ViDownloader

Warning

Heads up: This is currently in Beta phase. It works, but there might be rough edges and unexpected behavior. Your feedback will help shape the stable release.

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What This Is

ViDownloader is a desktop application built with PyQt5 that simplifies downloading YouTube videos in bulk. While it uses yt-dlp under the hood for the actual downloading, the scraping and interface are completely custom-built.

This happens to be my first substantial open-source project, so please bear with me. it might do some dumb things, but I'm learning as I go. If something breaks or doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll do my best to fix it.

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Quick Start

Install via pip (PyPI)

pip install vidownloader

Or from source

git clone https://github.com/farhaanaliii/vidownloader.git
cd vidownloader
pip install -e .

Launch the App

After installation, run:

vidownloader

Or, if you prefer:

python -m vidownloader

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What You Can Download

Paste almost any YouTube URL and ViDownloader will figure out the rest:

• Channel videos – https://youtube.com/@channel/videos
• Channel shorts – https://youtube.com/@channel/shorts
• Playlist videos – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID
• Single videos – https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• Single shorts – https://youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID

Just paste one or more links (one per line) and let the app handle the scraping and downloading.

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How It Works

1. Paste Links – Add YouTube URLs into the text area
2. Scrape Metadata – Click Start to fetch video details using custom scraping logic
3. Select Videos – Choose which videos you want from the list
4. Download – Hit Download and let yt-dlp do its magic in the background

The interface sits on top of yt-dlp for reliable downloads, but all the scraping, queuing, and progress tracking happens within ViDownloader itself.

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Configuration

Open Settings (top-right corner) to adjust:

Setting	What It Does
Download Location	Where your videos are saved
Export Location	Where .viio list files are stored
File Naming	Name files by title, video ID, or random string
Download Threads	Simultaneous downloads (1–10 threads)

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Export & Resume

Working with a large channel? Export your video list as a .viio file, close the app, and import it later to resume right where you left off. No need to re-scrape everything.

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System Requirements

• Python 3.10 or newer
• PyQt5 (≥ 5.15.11)
• yt-dlp (latest recommended)
• curl_cffi
• FFmpeg – Required by yt-dlp for video/audio processing (download)
• JavaScript Runtime – yt-dlp needs a JS engine to handle some videos. Install one of:
  • Deno
  • Node.js
  • Bun

Python dependencies install automatically via pip. You'll need to install FFmpeg and a JS runtime separately.

Tip

One-click installer coming soon! A standalone installer that bundles all dependencies is in development.

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Cross-Platform Support

ViDownloader is cross-platform and has been tested on:

• Windows (10, 11)
• Linux (Ubuntu 22.04)

The application is built with Python and PyQt5, making it portable across different operating systems. Both the source installation and pre-built executables work seamlessly on supported platforms.

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Building Executables

Want to build a standalone executable? Use the provided build scripts:

Windows:

.\build.bat

Linux:

./build.sh

These scripts will automatically:

• Set up the virtual environment
• Install dependencies
• Compile Qt resources
• Build the executable using Nuitka

Pre-built executables are also available for download:

• Windows (x86/x64)
• Linux (x64)

Check the Releases page for downloads.

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Development & Contribution

This is my first major open-source project, so I'm sure there are plenty of areas to improve. If you find bugs, have feature ideas, or want to contribute code:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

All contributions are welcome. just try to match the existing code style.

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License

Released under the MIT License. Use it, modify it, share it.

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Coming Soon

• Format & quality selection – Pick 720p, 1080p, 4K, etc.
• Advanced filtering – Search and filter video lists
• Download history – Track your past downloads
• Improved error handling – Making the app more resilient

TODO: If you're good with design, we could really use a better logo. The current one is... functional, but not pretty. Any takers?

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Acknowledgment

While ViDownloader implements its own scraping logic, it relies on the excellent yt-dlp project for actual video downloading. Big thanks to the yt-dlp maintainers for their incredible work.

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Author

Built by Farhan Ali – my first serious dive into open-source desktop apps. Be gentle.