What is ytdlp_web_player?

YT-DLP Web Player is a self-hosted web application that streams videos from any site supported by yt-dlp. It provides a clean, minimalistic video player interface with features like live stream support, vertical video handling, zoom-to-fill, video download and looping, optional music visualizer, and a browser extension that replaces embedded players on websites. The project auto-updates yt-dlp daily to support new sites and codecs. It can be deployed via Docker, Docker Compose, Python directly, or as native Windows/Linux binaries. Hardware-accelerated transcoding via FFmpeg (with NVIDIA NVENC support) ensures reliable playback. The player integrates SponsorBlock for skipping sponsor segments, Media Session API for system playback controls, and Audio Context API for audio amplification and visualization. Configuration is done through environment variables. No user authentication system is built in; it's designed for personal or trusted-network use.

Should you self-host ytdlp_web_player?

ytdlp_web_player scores 55/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #12 of 36 in Video Streaming. It has 809 GitHub stars.

It shipped 8 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v1.3.3, came out on 25 October 2026. New versions land roughly every 5 days.

Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. An official Docker image is available. It is GPL-2.0-licensed and written mostly in JavaScript.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is piped (70/100, 10 295 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See ytdlp_web_player vs piped side by side.

Features

Audio over-amplification
Browser ExtensionAvailable on Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons
Cookie-based authentication for streaming sitesRequires manual cookie file setup
Embeddable iframe player
Hardware-accelerated transcodingRequires NVIDIA Container Toolkit for GPU acceleration in Docker
HTTP proxy support with fallbackConfigured via PROXIES env var
Live stream support
Media Session API
Music visualizerOff by default, enable via AUDIO_VISUALIZER env var
Open Graph sharing support
Sponsorblock IntegrationConfigured via AUTOSKIP_SB_SEGMENTS env var
Vertical video support
Video download and loop
Video playback from yt-dlp supported sites

How to configure ytdlp_web_player

ALWAYS_TRANSCODEfalseAlways transcode videos
Always transcode videos
values: true,false
AMOLED_BGfalseUse AMOLED black background
Use AMOLED black background
values: true,false
APP_TITLEYT-DLP PlayerTitle shown in the player UI
Title shown in the player UI
AUDIO_VISUALIZERfalseEnable music visualizer
Enable music visualizer
values: true,false
AUTO_BG_PLAYBACKtrueKeep playing videos in background after leaving app or locking screen
Keep playing videos in background after leaving app or locking screen
values: true,false
AUTOPLAYfalseAutoplay videos
Autoplay videos
values: true,false
AUTOSKIP_SB_SEGMENTSComma-separated SponsorBlock segments to auto-skip (e.g. selfpromo,outro,sponsor,preview,interaction,intro,music_offtopic)
Comma-separated SponsorBlock segments to auto-skip (e.g. selfpromo,outro,sponsor,preview,interaction,intro,music_offtopic)
COOKIES_ONLY_ON_FAILUREtrueOnly use cookies if necessary
Only use cookies if necessary
values: true,false
DATA_PATH./dataPath for data storage
Path for data storage
DEFAULT_QUALITY720Default video quality
Default video quality
DISABLE_TRANSCODINGfalseDisable transcoding for low-performance machines
Disable transcoding for low-performance machines
values: true,false
GENERATE_SPRITE_BELOW1800Generate sprites for videos below this duration in seconds (0 to disable)
Generate sprites for videos below this duration in seconds (0 to disable)
IMPERSONATE_BROWSERchromeBrowser TLS fingerprint for yt-dlp requests (chrome, firefox, safari; empty = disabled)
Browser TLS fingerprint for yt-dlp requests (chrome, firefox, safari; empty = disabled)
values: chrome,firefox,safari
MAX_PROCESSES5Maximum concurrent FFmpeg and yt-dlp processes
Maximum concurrent FFmpeg and yt-dlp processes
MAX_QUALITY2160Maximum video quality
Maximum video quality
MAX_VIDEO_AGE3600Inactivity time in seconds after which video is removed
Inactivity time in seconds after which video is removed
MAX_VIDEO_DURATION36000Maximum video duration in seconds
Maximum video duration in seconds
MIN_LIVE_BUFFER1Minimum buffer for livestreams in seconds (0 to disable)
Minimum buffer for livestreams in seconds (0 to disable)
PLAYLIST_SUPPORTtrueEnable playlist support
Enable playlist support
values: true,false
PORT5000Port the app listens on
Port the app listens on
PROXIESlocalProxies for accessing videos (e.g. local,http://127.0.0.1:8888; local = no proxy)
Proxies for accessing videos (e.g. local,http://127.0.0.1:8888; local = no proxy)
PUBLISH_WITH_CLOUDFLAREfalseGenerate temporary public HTTPS link via Cloudflare tunnel
Generate temporary public HTTPS link via Cloudflare tunnel
values: true,false
THEME_COLOR#ff7300Theme color for the UI
Theme color for the UI

FAQ

Can this app do XYZ?

Check src/example.env for all configuration options. If the feature you want isn't listed, you can file a feature request.

I can't play some videos

Check if the site is supported by yt-dlp at their supported sites list. Also check yt-dlp's issues. Try downloading the video with yt-dlp directly to verify it's supported.