What is couchtube?

CouchTube is a self-hosted YouTube frontend written in Go that simulates a TV channel experience. It loads videos from predefined channel lists and schedules playback by time of day so multiple viewers see the same content. A built-in editor at /editor lets users manage channels, add videos, set playback segments, and import or export JSON configurations. Custom JSON files can also be submitted via a URL in the settings. The app stores data in SQLite and runs on port 8363 by default. It is distributed as a Docker image (ghcr.io/ozencb/couchtube:latest) and can be built from source with Go 1.22+. The project is in early development and licensed under GPL-3.0.

Should you self-host couchtube?

couchtube scores 40/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #31 of 36 in Video Streaming. It has 268 GitHub stars.

There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.

Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. An official Docker image is available. It is GPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in Go.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is piped (70/100, 10 293 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See couchtube vs piped side by side.

Features

Channel EditorControlled by EDITOR_MODE environment variable (off, readonly, full)
Custom JSON channel lists
Health Checks
SQLite Storage
Synchronized scheduling
TV channel simulation
Video Section Playback
YouTube playlist import