- 1 Introduction
- 2 Why should I use Tartube?
- 3 Quick start guide
- 4 Downloads
- 5 Installation
- 6 Getting started
- 7. Frequently-Asked Questions
- 8. Future plans
- 9. Known issues
- 10. Contributing
- 11. Authors
- 12. License
Tartube is a GUI front-end for youtube-dl, partly based on youtube-dl-gui and written in Python 3 / Gtk 3.
It runs on MS Windows, Linux and BSD. It probably works on MacOS, but the authors have not been able to confirm this.
Tartube is beta software. Test it carefully before you allow it to use your 100TB hard drive, as it might not behave in the way you're expecting.
Problems can be reported at our GitHub page.
- You can download individual videos, and even whole channels and playlists, from YouTube and hundreds of other sites (see here for a full list)
- You can fetch information about those videos, channels and playlists, without actually downloading anything
- Tartube will organise your videos into convenient folders
- If creators upload their videos to more than one website (YouTube and BitChute, for example), you can download videos from both sites without creating duplicates
- Certain popular websites manipulate search results, repeatedly unsubscribe people from their favourite channels and/or deliberately conceal videos that they don't like. Tartube won't do any of those things
- Tartube can, in some circumstances, see videos that are region-blocked and/or age-restricted
- Tartube is free and open-source software
- Download, install and run Tartube
- When prompted, choose a folder where Tartube can store videos
- When prompted, let Tartube install youtube-dl for you
- It's recommended that you install FFmeg. From the menu, click Operations > Install FFmpeg
- Go to the YouTube website, and find your favourite channel
- In Tartube, click the Add a new channel button (or from the menu, click Media > Add channel... )
- In the dialogue window, add the name of the channel and the address (URL)
- Click the OK button to close the window
- Click the Check all button. Tartube will fetch a list of videos in the channel
- Click All Videos to see that list
- If you want to download the videos, click the Download all button
- Download and install youtube-dl
- It's recommended that you install Ffmpeg or AVConv, too
- Download Tartube. Installation is not necessary; you can just run the main script (navigate into the Tartube directory, open a terminal window, and type python3 tartube/tartube)
- When prompted, choose a directory where Tartube can store videos
- Go to the YouTube website, and find your favourite channel
- In Tartube, click the Add a new channel button (or from the menu, click Media > Add channel... )
- In the dialogue window, add the name of the channel and the address (URL)
- Click the OK button to close the window
- Click the Check all button. Tartube will fetch a list of videos in the channel
- Click All Videos to see that list
- If you want to download the videos, click the Download all button
Latest version: v1.3.048 (23 Jan 2019)
- MS Windows (32-bit) installer from Sourceforge
- MS Windows (64-bit) installer from Sourceforge
- Source code from Sourceforge
- Source code and support from GitHub
MS Windows users should use the installer available at the Tartube website. The installer contains everything you need to run Tartube. You must be using Windows Vista or above; the installer will not work on Windows XP.
If you want to use ffmpeg, see the section below.
Some users report that Tartube will install but won't run. This problem should be fixed as of v1.2.0 but, if you still have problems, you can try performing a manual installation. This takes about 10-30 minutes, depending on your internet speed.
This section assumes you have a 64-bit computer
Download and install MSYS2 from msys2.org. You need the file that looks something like msys2-x86_64-yyyymmdd.exe
MSYS2 wants to install in C:\msys64, so do that
Open the MINGW64 terminal, which is C:\msys64\mingw64.exe
In the MINGW64 terminal, type:
pacman -Syu
If the terminal wants to shut down, close it, and then restart it
Now type the following commands, one by one:
pacman -Su
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3-pip
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3-gobject
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-python3-requests
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gtk3
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gsettings-desktop-schemas
Download the Tartube source code from Sourceforge, using the links above
Extract it into the folder C:\msys64\home\YOURNAME, creating a folder called C:\msys64\home\YOURNAME\tartube
Now, to run Tartube, type these commands in the MINGW64 terminal:
cd tartube
python3 tartube
Tartube should run on MacOS, but the authors don't have access a MacOS system. If you are a MacOS user, open an issue at our Github page, and we'll work out the installation procedure together.
Linux/BSD users can use any of the following installation methods.
- Python xdg module - required if you want to package Tartube
- Python pip - keeping youtube-dl up to date is much simpler when pip is installed
- Python moviepy module - if the website doesn't tell Tartube about the length of its videos, moviepy can work it out
- Ffmpeg or AVConv - see the section below if you want to use FFmpeg or AVConv
Installation via pip does not work. I have given up trying to make it work.
- Download & extract the source
- Change directory into the Tartube directory
- Type:
python3 setup.py install - Type:
tartube
- Download & extract the source
- Change directory into the Tartube directory
- The executable is inside a further sub-directory, so do cd tartube again
- Type:
python3 tartube
When you first start Tartube, you will be asked to choose where Tartube should save its videos.
Regardless of which location you select, you can change it later, if you need to.
- Click Edit > System preferences...
- Click the General tab
- Check the location of the Tartube data directory
- If you want to change it, click the Change button
This section does not apply if you installed Tartube via the Debian repository.
Tartube uses youtube-dl to interact with websites like YouTube. You should check that youtube-dl is also installed and running correctly.
If you are using MS Windows, you will be prompted to install youtube-dl; you should click Yes.
youtube-dl is updated every week or so. You can check that youtube-dl is installed and up to date:
- Click Operations > Update youtube-dl
This section does not apply if you installed Tartube via the Debian repository.
If the update operation fails on MS Windows, you should ask the authors for help.
On other systems, users can modify Tartube's settings. There are several locations on your filesystem where youtube-dl might have been installed.
- Click Edit > System preferences...
- Click the youtube-dl tab
- Try changing the setting 'Actual path to use during download/update/refresh operations'
- Try changing the setting 'Shell command for update operations'
- Try the update operation again
youtube-dl can use the FFmpeg library or the AVConv library for various video-processing tasks, such as converting video files to audio, and for handling large resolutions (1080p and higher). If you want to use FFmpeg or AVConv, you should first install them on your system.
On MS Windows, the usual methods of FFmpeg installation will not work. You must download a MinGW-compatible version of FFmpeg. The quickest way to do this is from the main menu: click Operations > Install FFmpeg.
There is no known method of installing a compatible version of AVConv.
On Linux/BSD, youtube-dl might be able to detect FFmpeg/AVConv without any help from you. If not, you can tell Tartube where to find FFmpeg/AVConv in this same tab.
On the left side of the Tartube window is a list of folders. You can store videos, channels and playlists inside these folders. You can even store folders inside of other folders.
Tartube saves videos on your filesystem using exactly the same structure.
When you start Tartube, there are five folders already visible. You can't remove any of these folders (but you can hide them, if you want).
Videos saved to the Temporary Videos folder are deleted when Tartube shuts down.
You can add individual videos by clicking the 'Videos' button near the top of the window. A popup window will appear.
Copy and paste the video's URL into the popup window. You can copy and paste as many URLs as you like.
When you're finished, click the OK button.
Finally, click on the Unsorted Videos folder to see the videos you've added.
You can also add a whole channel by clicking the 'Channel' button or a whole playlist by clicking the 'Playlist' button.
Tartube will download all of the videos in the channel or playlist.
Copy and paste the channel's URL into the popup window. You should also give the channel a name. The channel's name is usually the name used on the website (but you can choose any name you like).
The left-hand side of the window will quickly still filling up. It's a good idea to create some folders, and to store your channels/playlists inside those folders.
Click the 'Folder' button near the top of the window, and create a folder called Comedy.
Then repeat that process to create a folder called Music. You can then drag-and-drop your channels and playlists into those folders.
Once you've finished adding videos, channels, playlists and folders, there are basically four things Tartube can do:
- 'Check' - Fetch information about videos, but don't download them
- 'Download' - Actually download the videos. If you have disabled downloads for a particular item, Tartube will just fetch information about it instead
- 'Update' - Updates youtube-dl, as described above
- 'Refresh' - Examines your filesystem. If you have manually copied any videos into Tartube's data directory, those videos are added to Tartube's database
To Check or Download videos, channels and playlists, use the buttons near the top of the window. To Refresh Tartube's database, use the menu.
Protip: Do an 'Update' operation before you do a 'Check' or 'Download' operation
Protip: Do a 'Check' operation before you do 'Refresh' operation
youtube-dl offers a large number of download options. This is how to set them.
- Click Edit > General download options...
A new window opens. Any changes you make in this window aren't actually applied until you click the 'Apply' or 'OK' buttons.
Those are the default download options. If you want to apply a different set of download options to a particular channel or particular playlist, you can do so.
At the moment, the general download options apply to all the videos, channels, playlists and folders you've added.
Now, suppose you want to apply some download options to the Music folder:
- Right-click the folder, and select Apply download options...
In the new window, click the 'OK' button. The options are applied to everything in the Music folder. A pen icon appears above the folder to remind you of this.
Now, suppose you want to add a different set of download options, but only for the Village People channel.
- Right-click the channel, and select Apply download options...
- In the new window, click the 'OK' button
The previous set of download options still applies to everything in the Music folder, except the Village People channel.
You can mark channels, playlists and even whole folders as favourites.
- Right-click the channel, playlist or folder, and select Mark videos > Favourite
When you do that, any videos you download will appear in the Favourite Videos folder (as well as in their normal location).
If you've downloaded a video, you can watch it by clicking the word Player.
If you haven't downloaded the video yet, you can watch it online by clicking the word YouTube or Website. (One or the other will be visible).
If it's a YouTube video that is restricted (not available in certain regions, or without confirming your age), it's often possible to watch the same video without restrictions on the HookTube website.
Tartube can download videos from several channels and/or playlists into a single directory (folder) on your computer's hard drive. There are three situations in which this might be useful:
- A channel has several playlists. You have added both the channel and its playlists to Tartube's database, but you don't want to download duplicate videos
- A creator releases their videos on BitChute as well as on YouTube. You have added both channels, but you don't want to download duplicate videos
- You don't care about keeping videos in separate directories/folders on your filesystem. You just want to download all videos to one place
A creator might have a single channel, and several playlists. The playlists contain videos from that channel (but not necessarily every video).
You can add the channel and its playlists in the normal way but, if you do, Tartube will download many videos twice.
The solution is to tell Tartube to store all the videos from the channel and its playlists in a single location. In that way, you can still see a list of videos in each playlist, but duplicate videos are not actually downloaded to your filesystem.
- Click Media > Add channel..., and then enter the channel's details
- Click Media > Add playlist... for each playlist
- Now, right-click on each playlist in turn and select Playlist actions > Set download destination...
- In the dialogue window, click Choose a different directory/folder, select the name of the channel, then click the OK button
A creator might release their videos on YouTube, but also on a site like BitChute. Sometimes they will only release a particular video on BitChute.
You can add both channels in the normal way but, if you do, Tartube will download many videos twice.
The solution is to tell Tartube to store videos from both channels in a single location. In that way, you can still see a list of videos in each channel, but duplicate videos are not actually downloaded to your filesystem.
- Click Media > Add channel..., and then enter the YouTube channel's details
- Click Media > Add channel..., and then enter the BitChute channel's details
- Right-click the BitChute channel and select Channel actions > Set download destination...
- In the dialogue window, click Choose a different directory/folder, select the name of the YouTube channel, then click the OK button
It doesn't matter which of the two channels you use as the download destination. There is also no limit to the number of parallel channels, so if a creator uploads videos to a dozen different websites, you can add them all.
If you don't care about keeping videos in separate directories/folders on your filesystem, you can download all videos into the Unsorted videos folder. Regardless of whether you have added one channel or a thousand, all the videos will be stored in that one place.
- Click Edit > General download options... > Files
- Click the Download all videos into this folder button to select it
- In the combo next to it, select Unsorted Videos
Alternatively, you could select Temporary Videos. If you do, videos will be deleted when you shut down Tartube (and will not be re-downloaded in the future).
You can tell Tartube to automatically delete videos after some period of time. This is useful if you don't have an infinitely large hard drive.
- Click Edit > System preferences... > Videos
- Click the Automatically delete downloaded videos after this many days button to select it
- If you want to, change the number of days from 30 to some other value
If you want to protect your favourite videos from being deleted automatically, you can archive them. Only videos that have actually been downloaded can be archived.
- Right-click a video, and select Video is archived
You can also archive all the videos in a channel, playlist or folder.
- For example, right-click a folder and select Channel contents > Mark videos as archived
- This action applies to all videos that are currently in the folder, including the contents of any channels and playlists in that folder
- It doesn't apply to any videos you might download in the future
You can export the contents of Tartube's database and, at any time in the future, import that information into a different Tartube database, perhaps on a different computer.
It is important to note that only a list of videos, channels, playlists, folders are exported. The videos themselves are not exported, and neither are any thumbnail, description or metadata files.
- Click Media > Export from database
- In the dialogue window, choose what you want to export
- If you want a list of videos, channels and playlists that you can edit by hand, select the Export as plain text option
- Click the OK button, then select where to save the export file
It is safe to share this export file with other people. It doesn't contain any personal information.
This is how to import the data into a different Tartube database.
- Click Media > Import into database > JSON export file or Media > Import into database > Plain text export file
- Select the export file you created earlier
- A dialogue window will appear. You can choose how much of the database you want to import
Tartube is a GUI front-end for youtube-dl, but it is not the only one. If you've downloaded videos using another application, this is how to add them to Tartube's database.
- In Tartube's main window, add each channel and playlist in the normal way
- When you're ready, click the Check all button. This adds a list of videos to Tartube's database, without actually downloading the videos themselves
- Copy the video files into Tartube's data folder. For example, copy all your PewDiePie videos into ../tartube-data/downloads/PewDiePie
- In the Tartube menu, click Operations > Refresh database. Tartube will search for video files, and try to match them with the contents of its database
- The whole process might some time, so be patient
Tartube can automatically extract the audio from its downloaded videos, if that's what you want.
The first step is to make sure that either FFmpeg or AVconv is installed on your system - see 6.4 Setting the location of FFmpeg / AVconv.
The remaining steps are simple:
- In Tartube's main window, click Edit > General download options...
- In the new window, if the Post-processing tab is not visible, then click the button Show advanced download options
- Now click on the Post-processing tab
- Click the button Post-process video files to convert them to audio-only files to select it
- If you want, click the button Keep video file after post-processing it to select it
- In the box labelled Audio format of the post-processed file, specify what type of audio file you want - .mp3, .wav, etc
- Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to apply your changes
Q: I can't install Tartube / I can't run Tartube / Tartube doesn't work properly / Tartube keeps crashing!
A: Tartube is beta software. Please report any problems to the authors at our Github page
Q: After I downloaded some videos, Tartube crashed, and now all my videos are missing!
A: Tartube creates a backup copy of the database, before trying to save a new copy. In the unlikely event of a failure, you can replace the broken database file with the backup file.
To find Tartube's data directory (folder), click Edit > System preferences... > General.
- You can discard the broken tartube.db file
- Find the tartube_TEMP_BU.db file, and rename it tartube.db
- Restart Tartube
- Click the Check All button. Tartube will find all the last set of videos you downloaded, and add them to its database (without having to re-download them)
Tartube can make more frequent backups of your database file, if you want. See the options in Edit > System preferences... > Backups.
Note that Tartube does not create backup copies of the videos you've downloaded. That is your responsibility!
Q: I want to convert the video files to audio files!
A: See 6.18 Converting to audio
Q: I want to see all the videos on a single page, not spread over several pages!
A: At the bottom of the Tartube window, set the page size to zero, and press ENTER.
Q: I just want to check for new videos, but it takes so long!
A: By default, the underlying youtube-dl software checks an entire channel, even if it contains hundreds of videos.
You can drastically reduce the time this takes by telling Tartube to stop checking/downloading videos, if it receives (for example) notifications for three videos it has already checked/downloaded.
This works well on sites like YouTube, which send information about videos in the order they were uploaded, newest first. We can't guarantee it will work on every site.
- Click Edit > System preferences... > Performance
- Select the checkbox Stop checking/downloading a channel/playlist when it starts sending vidoes we already have
- In the Stop after this many videos (when checking) box, enter the value 3
- In the Stop after this many videos (when downloading) box, enter the value 3
- Click OK to close the window
Q: The toolbar is too small! There isn't enough room for all the buttons!
A: Click Edit > System preferences... > General > Don't show labels in the toolbar.
MS Windows users can already see a toolbar without labels.
Q: Why is the installer so big?
Tartube is a Linux application. The installer for MS Windows contains not just Tartube itself, but a copy of Python and a whole bunch of essential graphics libraries, all of them ported to MS Windows.
If you're at all suspicious that such a small application uses such a large installer, you are invited to examine the installed files for yourself:
C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Tartube
(You might need to enable hidden folders; this can be done from the Control Panel.)
Everything is copied into this single folder. The installer doesn't modify the Windows registry, nor does it copy files anywhere else (other than to the desktop and the Start Menu).
The NSIS scripts used to create the installers can be found here:
C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Tartube\msys64\home\user\tartube\nsis
The scripts contain full instructions, so you should be able to create your own installer, and compare it with the official one.
- Fix the endless crashes DONE
- Support for multiple databases (so you can store videos on two external hard drives at the same time)
- Add download scheduling DONE
- Add video archiving DONE
- Allow selection of multiple videos in the catalogue, so the same action can be applied to all of them at the same time DONE
- Tie channels and playlists together, so that they won't both download the same video DONE
- Add tooltips for everything DONE
- Add more youtube-dl options DONE
- Expand this guide to explain all features of Tartube
- Tartube crashes continuously and often FIXED
- Alphabetic sorting of channels/playlists/folders doesn't always work as intended, due to an unresolved Gtk issue FIXED
- Channels/playlists/folder selection does not always work as intended, due to an unresolved Gtk issue FIXED
- Users can type in comboboxes, but this should not be possible FIXED
- Some MS Windows users report that Tartube will install, but not run FIXED
- Some MS Windows users report that Tartube doesn't recognise FFmpeg FIXED
- Installation via pip does not work
- Report a bug: Use the Github issues page
See the AUTHORS file.
Tartube is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.
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