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freetubeapp/freetube

📈 Trending★ 20,759VueAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 3/5ActiveLicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

Open-source desktop YouTube player for Windows, macOS, and Linux that blocks ads and Google tracking by storing your subscriptions and history locally instead of on Google's servers.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((FreeTube))
    What it does
      Watch YouTube ad-free
      No Google tracking
      Local data storage
    Key features
      SponsorBlock integration
      Picture-in-picture mode
      Multiple profiles
      Keyboard shortcuts
    How it works
      Built-in video extractor
      Invidious API option
      Tor proxy support
    Tech stack
      Electron framework
      Vue.js frontend
    Use cases
      Privacy-focused viewing
      Subscription management
      Ad-free experience
    Availability
      GitHub Releases
      Flatpak Flathub
      Package managers

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Watch YouTube videos without ads or Google tracking on your desktop.

USE CASE 2

Manage subscriptions and watch history entirely on your own computer without a Google account.

USE CASE 3

Automatically skip sponsored segments in videos using SponsorBlock integration.

USE CASE 4

Use a picture-in-picture mini player while browsing or working on other tasks.

Tech stack

ElectronVue.jsJavaScript

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Open-source software that you can use, modify, and distribute freely for any purpose, including commercial use.

In plain English

FreeTube is a free, open source desktop app for watching YouTube videos with privacy in mind. The pitch is straightforward: get YouTube content without the ads, and without Google's cookies and JavaScript building a profile of what you watch. It runs on Windows 10 and later, macOS 12 and later, and Linux, packaged with Electron, a framework that lets developers build desktop apps using web technologies. Instead of using YouTube's official APIs, FreeTube relies on a built-in extractor that pulls video data and streams directly. Optionally, it can route requests through Invidious, a separate project providing an alternative YouTube interface. YouTube can still see the requests for videos, but it can no longer attach cookies or run tracking scripts in your browser. Subscriptions, playlists, and watch history are stored locally on your machine and never sent anywhere. The project still recommends using a VPN or Tor on top, since your IP address is otherwise visible. The feature list covers what most YouTube users expect plus extras: subscribe to channels without an account, organise channels into focused profiles, import and export subscriptions, browse Trending and chapters, integrate SponsorBlock (which skips sponsor segments) and DeArrow (which rewrites clickbait thumbnails and titles), Picture-in-Picture mini player, keyboard shortcuts, theme support, screenshotting a video, and a family-friendly content filter. Browser extensions like LibRedirect and RedirectTube can open YouTube links directly in FreeTube. The interface is written in Vue, a web UI framework. The project notes it is currently in beta. The full README is longer than what was provided.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I set up FreeTube on my Windows computer and import my YouTube subscriptions?
Prompt 2
Show me how to configure FreeTube to use Tor or a proxy for additional privacy.
Prompt 3
How can I use SponsorBlock with FreeTube to automatically skip sponsored segments?
Prompt 4
What keyboard shortcuts are available in FreeTube and how do I customize them?
Prompt 5
How do I export my FreeTube subscriptions and watch history to back them up?
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Generated 2026-05-21 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.