RustTube

RustTube is a simple Windows desktop GUI for yt-dlp, written in Rust.

It is designed to make downloading videos and audio easier for users who do not want to work with command-line tools directly. You can paste a supported URL, preview the media, choose a format and quality, and download it with a few clicks.

Features

• Simple Windows GUI built with Rust
• Supports URLs handled by yt-dlp
• Video download mode
• MP3 audio download mode
• Manual format selection mode
• Media preview with thumbnail, title, creator, and duration
• Live output log
• Download progress display
• Cancel running downloads
• Select custom target folder
• Tool management inside the app
• Optional installer build with Inno Setup

How It Works

RustTube uses yt-dlp for extraction and downloading.

Depending on what you want to download, it can also use:

• ffmpeg
• ffprobe
• deno

The app can download these tools into its own tools folder when needed.

Project Structure

RustTube/
  assets/
    icon.ico
  scripts/
    build.bat
    build.ps1
    setup.iss
  src/
    app_model.rs
    icon.rs
    main.rs
    preview.rs
    process_utils.rs
    progress.rs
    runtime_tools.rs
    settings.rs
  build.rs
  Cargo.toml

Requirements

• Windows
• Rust toolchain
• Cargo

Optional:

• Inno Setup 6, if you want to build the installer
• GitHub CLI (gh), if you want to create GitHub releases from the build script

Running in Development

Start the app locally with:

cargo run

Build Script

The project includes a PowerShell-based build script:

.\scripts\build.ps1

or:

scripts\build.bat

Build Options

• 0 = Check GitHub CLI
• 1 = Build app package
• 2 = Build app package + installer
• 3 = Build installer only
• 4 = Build app package + installer + upload both release files
• 5 = Build app package + installer + zip + upload all release files

When using build mode 1, 2, 4, or 5, the script automatically increases the patch version in Cargo.toml.

Installer

The installer is built with Inno Setup and installs RustTube into:

AppData\Roaming\jonasgrimm.de\RustTube

The uninstaller is configured to remove the RustTube folder again on uninstall.

Tool Storage

RustTube stores its downloaded helper tools in:

AppData\Roaming\jonasgrimm.de\RustTube\tools

The app can also open the tool folder, settings folder, and program folder directly from the UI.

GitHub Releases

If GitHub CLI is installed and authenticated, the build script can optionally:

• create a GitHub release
• upload RustTube-Setup.exe
• upload RustTube.exe
• upload RustTube.zip

This is available after an installer build.

Notes

• RustTube is a GUI frontend for yt-dlp; it does not replace yt-dlp
• Download support depends on what yt-dlp currently supports
• Some websites may require additional external runtimes or may change over time

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.