# ChannelTube

ChannelTube is a Docker-based tool for synchronizing and downloading video or audio from YouTube channels using yt-dlp, aimed at homelab users who want to archive a channel's uploads. It is open source and self-hosted, installable on Docker Hub and Unraid.

Canonical page: https://ourlocalhost.com/app/1387/channeltube

## Description

ChannelTube is a Docker-based tool for synchronizing and downloading video or audio from YouTube channels using yt-dlp, aimed at homelab users who want to archive a channel's uploads.

## Platform availability

Available on 1 of 9 platforms: Unraid.

## Health score

60/100 (Good), based on 3 of 4 factors.
- Maintained: 78 (last commit 64 days ago)
- Popular: 50 (329 GitHub stars)
- Easy to install: 35 (1 install platform, install notes, Docker image)

## Links

- Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/thewicklowwolf/channeltube
- GitHub: https://github.com/TheWicklowWolf/ChannelTube
- Unraid: https://ca.unraid.net/apps/channeltube-0l0fa1a0tce69m?q=channeltube

## Common questions

### What Docker mounts and port does the basic ChannelTube deployment use?

It maps a config folder to /channeltube/config, video downloads to /channeltube/downloads, and audio downloads to /channeltube/audio_downloads. The service publishes port 5000.

### How do I set the times when ChannelTube checks YouTube channels?

Use a comma-separated list of hours, such as 2 and 20, to start searches at those times. There is a deadband of up to 10 minutes from the scheduled start time.

### How can ChannelTube refresh a Plex or Jellyfin library after downloading?

Add the media server address and token for Plex or Jellyfin, then set the Media Server Library Name to the library where the videos are stored. The scan is triggered when new content is retrieved.

### How do I enable automatic yt-dlp updates?

Set auto_update_hour to a value from 0 to 23 to update yt-dlp once per day during that hour. The ytdlp_update_type option chooses stable or nightly.

### How do I make ChannelTube include subtitles?

Set subtitles to external or embed instead of none, and provide subtitle_languages as a comma-separated list of languages. The default language is en.

### How do I stop ChannelTube from downloading YouTube Shorts?

Set short_video_cutoff to a maximum runtime in seconds. Videos with a runtime shorter than that value are ignored, and the default is 180.

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Source: Our Local Host (https://ourlocalhost.com/app/1387/channeltube), the self-hosted and open-source app directory.