active downloads
   • Tracks download progress for queued jobs

Project Structure

youtube-backup/
├── src/
│   ├── main.rs          # Application entry point
│   ├── app.rs           # Main GUI and event loop
│   ├── downloader.rs    # yt-dlp integration
│   ├── library.rs       # Channel and video scanning
│   ├── config.rs        # Configuration loading
│   ├── database.rs      # SQLite metadata storage
│   └── tray.rs          # System tray integration
├── config.toml          # Configuration template
├── Cargo.toml           # Rust dependencies
└── youtube-backup.desktop # Linux launcher entry

Dependencies

• eframe/egui: Fast, native GUI framework for Rust
• rusqlite: SQLite database bindings (bundled)
• serde/toml: Configuration file parsing
• image: Thumbnail decoding (JPEG, PNG, WebP)
• tray-icon: System tray integration

Building and Packaging

Release Build

cargo build --release

AUR (Arch Linux)

A PKGBUILD is included for Arch Linux:

makepkg -si

Troubleshooting

yt-dlp Not Found

Ensure yt-dlp is installed and in your $PATH:

which yt-dlp

Videos Won't Play

Check that your configured player command is correct in config.toml and installed on your system.

Thumbnails Not Loading

Verify the image dependencies are compiled correctly. Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP.

Database Issues

Delete backup.db (in the parent directory of your video library) and rescan:

rm backup.db

Restart the application to rebuild the index.

License

See LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.