Skip to content
/ tartube Public
forked from axcore/tartube

A GUI front-end for youtube-dl, partly based on youtube-dl-gui and written in Python 3 / Gtk 3

License

GPL-3.0 license
0 stars 112 forks Branches Tags Activity
Star
Notifications You must be signed in to change notification settings

S-hdyn/tartube

BranchesTags
 
 

Repository files navigation

Tartube - The Easy Way To Watch And Download Videos

Works with YouTube, BitChute, and hundreds of other websites

Tartube screenshot

1 Introduction

Tartube is a GUI front-end for youtube-dl, yt-dlp and other compatible video downloaders.

It is partly based on youtube-dl-gui and is written in Python 3 / Gtk 3. Tartube runs on MS Windows, Linux, BSD and MacOS.

Problems can be reported at our GitHub page.

2 Why should I use Tartube?

  • You can fetch a list of videos from your favourite channels and playlists on YouTube, BitChute, and hundreds of other websites (see here for a full list)
  • If buffering is an issue, you can download a temporary copy of a video before automatically opening it in your favourite media player
  • Tartube will organise your videos into convenient folders (if that's what you want)
  • Tartube can alert you when livestreams and debut videos are starting (YouTube only)
  • If creators upload their videos to more than one website (YouTube and BitChute, for example), Tartube can interact with both sites without creating duplicates
  • Certain websites operate an "only one opinion allowed" policy. If you think that the censors will remove a video, against the wishes of its creators and before you've had a chance to watch it, Tartube can make an archive copy
  • Certain websites frequently place restrictions on a video, not because it is unsuitable for some audiences, but for purely political reasons. Tartube can, in some circumstances, see videos that are region-blocked and/or age-restricted
  • Certain websites manipulate search results, repeatedly unsubscribe people from their favourite channels and/or deliberately conceal videos that they don't like. Tartube won't do any of those things
  • If you want to listen to your favourite discussion videos, for example while driving a car, Tartube can make an archive copy of just the audio, rather than the full video
  • Tartube is free and open-source software

2.1 What's new in version 2.3.0

  • When you first start Tartube, you will see a new, friendly setup window, allowing you to choose basic settings, and (for most users) to download some dependencies (see 6.1 Setting up Tartube)
  • Videos can now be displayed in a grid. This is the default mode for new installations. Existing users can click the Switch button near the top of the main window until they see the layout they prefer
  • Livestream detection has been improved. You can now see the approximate start time of a livestream. Pre-recorded videos, which are released at a pre-determined time as if they were livestreams, are now shown in a different colour
  • You can now create as many scheduled downloads as you like (earlier versions resticted you to just three; see 6.12 Scheduled downloads)
  • Tartube includes a new GUI for processing videos and thumbnails with FFmpeg, replacing the simple dialogue window in the previous release (see 6.25.2 Using FFmpeg directly)
  • You can now create as many sets of download options as you like, and as many sets of FFmpeg options as you like. They can now imported and exported between databases (see 6.11.3 Managing download options)
  • The new Hide button at the top of the main window is a convenient way to hide system folders you don't need
  • Tartube now supports Youtube Stream Capture, which can be used to download a livestream while it is broadcasting. This feature is experimental. It only works on YouTube. It doesn't work on MS Windows. It can't download continuous 24/7 livestreams. It might not be able to download some other livestreams. The feature is disabled by default. If you want to try it, see see 6.23.5 Youtube Stream Capture

For a full list of new features and fixes, see recent changes.

3 Downloads

Latest version: v2.3.110 (21 Feb 2021)

Official packages (also available from the Github release page):

There are also some DEB/RPM packages marked STRICT. In these packages, updates to youtube-dl from within Tartube have been disabled. If Tartube is uploaded to a repository with lots of rules, such as the official Debian repository, then you should probably use the STRICT packages.

Semi-official packages:

Source code:

4 Quick start guide

  • Install Tartube, using any of the methods described below
  • Start Tartube. A setup window should appear
  • When prompted, choose a folder in which Tartube can store videos
  • When prompted, choose a downloader
  • On some systems, you will be prompted to install the downloader and/or Ffmpeg. On other operating systems, you will have to install them yourself

Tartube can store its videos in a database. If that's what you want, do this:

  • Go to a video website, and find your favourite channel
  • In Tartube's main window, click the Add a new channel button (or from the menu, click Media > Add channel... )
  • In the dialogue window, add the name of the channel and a link to it (URL)
  • Click the OK button to close the window
  • Click the Check all button. Tartube will fetch a list of videos in the channel
  • Click All Videos to see that list
  • If you want to download the videos, click the Download all button

If you just want to download videos with a minimum of fuss, do this:

  • Go to a video website, and find your favourite channel
  • In Tartube's main window, click the Classic Mode tab
  • Copy the link to the channel (URL) into the box at the top of tab
  • Just below that, click the button to select a download destination and a video/audio format
  • Click the Add URLs button
  • When you're ready, click the Download all button

5 Installation

5.1 Installation - MS Windows

MS Windows users should use the installer available at the Tartube website. The installer contains everything you need to run Tartube. You must be using Windows Vista or above; the installer will not work on Windows XP.

There is also a portable edition; use this if you want to install Tartube onto removable media, such as a USB drive. Download the ZIP file, extract it, and run the file tartube_portable_64bit.bat or tartube_portable_32bit.bat.

Both the installer and the portable edition include a copy of AtomicParsley, so there is no need to install it yourself.

5.1.1 Manual installation - MS Windows

If you want to perform a manual installation, you can follow this procedure, which will take about 10-30 minutes, depending on your network speed.

  • This section assumes you have a 64-bit computer

  • Download and install MSYS2 from msys2.org. You need the file that looks something like msys2-x86_64-yyyymmdd.exe

  • MSYS2 wants to install in C:\msys64, so do that

  • Open the MINGW64 terminal, which is C:\msys64\mingw64.exe

  • In the MINGW64 terminal, type:

    pacman -Syu

  • If the terminal wants to shut down, close it, and then restart it

  • Now type the following commands, one by one:

    pacman -Su

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3-pip

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3-gobject

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3-requests

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gtk3

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gsettings-desktop-schemas

    pip3 install feedparser

    pip3 install playsound

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-aria2

    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python-matplotlib

  • Download the Tartube source code from Sourceforge, using the links above

  • Extract it into the folder C:\msys64\home\YOURNAME, creating a folder called C:\msys64\home\YOURNAME\tartube

  • Now, to run Tartube, type these commands in the MINGW64 terminal (don't forget to use forward slashes):

    cd /home/YOURNAME/tartube

    python3 tartube/tartube

5.2 Installation - MacOS

MacOS users should use the following procedure (with thanks to JeremyShih):

  • Install Python 3 by downloading an installer, or with homebrew:

    brew install pkg-config

    brew install python

  • Install Gtk 3

    pip install pycairo

    brew install gobject-introspection

    python3 -m pip install PyGObject

    brew install gtk+3

  • Install Python Requests module

    pip install requests

  • Install either youtube-dl or yt-dlp

    pip install youtube-dl

    pip install yt-dlp

  • Install the Adwaita theme for icons used by Tartube (optional)

    brew install adwaita-icon-theme

  • It is strongly recommended that you install Ffmpeg, too

    brew install ffmpeg

After installing dependencies (see above):

  1. Download & extract the source code (see the links above)
  2. Change directory into the Tartube directory
  3. Type: python3 tartube/tartube

5.3 Installation - Linux/BSD

Linux/BSD users can use any of the following installation methods.

5.3.1 Install using the DEB package

Linux distributions based on Debian, such as Ubuntu and Linux Mint, can install Tartube using the DEB package (see the links above).

Tartube requires either youtube-dl or yt-dlp. If it's already installed on your system, then you can start Tartube immediately. Otherwise, do this:

  1. Run Tartube
  2. Tartube asks you to choose a data directory, so do that
  3. Click Operations > Update youtube-dl

It is strongly recommended that you install Ffmpeg, too. On most Debian-based systems, you can open a terminal window and run this command:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

5.3.2 Install using the RPM package

Linux distributions based on RHEL, such as Fedora, can install Tartube using the RPM package (see the links above).

Tartube requires either youtube-dl or yt-dlp. If it's already installed on your system, then you can start Tartube immediately. Otherwise, do this:

Otherwise, if pip is already installed on your system, do this:

  1. Run Tartube
  2. Tartube asks you to choose a data directory, so do that
  3. Click Operations > Update youtube-dl

If neither youtube-dl nor pip are installed on your system, then the recommended way to install youtube-dl is from the command line, using pip. (Software managers usually don't offer the most recent version of youtube-dl.)

On Fedora, the procedure is:

  1. Open a terminal window
  2. Type: dnf -y install python3-pip
  3. Type: pip3 install youtube-dl or pip3 install yt-dlp
  4. You can now run Tartube.

It is strongly recommended that you install Ffmpeg, too. On most RHEL-based systems (for example, Fedora 29-32), you can open a terminal window and run these commands:

sudo dnf -y install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

sudo dnf -y install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

5.3.3 Install using the AUR package

On Arch-based systems. such as Manjaro, Tartube can be installed using the semi-official AUR package. The procedure is:

  1. Open a terminal window
  2. Type: git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/tartube.git
  3. Type: cd tartube
  4. Type: makepkg -si
  5. You can now run Tartube.

It is strongly recommended that you install Ffmpeg, too. On most Arch-based systems, you can open a terminal window and run this command:

sudo pacman -S ffmpeg

5.3.4 Install using the ebuild package

On Gentoo-based systems, Tartube can be installed using the semi-official ebuild package, using the link above.

Tartube requires youtube-dl. It is strongly recommended that you install Ffmpeg, too.

If you're not sure how to install using ebuild, then it might be easier to install from PyPI.

5.3.5 Install using PyPI

Tartube can be installed from PyPI with or without root privileges.

Here is the procedure for Debian-based distributions, like Ubuntu and Linux Mint. The procedure on other distributions is probably very similar.

5.3.6 Install using PyPI (with root privileges)

  1. Make sure youtube-dl has been completely removed from your system
  2. Type: sudo apt install python3-pip
  3. Type: sudo pip3 install youtube-dl tartube or sudo pip3 install yt-dlp tartube
  4. Type: tartube

5.3.7 Install using PyPI (without root privileges)

  1. Type: sudo apt install python3-pip
  2. Type: pip3 install tartube
  3. The Tartube executable is stored in ~/.local/bin by default. If that is already in your path, you can start Tartube by typing tartube. Otherwise, type ~/.local/bin/tartube
  4. Tartube asks you to choose a data directory, so do that
  5. In the Tartube main window, click Edit > System preferences... > youtube-dl
  6. In the box marked Path to youtube-dl executable, select Use PyPI path (~/.local/bin/youtube-dl)
  7. Click OK to close the dialogue window
  8. Click Operations > Update youtube-dl
  9. Once the update has finished, Tartube is ready for use

5.3.8 Manual installation

For any other method of installation on Linux/BSD, the following dependencies are required:

These dependencies are optional, but recommended:

  • Python pip - keeping youtube-dl up to date is much simpler when pip is installed
  • Python feedparser module - enables Tartube to detect livestreams
  • Python moviepy module - if the website doesn't tell Tartube about the length of its videos, moviepy can work it out
  • Python playsound module - enables Tartube to play an alarm when a livestream starts
  • Ffmpeg - required for various video post-processing tasks; see the section below if you want to use FFmpeg
  • AtomicParsley - required for embedding thumbnails in audio files
  • aria2 - required for Youtube Stream Capture
  • matplotlib - required for drawing graphs

5.3.9 Install from source

After installing dependencies (see above):

  1. Download & extract the source code (see the links above)
  2. Change directory into the Tartube directory
  3. Type: python3 setup.py install
  4. Type: tartube

5.3.10 Run without installing

After installing dependencies (see above):

  1. Download & extract the source code (see the links above)
  2. Change directory into the Tartube directory
  3. Type: python3 tartube/tartube

5.4 Packaging Tartube

Tartube packages are usually created using one of the available environment variables:

  • TARTUBE_PKG for packages without restrictions
  • TARTUBE_PKG_STRICT for a package which should not download or update youtube-dl or FFmpeg; the user is required to install those packages separately
  • TARTUBE_PKG_NO_DOWNLOAD for a package which should not download any videos (and also will not download/update youtube-dl or FFmpeg)

Some packaging systems might forbid installing other packages. If that's the case, you can disable that functionality.

Anyone with concerns over the legality of downloading videos can disable that feature altogether. Tartube will still be able to check videos, channels and playlists, as well as monitor livestreams. Users can watch a video on its original website with a single click. The authors understand that the US courts have ruled that 'scraping' a website is legal. Popular sites like YouTube provide RSS feeds for this very purpose.

Packages can be created in the standard way. For example, an RPM package would be created with the command:

TARTUBE_PKG=1 python3 setup.py bdist_rpm

5.4.1 Packaging Tartube on MS Windows

The procedure used to create the MS Windows installers is described in full in the installer scripts themselves.

6 Using Tartube

6.1 Setting up Tartube

When you first start Tartube, you will be asked to choose a few settings.

Tartube's setup window

Most users can use this window to download and install some packages. If not, those packages must be installed separately.

All of these settings can be changed later, if you want. For example, to change where Tartube stores its files, see 6.20 Managing databases.

6.2 Updating the downloader

If you installed Tartube via a repository such as the official Debian repository, then Tartube may not be allowed to update youtube-dl. In that case, this section does not apply; update youtube-dl using your system's package manager.

Tartube uses a downloader to interact with websites like YouTube. Tartube officially supports two downloaders, youtube-dl and yt-dlp. (Other forks of youtube-dl will probably work as well.)

Websites changes their code frequently, and therefore the downloaders must be updated frequently.

  • Click Operations > Update youtube-dl
  • The name will be different if you're using a different downloader

Updating youtube-dl

6.3 Setting the downloader's location

If the update operation fails on MS Windows, you should ask the authors for help.

On other systems, users can modify Tartube's settings. There are several locations on your filesystem where youtube-dl might have been installed.

Updating youtube-dl

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Downloaders > File paths
  • Try changing the setting Path to executable
  • Try changing the setting Command for update operations
  • Try the update operation again

6.4 Installing FFmpeg / AVConv

FFmpeg and AVConv are commonly use for various video-processing tasks.

It is strongly recommended that all users install FFmpeg. Without it, Tartube won't be able to do any of these things:

  • Display thumbnails from YouTube
  • Download high-resolution videos from any website
  • Download certain other video formats
  • Convert video files to audio

youtube-dl uses FFmpeg by default, but it can use AVConv for certain tasks.

For more information about Tartube's use of Ffmpeg and AVConv, see 6.25 More information about FFmpeg and AVConv.

6.4.1 On MS Windows

On MS Windows, the usual methods of FFmpeg installation will not work. You must download an MSYS2-compatible version of FFmpeg. This can be done in the setup window, or from Tartube's main menu: click Operations > Install FFmpeg....

There is no known method of installing a compatible version of AVConv.

6.4.2 On Linux/BSD/MacOS

On all other operating systems, Tartube and youtube-dl should be able to use FFmpeg (and AVConv, if it is also installed) without any help from you.

If the FFmpeg / AVConv executables have been installed to an unusual location, you can tell Tartube where to find them.

Updating FFmpeg and AVConv

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Downloaders > FFmpeg / AVConv
  • Click the Set buttons and select the FFmpeg or AVConv executable
  • Click the Reset buttons to remove that selection
  • Click the the Use default path buttons to use the normal location for each executable

6.5 Introducing system folders

On the left side of the Tartube window is a list of folders. You can store videos, channels and playlists inside these folders. You can even store folders inside of other folders.

Tartube saves videos on your filesystem using exactly the same structure.

When you start Tartube for the first time, there are several folders already visible. You can't remove any of these folders (but you can hide them, if you want).

Tartube's system folders

  • The All Videos folder shows every video in Tartube's database, whether it has been downloaded or not
  • The Bookmarks folder shows videos you've bookmarked, because they're interesting or important (see 6.16.1 Bookmarked videos )
  • The Favourite Videos folder shows videos in a channel, playlist or folder that you've marked as favourite videos (see 6.16.2 Favourite channels, playlists and folders )
  • The Livestreams folder shows livestreams. Videos are automatically removed from this folder (but not from other folders) when the livestream is finished
  • The Missing videos folder (see 6.24 Detecting missing videos ) shows videos that you've downloaded, but which have since been removed from the website by their creator
  • The New Videos folder shows videos that have been downloaded, but not yet watched
  • The Recent Videos folder shows videos that were checked or downloaded, the last time you used youtube-dl (to change this behaviour, right-click the folder and select Downloads > Set removal time...)
  • The Waiting Videos folder shows videos that you want to watch soon. When you watch the video, it's automatically removed from the folder (but not from Tartube's database)
  • Videos saved to the Temporary Videos folder will be deleted when Tartube next starts
  • The Unsorted Videos folder is a useful place to put videos that don't belong to a particular channel or playlist

6.6 Adding videos

If you want a simpler way to download videos, see 6.22 Classic Mode.

You can add individual videos by clicking the Add new video(s) button near the top of the window. A dialogue window will appear.

Adding videos

Copy and paste the video's URL into the dialogue window. You can copy and paste as many URLs as you like.

When you're finished, click the OK button.

Finally, click on the Unsorted Videos folder to see the videos you've added.

Your first added video

6.7 Adding channels and playlists

You can also add a whole channel by clicking the Add a new channel button or a whole playlist by clicking the Add a new playlist button.

Tartube will download all of the videos in the channel or playlist.

Adding a channel

Copy and paste the channel's URL into the dialogue window. You should also give the channel a name. The channel's name is usually the name used on the website (but you can choose any name you like).

6.8 Adding videos, channels and playlists together

When adding a long list of URLs, containing a mixture of channels, playlists and individual videos, it's quicker to add them all at the same time. Click the Add new video(s) button near the top of the window, and paste all the links into the dialogue window.

Tartube doesn't know anything about these links until you actually download them (or check them). If it's expecting an individual video, but receives a channel or a playlist, Tartube will the handle the conversion for you.

By default, Tartube converts a link into a channel, when necessary. You can change this behaviour, if you want to.

  • In Tartube's main window, click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Preferences
  • Select one of the buttons under URL flexibility preferences

Unfortunately, there is no way for Tartube to distinguish a channel from a playlist. Most video websites don't supply that information.

If your list of URLs contains a mixture of channels and playlists, you can convert one to the other after the download has finished.

  • In Tartube's main window, right-click a channel, and select Channel actions > Convert to playlist
  • Alternatively, right-click a playlist, and select Playlist actions > Convert to channel
  • After converting, you can set a name for the new channel/playlist by right-clicking it, and selecting Channel actions > Rename channel... or Playlist actions > Rename playlist...

6.8.1 Bulk-adding channels and playlists

However, if you're confident that your long list of URLs contains only channels and playlists, there are a couple of other ways to add them.

Firstly, you can click Media > Add many channels/playlists....

Secondly, you could import a text file contaiing a list of channels/playlists. You can write the text file yourself. Each channel/playlist is defined by three consecutive lines, in the following format:

@channel

Alice's Channel

<url>

@playlist

Bob's Playlist

<url>

... where <url> is the web address of the channel/playlist. (Leave out the diamond brackets.)

When you're ready, click Media > Import into database > Plain text export file...

6.8.2 Updating adding channels and playlists

If you need to update existing channels and playlists, you can do so by clicking Edit > System preferences... > Files > URLs.

6.9 Adding folders

The left-hand side of the window will quickly still filling up. It's a good idea to create some folders, and to store your channels/playlists inside those folders.

Click the Add a new folder button near the top of the window, and create a folder called Comedy.

Adding a folder

Then repeat that process to create a folder called History. You can then drag-and-drop your channels and playlists into those folders.

A channel inside a folder

6.10 Things you can do

Once you've finished adding videos, channels, playlists and folders, you can make Tartube do something. Tartube offers the following operations:

The Check and Download buttons

Checking/download videos:

  • Check - Fetches information about videos, but doesn't download them
  • Download - Actually downloads the videos. If you have disabled downloads for a particular item, Tartube will just fetch information about it instead
  • Custom download - Downloads videos in a non-standard way; see 6.13 Custom downloads
  • To Check or Download videos, channels and playlists, use the main menu, or the buttons near the top of the window, or the buttons in the bottom-left corner, or right-click an individual video, channel or playlist
  • A Custom Download can be started from the main menu (Operations > Custom download all or by right-clicking a video, channel, playlist or folder

Refreshing the filesystem:

  • Refresh - Examines your filesystem. If you have manually copied any videos to the location in which Tartube stores its files, those videos are added to Tartube's database
  • To Refresh Tartube's database, use the main menu (Operations > Refresh database...) or right-click a channel/playlist/folder
  • Protip: Do a 'Check' operation before you do 'Refresh' operation

Updating packages:

Fetching information:

  • Info - Fetches information about a particular video: either the available video/audio formats, or the available subtitles
  • To fetch Info about a video, right-click it and select Fetch

Tidying up the filesytem:

  • Tidy - Tidies up Tartube's data directory (folder), as well as checking that downloaded videos still exist and are not corrupted
  • To Tidy the data directory, use the main menu (Operations > Tidy up files... or right-click a channel/playlist/folder

Dealing with livestreams:

  • Livestream - Checks whether any livestreams have started (or stopped), without fetching the full list of videos
  • Livestream capture - When available, downloads a livestream that's broadcasting now; see 6.23.5 Youtube Stream Capture
  • A Livestream check happens every few minutes (if Tartube detected livestreams during a Check or a Download). To force a check now, click Livestreams > Update existing livestreams

Processing videos with FFmpeg:

6.11 Download options

youtube-dl offers a large number of download options. This is how to set them.

Opening the download options window

  • Click Edit > General download options...

A new window opens. Any changes you make in this window aren't actually applied until you click the 'Apply' or 'OK' buttons.

6.11.1 Advanced download options

Some of the options are intended for advanced users, so they're hidden by default. To revel them, click the button Show advanced download options.

Showing advanced download options

After clicking the button, some new tabs will appear. The existing tabs will also have some new features.

6.11.2 Other download options

When you click Edit > General download options..., you are seeing the default download options. If you want to apply a different set of download options to a particular channel or particular playlist, you can do so.

At the moment, the general download options apply to all the videos, channels, playlists and folders you've added.

The window with only general download options applied

Now, suppose you want to apply some download options to the History folder:

  • Right-click the folder, and select Apply download options...

In the new window, select Create new download options, and then click the OK button. A second window will appear, so you can click the OK button there, too.

The new options are applied to everything in the History folder. A pen icon appears above the folder to remind you of this.

Download options applied to the History folder

Now, suppose you want to add a different set of download options, but only for the channel The Armchair Historian.

  • Right-click the channel, and select Apply download options...
  • In the new windows, click the OK button

The previous set of download options still applies to everything in the History folder, except the channel The Armchair Historian.

Download options applied to The Armchair Historian channel

6.11.3 Managing download options

In fact, you can create as many sets of download options as you like.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Options > Download options

The list of download options

The first item in the list, general, is the default set of download options. The second item, classic, are the download options that apply in the Classic Mode Tab (see 6.22 Classic Mode).

Download options are saved in the Tartube database, so if you switch databases (see 6.20.2 Multiple databases), a different selection of download options will apply. If you want to move a set of download options from one database to another, you can Export them, then switch databases, then Import them.

6.12 Scheduled downloads

Tartube can check and download videos, channels and playlists on a regular schedule. This is very useful if you want to leave Tartube running unattended.

The Scheduling tab

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Scheduling > Start
  • In the box, type a name for the scheduled download, for example test
  • Click the Add button to create the scheduled download

The scheduled download tab

A new window appears. You can use this window to congifure the scheduled download.

  • In the Download mode box, select whether Tartube should check videos, download them, or perform a custom download (see 6.13 Custom downloads)
  • In the Start mode box, select whether this download should be performed once, or when Tartube starts, or at regular intervals
  • If you choose regular intervals, then you can set the length of the interval

The drag-and-drop tab

Now click the Media tab. By default, a scheduled download checks or downloads everything in Tartube's database, but if you don't want that, you can select individual channels, playlists and folders.

There are several ways to add channels, playlists and folders to this list:

  • In the dropdown box, select the channel/playlist/folder, and click Add
  • In the main window's Videos tab, right-click the channel/playlist/folder and select Downloads > Add to scheduled download...
  • Drag and drop the channel/playlist/folder from the main window into this window

You can create as many scheduled downloads as you like. Scheduled downloads are performed in order, from the top of the list to the bottom.

6.13 Custom downloads

By default, Tartube downloads videos as quickly as possible, one link (URL) at a time. A link might point to an individual video, or it might point to a whole channel or playlist.

A Custom download enables you to modify this behaviour, if desired. It's important to note that a custom download behaves exactly like a regular download until you specify the new behaviour.

The custom downloads tab

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Custom
  • Select one or more of the options to enable them
  • When you're ready, click OK to close the window
  • To start the custom download, click Operations > Custom download all

6.13.1 Independent downloads

By default, Tartube instructs youtube-dl to download a channel or a playlist. youtube-dl only needs a link to the channel or playlist, so Tartube doesn't send it a link to every single video.

If you need to download each individual video directly, for any reason, you can do this:

  • Firstly, fetch the list of videos, for example by clicking the Check all button
  • Then, click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Custom
  • Click In custom downloads, download each video independently of its channel or playlist to select it
  • Click OK to close the window
  • You can now start the custom download

6.13.2 Diverting to HookTube / Invidious

If Tartube can't download a video from YouTube, it's sometimes possible to obtain it from an alternative website instead.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Custom
  • Click In custom downloads, download each video independently of its channel or playlist to select it
  • Now you can click In custom downloads, obtain the video from HookTube rather than YouTube to select it
  • Click OK to close the window
  • You can now start the custom download

There are a number of alternative YouTube front-ends available, besides HookTube. The original Invidious closed in September 2020, but there are a number of mirrors, such as this one. To get a list of mirrors, see this page, or use your favourite search engine.

When specifying an alternative website, it's very important that you type the exact text that replaces youtube.com in a video's URL. For example, you must type hooktube.com, not www.hooktube.com or http://www.hooktube.com/.

6.13.3 Delays between downloads

If the website is complaining that you're making too many requests (in other words, downloading too many videos too quickly), it's possible to add a delay betwen downloads. The delay can have a fixed or random duration.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Custom
  • Click In custom downloads, apply a delay after each video/channel/playlist download to select it
  • Set the maximum delay (in minutes)
  • If you also set a minimum delay, Tartube uses a random value between the maximum and minimum
  • Click OK to close the window
  • You can now start the custom download

The delay is applied after downloading a channel or a playlist. If you want to apply the delay after each video, you should enable independent downloads as well (as described above).

6.13.4 Launching custom downloads

There are several ways to start a custom download.

  • Right-click a video, and select Custom download video
  • Right-click a channel, playlist or folder, and select Custom download channel, and so on
  • In the Classic Mode tab, click the menu icon in the top-right corner, and select Enable custom downloads. Then click the Custom download all button in the bottom-right corner
  • From the main menu, click Operations > Custom download all

If you want, you can also add a button to the Videos tab, right beneath the Download all button.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Windows > Main window
  • Select Show a 'Custom download all' button in the Videos tab

6.14 Watching videos

If you've downloaded a video, you can watch it by clicking the word Player.

Watching a video

If you haven't downloaded the video yet, you can watch it online by clicking the word Website or YouTube. (One or the other will be visible).

Restricted YouTube videos (not available in your region, or not visible without a Google account) can often be watched without restrictions on an alternative website, such as HookTube or an Invidious mirror such as this one.

As mentioned above, the original Invidious has now closed. You can change the Invidious mirror that Tartube is using, if you like.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Preferences
  • Enter a new Invidious mirror in the box
  • Click OK to close the window
  • You can now watch a video by clicking its Invidious label

6.15 Filtering and finding videos

Beneath the videos you'll find a toolbar. The buttons are self-explanatory, except for the one on the right.

The video catalogue toolbar

Click that button, and a larger toolbar is revealed. You can use this to filter out videos, change the order in which videos are displayed, or find a video uploaded at a certain date.

The toolbar's hidden buttons revealed

  • Use the Sort box to change how videos are sorted. The button next to it can be used at any time force a re-sort
  • Use the Thumbnail size box to change the size of the video grid (it doesn't affect other layouts)
  • Toggle the Frame and Icons buttons to tweak the layout

You can search for videos by applying a filter. For example, you could search for videos whose name contains the word History:

  • In the Filter box, type History
  • The search is case-insensitive, so it doesn't matter if you type History or history
  • Click the magnifiying glass button. All matching videos are displayed
  • Click the cancel button next it to remove the filter

You can also search using a regular expression (regex), too. These searches are also case-insensitive. For example, to find all videos whose name begins with the word "Minecraft":

  • In the Filter box, type ^Minecraft
  • Click the Regex button to select it
  • Click the magnifying glass button. All matching videos are displayed
  • To search using ordinary text, rather than a regex, de-select the Regex button

Alternatively, you can find videos uploaded around a certain date.

  • Click the Find date button to select a date
  • If there are several pages of videos, Tartube will show the page containing the videos uploaded closest to this date

6.16 Marking videos

You can mark videos, channels, playlists and folders that you find interesting, or which are important.

  • You can bookmark a video
  • You can favourite a channel, playlist or folder

Bookmarked and favourite videos shouldn't be confused with archived videos, which are protected from automatic deletion - see 6.18 Archiving videos.

6.16.1 Bookmarked videos

There are several ways to bookmark a video.

  • Right-click a video, and click Mark Video > Video is bookmarked to select it
  • If the B/mark label is visible under the video's name, click it. (If not, click the Switch button to select a different layout)
  • Right-click a channel, and select Channel contents > Mark as bookmarked. This will bookmark every video in the channel, but it won't automatically bookmark videos that are added to the channel later
  • (This can also be done with playlists and folders)

A bookmarked video appears in Tartube's own Bookmarks folder, as well as in its usual location.

6.16.2 Favourite channels, playlists and folders

When you mark a channel, playlist or folder as a favourite, all of its videos will also be visible in Tartube's own Favourite Videos folder.

If new videos are later added to the channel, playlist or folder, they will automatically appear in the Favourite Videos folder.

(It's possible to mark or unmark an individual video as a favourite, but it's better to use bookmarking for that.)

  • Right-click a channel, and select Channel contents > Mark as favourite
  • Right-click a playlist, and select Playlist contents > Mark as favourite
  • Right-click a folder, and select Folder contents > All contents > Mark as favourite
  • If you just want to mark the videos in a folder as favourites, but not any channels or playlists it contains, select Folder contents > Just folder videos > Mark as favourite

6.17 Combining channels, playlists and folders

Tartube can download videos from several channels and/or playlists into a single directory (folder) on your computer's filesystem. There are three situations in which this might be useful:

  • A channel has several playlists. You have added both the channel and its playlists to Tartube's database, but you don't want to download duplicate videos
  • A creator releases their videos on BitChute as well as on YouTube. You have added both channels, but you don't want to download duplicate videos
  • You don't care about keeping videos in separate directories/folders on your filesystem. You just want to download all videos to one location

6.17.1 Combining one channel and many playlists

A creator might have a single channel, and several playlists. The playlists contain videos from that channel (but not necessarily every video).

You can add the channel and its playlists in the normal way but, if you do, Tartube will download many videos twice.

The solution is to tell Tartube to store all the videos from the channel and its playlists in a single location. In that way, you can still see a list of videos in each playlist, but duplicate videos are not actually downloaded.

  • Click Media > Add channel..., and then enter the channel's details
  • Click Media > Add playlist... for each playlist
  • Now, right-click on each playlist in turn, and then select Playlist actions > Set download destination...
  • In the dialogue window, click Choose a different system folder, select the name of the channel, then click the OK button.

6.17.2 Combining channels from different websites

A creator might release their videos on YouTube, but also on a site like BitChute. Sometimes they will only release a particular video on BitChute.

You can add both channels in the normal way but, if you do, Tartube will download many videos twice.

The solution is to tell Tartube to store videos from both channels in a single location. In that way, you can still see a list of videos in each channel, but duplicate videos are not actually downloaded.

  • Click Media > Add channel..., and then enter the YouTube channel's details
  • Click Media > Add channel..., and then enter the BitChute channel's details
  • Right-click the BitChute channel and select Channel actions > Set download destination...
  • In the dialogue window, click Choose a different system folder, select the name of the YouTube channel, then click the OK button

It doesn't matter which of the two channels you use as the download destination. There is also no limit to the number of parallel channels, so if a creator uploads videos to a dozen different websites, you can add them all.

6.17.3 Download all videos to a single folder

If you don't care about keeping videos in separate directories/folders on your filesystem, you can download all videos into the Unsorted videos folder. Regardless of whether you have added one channel or a thousand, all the videos will be stored in that one location.

  • Click Edit > General download options... > Files > Filesystem
  • Click the Download all videos into this folder button to select it
  • In the combo next to it, select Unsorted Videos

Alternatively, you could select Temporary Videos. If you do, videos will be deleted when you restart Tartube (and will not be re-downloaded in the future).

6.18 Archiving videos

You can tell Tartube to automatically delete videos after some period of time. This is useful if you don't have an infinitely large hard drive.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Files > Videos
  • Click the Automatically delete downloaded videos after this many days button to select it
  • If you want to, change the number of days from 30 to some other value

If you want to protect your favourite videos from being deleted automatically, you can archive them. Only videos that have actually been downloaded can be archived.

  • Right-click a video, and select Video is archived

You can also archive all the videos in a channel, playlist or folder.

  • For example, right-click a folder and select Channel contents > Mark videos as archived
  • This action applies to all videos that are currently in the folder, including the contents of any channels and playlists in that folder
  • It doesn't apply to any videos you might download in the future

6.19 Performance limits

By default, Tartube downloads two video, channels or playlists at a time, as quickly as possible (in other words, without bandwidth limits).

You can change this behaviour in the Progress tab, if you want.

  • At the bottom of the tab, select the Max downloads button, and change the maximum number of simultaneous downloads
  • Alternatively, select the D/L speed button, and set the maximum bandwidth you're willing to allocate to Tartube

These are the default settings. Many users might want lower download speeds during the day, but higher download speeds at night (and so on).

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Limits
  • The settings in the top half of the tab are the ones visible in the Progress tab
  • The settings in the bottom half of the tab apply only during certain times of the day, and on certain days

There is a third way to change Tartube's behaviour. The maximum downloads and bandwidth limits can also be set for a scheduled download (see 6.12 Scheduled downloads).

Tartube honours most requests to change the maximum downloads and the bandwidth limit, so it's not a good idea to set lots of different values.

6.20 Managing databases

Tartube downloads all of its videos into a single directory (folder) - the Tartube data directory. The contents of this directory comprise the Tartube database.

Tartube stores important files here, some of which are invisible (by default). Don't let other applications store their files here, too.

You can modify the contents of the directory yourself, if you want, but don't do that while Tartube is running.

It's fine to add new videos to the database, or to remove them. Just be careful that you don't delete any sub-directories (folders), including those which are hidden, and don't modify the Tartube database file, tartube.db.

6.20.1 Importing videos from other applications

Tartube is a GUI front-end for youtube-dl, but it is not the only one. If you've downloaded videos using another application, this is how to add them to Tartube's database.

  • In Tartube's main window, add each channel and playlist in the normal way
  • When you're ready, click the Check all button. This adds a list of videos to Tartube's database, without actually downloading the videos themselves
  • Copy the video files into Tartube's data directory (folder). For example, copy all your PewDiePie videos into ../tartube-data/downloads/PewDiePie
  • In the Tartube menu, click Operations > Refresh database.... Tartube will search for video files, and try to match them with the list of videos you just compiled
  • The whole process might some time, so be patient

6.20.2 Multiple databases

Tartube can only use one database at a time, but you can create as many as you want.

For example, you could create a new database on an external hard drive.

  • In the main window's menu, click File > Database preferences...
  • In the new window, click the Change button
  • Another new window appears. Use it to create a directory (folder) on your external hard drive

Tartube remembers the location of the databases it has loaded. To switch back to your original database:

  • In the main menu, click File > Database preferences...
  • In the list, click the original database to select it
  • Click the Switch button

6.20.3 Multiple Tartubes

Tartube can't load more than one database, but you can run as many instances of Tartube as you want.

If you have added three databases to the list, and if you have three Tartube windows open at the same time, then by default each window will be using a different database.

By default, the databases are loaded in the order they appear in the list.

6.20.4 Exporting/importing the database

You can export the contents of Tartube's database and, at any time in the future, import that information into a different Tartube database, perhaps on a different computer.

It is important to note that only a list of videos, channels, playlists and folders are exported. The videos themselves are not exported, and neither are any thumbnail, description or metadata files.

  • Click Media > Export from database...
  • In the dialogue window, choose what you want to export
  • If you want a list of videos, channels and playlists that you can edit by hand, select the Export as plain text option
  • Click the OK button, then select where to save the export file

It is safe to share this export file with other people. It doesn't contain any personal information.

This is how to import the data into a different Tartube database.

  • Click Media > Import into database > JSON export file... or Media > Import into database > Plain text export file...
  • Select the export file you created earlier
  • A dialogue window will appear. You can choose how much of the database you want to import

6.21 Converting to audio

Tartube can automatically extract the audio from its downloaded videos, if that's what you want.

The first step is to make sure that either FFmpeg or AVconv is installed on your system - see 6.4 Installing FFmpeg / AVConv.

The remaining steps are simple:

  • In Tartube's main window, click Edit > General download options...

In the new window, do this:

  • Click the Sound Only tab
  • Select the checkbox Download each video, extract the sound, and then discard the original videos
  • In the boxes below, select an audio format and an audio quality
  • Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to apply your changes

Alternatively, if you have enabled advanced options (see 6.11.1 Advanced download options) then the Post-processing tab will be visible, and you can do this:

  • Click on the Post-processing tab
  • Select the checkbox Post-process video files to convert them to audio-only files
  • In the box labelled Audio format of the post-processed file, specify what type of audio file you want - .mp3, .wav, etc
  • If you want, click the button Keep video file after post-processing it to select it
  • Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to apply your changes

Some websites, such as YouTube, allow you to download the audio (in .m4a format) directly, without downloading the whole video, and without using FFmpeg or AVconv.

  • In Tartube's main window, click Edit > General download options... > Formats
  • In the list on the left-hand side, select an .m4a format
  • Click the Add format >>> button to add it to the list on the right
  • Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to apply your changes

6.22 Classic Mode

Tartube compiles a database of the videos, channels and playlists it has downloaded.

If you want something simpler, then click the Classic Mode Tab, which has an interface that looks just like youtube-dl-gui.

The Classic Mode Tab

  • Copy and paste the links (URLs) of videos, channels and/or playlists into the box at the top
  • Click the + button to select a destination. All the videos are downloaded to this location
  • Select a video or audio format, or leave the Default setting enabled
  • The video might not exist in your preferred format, but if FFmpeg or AVConv is installed on your system, the video can be converted
  • Next, click the Add URLs button
  • If you like, you can add more videos/channels/playlists, using a different destination and/or a different format
  • When you're ready, click the Download all button

Tartube doesn't add any of these videos to its database. When you restart Tartube, all of the URLs will be gone. However, the videos themselves will still be on your hard drive.

Because the videos aren't in a database, you can move them anywhere you want (once you've finished downloading them).

6.22.1 Customising Classic Mode

If you only use this tab, you can tell Tartube to open it automatically.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Windows > Main window
  • Select When Tartube starts, automatically open the Classic Mode Tab

If you don't want Tartube to forget URLs when it restarts, you can do this:

  • Click the menu button in the top-right corner of the tab
  • Click Remember URLs to select it
  • Tartube will only remember URLs that haven't been downloaded yet

A separate set of download options (see 6.11 Download options) usually applies to the Classic Mode tab. You can change this behaviour, if you like.

  • Click the menu button in the top-right corner of the tab
  • Click Set download options to see the complete list of download options
  • Alternatively, click Use default download options to use the download options called general

In the same menu, custom downloads can be enabled (see 6.13 Custom downloads). Depending on the behaviour you've selected, Tartube may fetch a list of videos from each URL, before downloading them (so don't be alarmed if each URL is 'downloaded' twice).

In the bottom half of the window, you can select one or more URLs by clicking them. The buttons in the bottom-left apply to the selected URLs. Let your mouse hover over a button, to see what it does.

6.23 Livestreams

Tartube can detect livestreams, and to notify you when they start.

At the moment, this feature only works on YouTube, and it doesn't work at all on 32-bit MS Windows.

6.23.1 Detecting livestreams

Tartube searches for livestreams whenever you check or download channels and playlists.

Livestreams are easy to spot. A livestream that hasn't started yet has a red background. A video that's streaming now has a green background. (Livestreams that have finished have a normal background.)

YouTube sometimes 'streams' a pre-recorded video at an appointed time, as if were a livestream. These 'debut' or 'premiere' videos are shown in slightly different colours - orange before the stream starts, and cyan while it is in progress.

The main window with livestreams visible

Every few minutes, Tartube checks whether a livestream (or debut) has started or stopped. This happens automatically in the background; there is no need for you to do anything.

6.23.2 Customising livestreams

You can modify how often livestreams are checked (and whether they are checked at all). Click Livestreams > Livestream preferences....

Livestream preferences

For technical reasons, there are practical limits to what Tartube can detect. On busy channels, Tartube may not be able to detect livestreams that were announced some time ago. Even if you change the number of days from 7 to a very large number, there is no guarantee that Tartube will detect everything. (If you change the value to 0, Tartube will only detect livestreams that are listed before any ordinary videos.)

By default, Tartube checks a livestream every three minutes, waiting for it to start (or stop). When a livestream is due to start, a check happens every minute. Making more frequent checks is probably not a good idea - the website might block you.

If you want to force a check, in the main window click Livestreams > Update existing livestreams. (Checks are silent, so don't worry if nothing seems to be happening).

6.23.3 Livestream notifications

It's really useful to be notified when a livestream is starting. In the same window, click the Actions tab.

Livestream actions

Desktop notifications do not work on MS Windows yet.

Tartube provides a number of sound effects. You can choose the one you want to use as an alarm. If you want to add your own sound effects, find the directory (folder) where Tartube is installed, copy the new .mp3 or .wav files into ../sounds, and then restart Tartube.

Most users will prefer to leave all of these checkboxes unselected, and instead set up notifications only for the livestreams they want to see.

Some example livestreams

  • Click Notify to show a desktop notification when the stream starts (does not work on MS Windows)
  • Click Alarm to sound an alarm when the stream starts
  • Click Open to open the stream in your web browser as soon as it starts
  • If you think the stream might be removed from the website, you can click D/L on start or D/L on stop. If you click both of them, Tartube will download the video twice. (Think of the second one as a backup, in case the first download doesn't succeed.)

To disable any of these actions, simply click the same label again.

NOTE: At the time of writing (December 2020), youtube-dl often fails to download YouTube livestreams while they are broadcasting. For an alternative download method, see 6.23.5 Youtube Stream Capture. youtube-dl will often download livestreams from other websites successfully.

6.23.4 Compatible websites

Tartube's livestream detection has only been tested on YouTube. It's possible that it might work on other websites, if they behave in the same way. Here is how to set it up.

Firstly, find the RSS feed for the channel or playlist. You may have to use a search engine to find out how to do that. (For YouTube channels/playlists, Tartube finds the feed for you automatically.)

Secondly, right-click the channel and select Show > Channel properties... (alternatively, right-click a playlist and select Show > Playlist properties...)

Now click the RSS feed tab. Enter the link (URL) to the RSS feed in the box. Click the OK button to close the window.

6.23.5 Youtube Stream Capture

Tartube v2.3.0 adds support for Youtube Stream Capture (YTSC), a script that can download livestreams from YouTube independently of youtube-dl.

Support for YTSC is EXPERIMENTAL. It does not work at all on MS Windows (under MSYS2), or on any website besides YouTube. It does not work at all for livestreams that broadcast continuously, 24/7. It is not guaranteed to work with every livestream. Before using YTSC, you must install both FFmpeg and aria2 on your system.

Tartube includes a copy of YTSC. If YTSC has been updated, you use the updated version instead. After downloading it, click Edit > System preferences... > Downloaders > Stream Capture, click the Set button, and select the path to the file youtube_stream_capture.py. Note that the original version of YTSC requires the Python Colorama module, which you must install on your system.

YTSC is disabled by default. To enable it, click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Livestreams, and select the box Use Youtube Stream Capture to download broadcasting livestreams.

Tartube can make multiple attempts to download the livestream, if the first attempt fails. This behaviour can be modified in the preference window, if necessary. Even during a successful attempt, a download might not start immediately. Reducing the restart time lower than a minute is not recommended.

Likewise, the download might continue after the livestream has stopped broadcasting. This is normal; please be patient with very long livestreams.

YTSC downloads a livestream in segments. At the end of the download, the segments must be merged into a single video. Again, this might take several minutes.

6.24 Detecting missing videos

Tartube can detect videos you have downloaded, but which have been since deleted by the original uploader.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Preferences
  • Click the button Add videos which have been removed from a channel/playlist to the Missing Videos folder to select it

Having enabled detection, removed videos will appear in the Missing Videos folder. To empty that folder, right-click it and select Folder contents > All contents > Mark as not missing.

Tartube only detects missing videos when checking/downloading whole channels or playlists. If you interrupt a download, no detection occurs.

6.25 More information about FFmpeg and AVConv

6.25.1 Using FFmpeg / AVConv with youtube-dl

If you explicitly set the location of the FFmpeg and/or AVConv executables, then those locations are passed on to youtube-dl when you check or download videos.

If both locations are set, only one of them is passed on. Usually, that's the location of FFmpeg. However, if you specify the prefer_avconv download option, then AVConv is passed on, instead.

  • Click Edit > General download options...
  • In the new window, if the Show advanced download options button is visible, click it
  • Now click the Post-processing tab
  • Click the Prefer AVConv over FFmpeg button to select it
  • Make sure the Prefer FFmpeg over AVConv (default) button is not selected
  • Click OK to apply your changes

For more information about download options, see 6.11 Download options.

6.25.2 Using FFmpeg directly

You can process videos and thumbnails with FFmpeg directly, if you need to. This is useful for converting a file from one format to another, and for many other tasks.

  • Click a video, or select several videos together
  • Right-click them and select Process with FFmpeg...
  • The FFmpeg options window opens

The FFmpeg options window

FFmpeg options behave much like download options.

  • You can click the Show more FFmpeg options to show advanced options
  • One set of FFmpeg options is the current one
  • If you want to switch to a different set, click Edit > System preferences... > Options > FFmpeg options
  • FFmpeg options are saved with the Tartube database; you can Export and Import them between databases

The box at the top allows you to add FFmpeg options directly. For example, to convert the framerate of some videos to 24 fps, add the following text:

-r 24

6.25.3 Using FFmpeg options

In the options windows, click the File tab.

Converting a video from one format to another is as simple as adding the text avi or mkv (or any other valid video format) to the box Change file extension,

The Videos tab contains an optional list of videos. These are the videos that are processed, when you click the Process files button in the bottom-right corner. (If the list is empty, you will see an OK button instead).

You can add videos to this list by dragging and dropping them. Dragging from an external application is allowed, if the videos are also visible somewhere in Tartube's main window (for example, in its database, or in the Classic Mode tab).

6.25.4 Advanced FFmpeg options

Now click the Name tab again. One box shows the FFmpeg system command that will be used to process the videos.

Now, if you click the Show more FFmpeg options button, you'll notice that the system command changes radically, and that two new tabs have appeared. Go ahead and click the new Settings tab.

Advanced FFmpeg settings

This tab defines a source file and an output file.

The source file can be a video, or a thumbnail. If you select Video thumbnail, then FFmpeg will process the thumbnails associated with videos listed in the Videos tab; otherwise, it will process the video files themselves.

The output file setting defines whatever you're trying to achieve. If you want FFmpeg to produce a video, then H.264 is the most useful setting (but you could also choose GIF).

When youtube-dl downloads a video, it often downloads the video and audio components seperately. The two pieces are then merged by FFmpeg. Usually, all of this happens automatically, but if the merge didn't succeed (or wasn't attempted), you can try again by selecting Merge video/audio. This settings expects to find a video file and an audio file with the same name (but with different file extensions).

If the source file is a thumbnail, then the output file must also be a thumbnail.

6.26 Video clips

Since v2.4, Tartube is able to download parts of a video, or to split up a video it has already downloaded. This functionality requires FFmpeg.

Tartube can extract a list of timestamps from a video's description. It can also extract the chapter list from a video's metadata (.info.json) file. If you want to specify timestamps manually, or to create a video clips one at a time, you can do that too.

6.26.1 Video clip preferences

Before you start, take a look at the video clip settings (click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Clips).

  • It will save a lot of time if you let Tartube automatically extract timestamps, so most users should enable that
  • Video clips are stored in the Video Clips folder by default, but you can store them alongside the original video, if you prefer
  • Video clips can be added to Tartube's database, either alongside or instead of the original video
  • If you're going to make a lot of video clips, you can store them in a sub-folder (one for each original video)

If your database already contains a lot of videos, you can ask Tartube to extract timestamps from their descriptions.

  • Click Edit > System preferences > Files > Videos
  • Click the button Extract timestamps for all videos

If you prefer to update videos one at a time, right-click the video and select Show video > Properties... > Timestamps. Then click the button Reset list using video description.

6.26.2 Quick video clips

This is the quickest way to create a video clip:

  • After checking a video, you can right-click it and then select Download video clip...
  • After downloading a video, you can right-click it and then select Extract video clip...

In the new dialogue window, you must specify the start of the clip. If you don't specify the end of the clip, then the end of the video is used.

Timestamps must include both minutes and seconds. Hours are optional. Leading zeroes are also optional. All of the following timestamps are valid:

15:29

1:15:29

01:15:29

0:29

Click the Download this clip button to get started. Alternatively, if Tartube has already extracted a list of timestamps for this video, you can click the Download all clips button instead.

6.26.3 Downloading video clips

If you frequently create video clips, then you should set up custom downloads (see 6.13 Custom downloads).

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Custom
  • Select In custom downloads, download each video independently of its channel or playlist
  • Also select ...and split videos into video clips using timestamps

The next step is to check any videos, channels and playlists (for example by clicking the big Check all button in the Videos tab).

This will fetch information about the videos. In many cases, a video's description will include a list of timestamps, and in other cases the video's metadata will include a list of chapters. Assuming that you enabled the auto-extract settings (as described above), that information will have been extracted. If not, you can enter some timestamps manually: right-click a video, and select Show video > Properties > Timestamps.

Each video clip is represented by two timestamps: a start and a stop timestamp. The start timestamp is compulsory. The stop timestamp is optional; if it isn't specified, then the video clip will end at the beginning of the next video clip (or at the end of the video, if there are no more.)

When you're ready, perform a custom download in the normal way (for example, by clicking Operations > Custom download all). Videos will be downloaded as a series of video clips. (If no timestamps have been extracted, then the video is downloaded whole.)

6.26.4 Extracting video clips

If you have already downloaded a video, then you can split it into video clips.

  • Right click the video, and select Process with FFmpeg...
  • If the Clips tab is visible, click it
  • Otherwise, the Settings tab will be visible. Click it, then in the Output file line, select Video clip

You can split a video using the timestamps already extracted, or you can select Split videos using these timestamps to specify your own timestamps. The second option is useful if FFmpeg is acting on multiple videos at the same time.

When you're ready to go, click the Process files button.

6.26.5 Video clip shortcuts

Video clips can be downloaded from the Classic Mode tab. Before downloading, click the menu button in the top-right corner of the tab, and select Enable custom downloads. Don't forget that clips can be downloaded in other formats, such as .mp3.

Users of yt-dlp should be aware that the download option --split-chapters exists, which may be more convenient in some situations.

6.27 Using youtube-dl forks

youtube-dl is open-source software, and there are a number of forks available. Tartube officially supports both the original version and yt-dlp.

If a youtube-dl fork is still compatible with the original, then Tartube can use it instead of the original.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Downloader > Forks
  • In the box Use a different fork of youtube-dl, enter the name of the fork
  • Click OK to close the preferences window
  • Now click Operations > Update youtube-dl, which will download (or update) the fork on your system

7 Frequently-Asked Questions

7.1 Tartube won't install/won't run/doesn't work

Q: I can't install Tartube / I can't run Tartube / Tartube doesn't work properly!

A: Tartube is known to fail on Windows 7 systems that have not been updated for some time. A possible solution is to install this patch from Microsoft. The simplest way to install the patch is to let Windows update itself, as normal.

A: On Linux, if the DEB or RPM package doesn't work, try installing via PyPI.

A: Please report any problems to the authors at our Github page.

It may be helpful to turn on debug messages (which are visible in a terminal window). There are several ways to enable debug messages:

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > General > Debugging, and click the checkboxes to enable them. (These settings are reset when Tartube restarts)
  • Place an (empty) file called debug.txt in the same folder/directory as the Tartube executable. If you're not sure where that is, click Edit > System preferences... > General > Debugging
  • Edit the source code files mainapp.py, mainwin.py and downloads.py. In each file, change the value of DEBUG_FUNC_FLAG to True (note the capitalisation)

On MS Windows, this is how to run Tartube from inside a terminal window:

  • First, enable hidden folders on your system

  • Then, run the application: C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Tartube\msys64\mingw64.exe

  • In this window, type these commands to start Tartube (paying attention to the forward slashes):

    cd /home/user/tartube

    python3 tartube/tartube

7.2 Tartube crashes a lot

Q: I can install and run Tartube, but it keeps crashing!

A: Tartube uses the Gtk graphics library. Regrettably, this library is notoriously unstable.

If stability is a problem, you can disable some minor cosmetic features. Tartube's functionality is not affected. You can do anything, even when the cosmetic features are disabled.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > General > Stability
  • Click Disable some cosmetic features to prevent crashes and other issues to select it

Another option is to reduce the number of simultaneous downloads. (On crash-prone systems, two simultaneous downloads seems to be safe, but four is rather less safe.)

  • In the main window, click the Progress Tab
  • At the bottom of the tab, click the Max downloads checkbutton to select it, and reduce the number of simultaneous downloads to 1 or 2
  • (It's not necessary to reduce the download speed; this has no effect on stability)

7.3 "Download did not start" error

Q: When I try to download videos, nothing happens! In the Errors/Warnings tab, I can see "Download did not start"!

A: See 6.3 Setting the downloader's location

7.4 Can't download a video

Q: I can't download my favourite video!

A: Make sure youtube-dl is updated; see 6.2 Updating the downloader

Before submitting a bug report, find out whether Tartube is responsible for the problem, or not. You can do this by opening a terminal window, and typing something like this:

youtube-dl <url>

...where <url> is the address of the video. If the video downloads successfully, then it's a Tartube problem that you can report. If it doesn't download, you should submit a bug report to the authors of the downloader instead. (You could also try a different downloader.)

Because most people don't like typing, Tartube offers a shortcut.

  • Click Operations > Test youtube-dl, or right-click a video, and select Downloads > Test system command
  • In the dialogue window, enter the link (URL) to the video
  • You can add more youtube-dl download options, if you want. See here for a complete list of them
  • Click the OK button to close the window and begin the test
  • Click the Output Tab to watch the test as it progresses
  • When the test is finished, a temporary directory (folder) opens, containing anything that youtube-dl was able to download

7.5 Downloads never finish

Q: I clicked the 'Download all' button and it starts, but never finishes!

A: This generally indicates an error in the Python, Gtk and/or Tartube code. If you're running Tartube from a terminal window (see 7.1 Tartube won't install/won't run/doesn't work), you should be able to see the error, which you can report on our GitHub page.

There are two things you can try in the meantime:

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > General > Modules, and select the Disable some cosmetic features to prevent crashes and other issues button
  • Click File > Check database integrity

7.6 Videos are missing after a crash

Q: After I downloaded some videos, Tartube crashed, and now all my videos are missing!

A: Tartube creates a backup copy of its database, before trying to save a new copy. In the unlikely event of a failure, you can replace the broken database file with the backup file.

  • Open the data directory (folder). If you're not sure where to find Tartube's data directory , you can click Edit > System preferences... > Files > Database
  • Make sure Tartube is not running. The Tartube window is sometimes minimised, and sometimes only visible in the system tray
  • In the data directory is the broken tartube.db file. You should rename to something else, in case you want to examine it later
  • In the same directory, you might be able to see a directory called .backups
  • If .backups is not visible, then it is hidden. (On many Linux and BSD systems, pressing CTRL + H will reveal hidden folders)
  • Inside the .backups directory, you'll find some backup copies of the database file
  • Choose the most recent one, copy it into the directory above, and rename the copy as tartube.db, replacing the old broken file
  • Restart Tartube
  • Click the Check All button. Tartube will update its database with any videos you've downloaded that were not in the backup database file

Tartube can make more frequent backups of your database file, if you want. See the options in Edit > System preferences... > Files > Backups.

Note that Tartube does not create backup copies of the videos you've downloaded. That is your responsibility!

7.7 Tartube database is broken

Q: The Tartube database is totally broken! How do I rebuild it? I don't want to download everything again!

A: There is a built-in database repair tool. Click File > Check database integrity

A: Try using one of the database backups - see 7.6 Videos are missing after a crash

A: Earlier versions of Tartube did in fact introduce occasional blips into the database. It's possible (though unlikely) that some blips still exist, despite the best efforts of tha uthors. If you really want to rebuild the database from scratch, this is how to do it.

Firstly, click Media > Export from database.... In the dialogue window, it's not necessary to select the button Include lists of videos. Click the OK button. Let Tartube create the backup file. You now have a backup of the names and URLs for every channel/playlist you've added.

Next, shut down Tartube.

Tartube'**s data folder contains the database file, **tartube.db. Rename it (don't delete it).

Now you can restart Tartube. Tartube will create a brand new database file.

Click Media > Import into database > JSON export file.... Import the file you created moments ago.

All the channels/playlists should now be visible in the main window. Click the Check All button in the bottom-left corner and wait for it to finish.

Your new database now contains information about all the videos, but it doesn't know that most of those videos have been downloaded already. Click Operations > Refresh database... to take care of that.

7.8 'Check all' button takes too long

Q: I clicked the 'Check all' button, but the operation takes so long! It only found two new videos!

A: By default, the underlying youtube-dl software checks an entire channel, even if it contains thousands of videos.

You can drastically reduce the time this takes by telling Tartube to stop checking/downloading videos, if it receives (for example) details about three videos it has already checked/downloaded.

This works well on sites like YouTube, which send information about videos in the order they were uploaded, newest first. We can't guarantee it will work on every site.

  • Click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Performance
  • Select the checkbox Stop checking/downloading a channel/playlist when it starts sending vidoes you already have
  • In the Stop after this many videos (when checking) box, enter the value 3
  • In the Stop after this many videos (when downloading) box, enter the value 3
  • Click OK to close the window

7.9 'Download all' button takes too long

Q: I clicked the 'Download all' button, but the operation takes so long! It only downloaded two new videos!

A: youtube-dl can create an archive file especially for this purpose (namely that some channels have no new videos to download, but others have many new videos).

To enable this functionality, click Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Downloads and click Allow downloader to create its own archive file... to select it.

7.10 Videos downloaded to inconvenient location

Q: Tartube always downloads its channels and playlists into ../tartube-data/downloads. Why doesn't it just download directly into ../tartube-data?

A: This was implemented in v1.4.0. If you installed an earlier version of Tartube, you don't need to take any action; Tartube can cope with both the old and new file structures.

If you installed an earlier version of Tartube, and if you want to move your channels and playlists out of ../tartube-data/downloads, this is how to do it:

  • Open the data directory (folder). If you're not sure where to find Tartube's data directory, you can click Edit > System preferences... > Files > Database.
  • Make sure Tartube is not running. The Tartube window is sometimes minimised, and sometimes only visible in the system tray
  • Now open the ../downloads directory
  • Move everything inside that directory into the directory above, e.g. move everything from ../tartube-data/downloads into ../tartube-data
  • Delete the empty ../downloads directory
  • You can now restart Tartube

7.11 Tartube database file is getting in the way

Q: Tartube stores its database file in the same place as its videos. Why can't I store them in different places?

A: This question has been asked by several people who were storing their videos on some remote filesystem (perhaps in the so-called 'cloud'). They found that the videos could be downloaded to that remote location, but that Tartube couldn't save its database file there.

At the moment, the answer is 'Tartube is working fine, fix your own computer'. Perhaps in the future, someone will think of an urgent need for the database file and the data folder to be split up. Until then, there are a number of good reasons for keeping them together:

  • If the database file exists in the folder, Tartube can be confident that it's downloading videos to the place you actually intended
  • If Tartube can't read/write its own database file, that probably means that it won't be possible to store any videos, thumbnails, descriptions, and so on
  • Tartube actually creates a number of temporary files at this location, most of which are invisible but need to be in the same place as the videos
  • If you want to move your videos from one location to another, it's easy - just move a single directory (folder) and everything it contains. There is no need to reconfigure anything; just tell Tartube where to find the new directory (folder)
  • Splitting up the data folder and the database file would require a lot of code to be rewritten, and this would probably introduce lots of new bugs

7.12 Duplicate video names

Q: I downloaded a channel, but some of the videos in the channel have the same name. Tartube only downloads one of them!

A: Tartube can create files with names in different formats. The name of two videos might be identical, but each video will have a unique ID, so you can add the ID to the filename.

  • Click Edit > General download options... > Files > File names
  • In the box Format for video file names, select Title + ID
  • Click OK to close the window

7.13 Convert video to audio

Q: I want to convert the video files to audio files!

A: See 6.21 Converting to audio

7.14 Video is downloaded as separate video/audio files

Q: I downloaded a video and expected a single video file, instead Tartube downloaded several files, none of which are playable!

Q: I set the download option 'If a merge is required after post-processing, output to this format', but it doesn't work!

A: The solution to both problems is to install FFmpeg, and to set the output format correctly.

Firstly, make sure FFmpeg is installed on your system - see 6.4 Installing FFmpeg / AVConv.

Secondly, set your desired output format. Open the Download options window (for example, click Edit > General download options... > Formats > Preferred). Add a format like mp4 to the List of preferred formats, then add the same format to If a merge is required after post-processing, output to this format.

For some reason, youtube-dl ignores the download option unless the format is specified in both places. (You will see a warning if you forget.)

The Download options window

Tartube can merge a video and audio file together, long after they have been downloaded - see 6.25 More information about FFmpeg and AVConv.

7.15 Too many folders in the main window

Q: The main window is full of folders I never use! I can't see my own channels, playlists and folders!

A: In the main window's toolbar, click the Hide (most) system folders button (a red folder)

A: In the main menu, click Media > Hide (most) system folders

A: Right-click the folders you don't want to see, and select Folder actions > Hide folder. To reverse this step, in the main menu click Media > Show hidden folders

A: In the main menu, click Edit > System preferences... > Windows > Videos, and click Show smaller icons in the Video Index to select it

A: If you have many channels and playlists, create a folder, and then drag-and-drop some channels/playlists into it

7.16 Not enough videos in the main window

Q: I want to see all the videos on a single page, not spread over several pages!

A: At the bottom of the Tartube window, set the page size to zero, and press ENTER.

7.17 Toolbar is too small

Q: The toolbar is too small! There isn't enough room for all the buttons!

A: Click Edit > System preferences... > Windows > Main window and then click Don't show labels in the main window toolbar to select it.

MS Windows users can already see a toolbar without labels.

7.18 Toolbar is too big

Q: The toolbar is too big! Make it go away!

A: Click Edit > System preferences... > Windows > Main window, and then click Don't show the main window toolbar. The new setting is applied when you restart Tartube.

7.19 YouTube name/password not accepted

Q: I added my YouTube username and password, but I am still seeing authentification errors!

A: The questioner is talking about the settings in Edit > General download options... > Advanced.

This is a youtube-dl issue. A general solution is described in this post.

The solution describes how to create a cookies.txt file, which can be specified as a download option.

Having created the file, in the same edit window, click the General tab. In the box labelled Extra command line options, you can add:

--cookies=YT-cookies.txt

See also the Tartube thread here.

7.20 Georestriction workarounds don't work

Q: I want to download a video, but it's blocked in my region. I set the geostriction workarounds, but I still can't download the video!

A: youtube-dl provides some options for bypassing region-blocking. To show them, click Edit > General download options..., then click the Show advanced download options button if it's visible, then click the tabs Advanced > Geo-restriction.

Unfortunately, although these options exist, websites are not compelled to respect them. YouTube, in particular, may completely ignore them.

In many cases, the only remedy is to buy a subscription to a VPN.

7.21 Video website blocks me

Q: I downloaded some videos from a channel, but then YouTube blocked me, and I can't download the rest of them!

A: Change your IP address and try again.

A: Subscribe to a VPN.

A: You can specify a list of proxies (Edit > System preferences... > Operations > Proxies). During a download operation, Tartube will cycle between these proxies.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to switch between proxies while downloading a channel (youtube-dl does not offer that functionality). But the proxy list will work well if you're trying to download ten different channels.

7.22 MS Windows installer is too big

Q: Why is the Windows installer so big?

A: Tartube is a Linux application. The installer for MS Windows contains not just Tartube itself, but a copy of Python and a whole bunch of essential graphics libraries, all of them ported to MS Windows.

If you're at all suspicious that such a small application uses such a large installer, you are invited to examine the installed files for yourself:

C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Tartube

(You might need to enable hidden folders; this can be done from the Control Panel.)

Everything is copied into this single folder. The installer doesn't modify the Windows registry, nor does it install files anywhere else (other than to the desktop and the Start Menu).

The NSIS scripts used to create the installers can be found here:

C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Tartube\msys64\home\user\tartube\nsis

The scripts contain full instructions, so you should be able to create your own installer, which can be compared with the official one.

7.23 Doesn't work on 32-bit Windows

Q: Tartube does not install/work on 32-bit Windows

A: Cygwin and MSYS2 have dropped support for 32-bit Windows. This means that some Tartube features do not work on 32-bit systems and, at some point, Tartube will no longer be supported on 32-bit systems as well.

7.24 Tartube can't detect livestreams

Q: Tartube can't detect upcoming livestreams at all!

A: Click Edit > System preferences... General > Modules.

If the Python feedparser module is not available, you can install it via PyPI. On Linux/BSD, the command to use is something like:

pip3 install feedparser

The Tartube installer for 64-bit MS Windows already contains a copy of feedparser, so there is no need to install it again. At the time of writing, Tartube cannot detect livestreams on 32-bit MS Windows.

7.25 Livestream is already finished

Q: Tartube is showing a livestream that finished hours/days/centuries ago!

A: Right-click the video and select Livestream > Not a livestream.

7.26 Can't hear livestream alarms

Q: I set an alarm for an upcoming livestream, but I didn't hear anything!

A: Obviously you have already checked that your speakers are turned on, so now click Edit > System preferences... > General > Modules.

If the Python playsound module is not available, you can install it via PyPI. On Linux/BSD, the command to use is something like:

pip3 install playsound

The Tartube installer for 64-bit MS Windows already contains a copy of playsound, so there is no need to install it again. At the time of writing, playsound cannot ne installed on 32-bit MS Windows.

7.27 Some icons not visible

Q: Icons in the Videos tab are broken! They all look the same!

Q: Icons in the Classic Mode tab are broken! They all look the same!

A: Since v2.4, Tartube uses a set of custom icons, replacing system (stock) icons. This was because some users were complaining that their (broken) systems didn't provide the stock icons.

If you want to restore stock icons, click Edit > System preferences... > Windows > Main window and then click Replace stock icons with custom icons (in case stock icons are not visible) to deselect it. Click the OK button to close the window, then restart Tartube.

7.28 Video thumbnails not visible

Q: Tartube doesn't download video thumbnails any more! It used to work fine!

A: In June 2020, YouTube changed its image format from .jpg to .webp. Unfortunately, most software (including the graphics libraries used by Tartube) don't support .webp images yet. Worse still, YouTube begain sending .webp thumbnails mislabelled as .jpg.

In September 2020, Tartube and youtube-dl added separate fixes for this problem. These fixes both depend on FFmpeg, so they won't work if FFmpeg is not installed on your system - see 6.4 Installing FFmpeg / AVConv.

If you have already downloaded a lot of .webp images, you can ask Tartube to convert them back to .jpg. Once converted, they will be visible in the main window.

  • Click Operations > Tidy up files...
  • In the dialogue window, click Convert .webp files to .jpg using FFmpeg to select it, then click the OK button

7.29 Video text not visible

Q: I can't see the text below each video!

A: If the background colours in the Video Catalogue are getting in the way, you can change them: click Edit > Sysem preferences... > Windows > Colours.

7.30 Graphs not visible

Q: My buddy installed Tartube, and he showed me some download history graphs. But when I looked for that on my computer, I couldn't find them!

A: Tartube shows download statistics in a number of places, for example Edit > System preferences... > Files > History.

The graphs are created by matplotlib, but none of the Tartube installers use it. If you want graphs, you have to install matplotlib yourself.

On Linux/BSD, use your system's software manager. On MS Windows, run the application C:UsersYOURNAMEAppDataLocalTartubemsys64mingw64.exe, and in the new window type pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python-matplotlib.

7.31 Tartube is not visible in the system tray

Q: Tartube is not visible in the system tray! There is just an empty space where the Tartube icon should be!

A: This problem exists on certain Linux desktop environments (e.g. Cinnamon) which have still not fixed an ancient bug. The bug is related to a message you might be able to see in a terminal window, gdk_window_thaw_toplevel_updates: assertion 'window->update_and_descendants_freeze_count > 0' failed.

Other desktop environments (e.g. MATE) display the Tartube icon correctly.

7.32 Tartube is not portable

Q: I want to install Tartube on a USB stick. How do I make Tartube portable?

A: On MS Windows, download the portable edition rather than the usual installer - see 5.1 Installation - MS Windows.

On other operating systems, just download the source code and run it. Installation is not necessary (as long as you have installed the correct dependencies). See 5.3.10 Run without installing.

On other operating systems, Tartube will attempt to create a config file in the default location for your system. You should create an empty settings.json file in the source code directory (i.e. the one containing a setup.py file). This will force Tartube to save its config file there, rather than in the system's default location.

7.33 Run out of disk space

Q: When I try to download videos, Tartube refuses, complaining "You have only X / Y Mb remaining on your device". But I'm using an external hard drive with over a trillion terabytes of empty space!

A: Some users have reported that, when using a virtual machine (e.g. VirtualBox), and when downloading videos to a separate filesystem (e.g. an external hard drive), Tartube checks the size of the virtual filesystem instead of the external drive.

This seems to be an issue with the virtualisation software itself (we have confirmed that everything works as expected on a non-virtual system).

The only thing that can be done is to disable the checks and warnings altogether. Click Edit > System preferences > Files > Device, and deselect both Warn user if disk space is less than and Halt downloads if disk space is less than.

7.34 British spelling

Q: These British spellings are getting on my nerves!

A: Click Edit > System preferences... > General > Language, then click the drop-down box to select American English, and then restart Tartube

7.35 No puedo hablar inglés

Q: ¡No puedo usar YouTube porque no hablo inglés!

A: Necesitamos más traductores.

If you would like to contribute a translation of this project, please read this document.

8 Contributing

Report a bug: Use the Github issues page

9 Authors

See the AUTHORS file.

10 License

Tartube is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

✨🍰✨

About

A GUI front-end for youtube-dl, partly based on youtube-dl-gui and written in Python 3 / Gtk 3

Resources

Readme

License

GPL-3.0 license
Activity

Stars

0 stars

Watchers

0 watching

Forks

0 forks
Report repository

Releases

25 tags

Packages

No packages published

Languages

  • Python 99.2%
  • Other 0.8%