pear-devs/pear-desktop

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 31,579TypeScriptAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Wraps YouTube Music
      Adds themes and plugins
      System media controls
      Custom keyboard shortcuts
    Tech stack
      TypeScript
      Electron
      pnpm
    Use cases
      Desktop YouTube Music
      Custom themes
      Global shortcuts
      Last.fm scrobbling
    Platforms
      macOS
      Windows
      Linux
    Installation
      Homebrew
      Scoop or Winget
      Direct download

mindmap root((repo)) What it does Wraps YouTube Music Adds themes and plugins System media controls Custom keyboard shortcuts Tech stack TypeScript Electron pnpm Use cases Desktop YouTube Music Custom themes Global shortcuts Last.fm scrobbling Platforms macOS Windows Linux Installation Homebrew Scoop or Winget Direct download

Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run YouTube Music as a native desktop app instead of opening a browser tab.

USE CASE 2

Apply custom themes and CSS to personalize the YouTube Music interface.

USE CASE 3

Use global keyboard shortcuts to control playback without switching windows.

USE CASE 4

Install plugins to add features like last.fm scrobbling or other modifications.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptElectronNode.jspnpm

How does it compare?

	pear-devs/pear-desktop	ianstormtaylor/slate	reactivex/rxjs
Stars	31,579	31,670	31,670
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript	TypeScript
Setup difficulty	moderate	easy	moderate
Complexity	3/5	3/5	3/5
Audience	vibe coder	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Node.js/pnpm and building Electron app from source, no external services but compilation step needed.

Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Pear Desktop is an unofficial desktop application for YouTube Music that wraps the web player in a native desktop window and adds functionality that the official YouTube Music website does not provide. It solves the problem that YouTube Music has no official desktop app, leaving users to either open a browser tab or use third-party solutions. The application is built as an extension around the YouTube Music web interface and adds features such as themes, custom CSS support for visual tweaks, keyboard shortcuts, system media controls integration, and a plugin system where users can install additional modifications. Users can switch between different visual themes or load their own CSS to customize the appearance. The plugin system exposes both a renderer API for modifying the page's HTML and CSS and a backend API for interacting with the Electron window itself. The README is clear that this is an independent, unofficial project with no affiliation with Google or YouTube. It provides a native-feeling desktop experience by wrapping the web service in Electron, a framework that bundles a web browser engine and Node.js into a standalone desktop application. You would use Pear Desktop when you want YouTube Music as a proper desktop application with custom themes, global keyboard shortcuts, last.fm scrobbling, or other modifications that are not available in the browser. It is available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The tech stack is TypeScript with Electron as the desktop runtime, built and packaged using pnpm. It is available through Homebrew on macOS, Scoop or Winget on Windows, AUR on Arch Linux, and direct downloads for other platforms. The project is open source.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

How do I install Pear Desktop on my Mac using Homebrew?

Prompt 2

Show me how to create a custom theme for Pear Desktop using CSS.

Prompt 3

How do I write a plugin for Pear Desktop that modifies the page layout?

Prompt 4

What keyboard shortcuts are available in Pear Desktop and how do I customize them?

Prompt 5

How do I set up last.fm scrobbling in Pear Desktop using a plugin?

Frequently asked questions

What is pear-desktop?

Unofficial desktop app for YouTube Music with custom themes, keyboard shortcuts, plugins, and system media controls, no browser tab needed.

What language is pear-desktop written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Electron, Node.js.

What license does pear-desktop use?

Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is pear-desktop to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is pear-desktop for?

Mainly vibe coder.

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