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Self-host by2kb

v0.7.5

Video-to-knowledge CLI for Bilibili/YouTube transcription

BetaOpen SourceMIT
Updatedlast week
LanguagePython
Setup difficultyModerate
Stars
156
Requires
Ffmpeg, SQLite
Install with Linux

What is by2kb?

by2kb is a command-line tool for ingesting video content into a personal knowledge base. Given a Bilibili or YouTube URL (or local media file), it retrieves the transcript — preferring native captions, falling back to audio extraction and ASR via local faster-whisper or cloud Doubao — and produces three Markdown files: a verbatim timestamped transcript, a one-minute decision-oriented abstract, and a structured long-form study guide with knowledge map, claims, evidence, and action items. The tool is designed for agent-first workflows: a Hermes plugin intercepts video URLs shared to Telegram, runs ingestion in the background, and returns the artifacts via the same chat. Users without an agent can run the same pipeline with an OpenAI-compatible API key. All artifacts are stored as portable Markdown and JSON in a local directory (default ~/.by2kb) or an Obsidian vault. The project uses SQLite for job tracking and deduplication, requires Python 3.12+, pipx, ffmpeg, and optionally Deno/Node for YouTube player challenges. No resident service or Docker image is provided; it runs as a local CLI subprocess.

Should you self-host by2kb?

by2kb scores 43/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #27 of 42 in Knowledge Management. It has 156 GitHub stars.

It shipped 10 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v0.7.5, came out on 19 October 2026. New versions land roughly every 2 days.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in Python.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Project N.O.M.A.D. (85/100, 41 075 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See by2kb vs Project N.O.M.A.D. side by side.

Features

  • Agent-first Hermes integration
  • Cloud Doubao ASR
  • Content-addressed deduplication
  • Local faster-whisper ASR
  • Local media ingestion
  • Obsidian vault output
  • Personalized skills
  • Short abstract artifact
  • Standalone CLI mode
  • Video transcription

by2kb README

How to install by2kb

Install by2kb with Linux

Environment variables
BY2KB_HOME, BY2KB_ENV_FILE

An agent with terminal access (e.g., Hermes) runs the installation skill which defaults to local faster-whisper, agent-hosted summaries, Bilibili/YouTube sources, and local Markdown knowledge base

How to configure by2kb

  • BY2KB_ENV_FILEPath to .env file to load environment variables from

    Path to .env file to load environment variables from

  • BY2KB_HOME~/.by2kbBase directory for configuration, models, job history, and credentials (default ~/.by2kb)

    Base directory for configuration, models, job history, and credentials (default ~/.by2kb)

  • BY2KB_LLM_API_KEYAPI key for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint (standalone api mode)

    API key for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint (standalone api mode)

  • BY2KB_LLM_BASE_URLhttps://api.openai.com/v1Base URL for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint (default Volcengine Ark)

    Base URL for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint (default Volcengine Ark)

  • BY2KB_LLM_MODELModel name for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint

    Model name for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint

by2kb releases & version history

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