VidBee

VidBee is an open-source video downloader that enables the retrieval of video and audio content from over 1000 websites. It uses the yt-dlp engine to handle downloads from platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. The software provides a graphical interface to manage downloads, moving away from command line interactions for media acquisition and archiving.

The tool is available as a desktop application built with Electron and as a self-hosted web application. The web version consists of a Fastify API server and a TanStack Start client, which can be deployed using Docker Compose. Users can run the software locally via pnpm or deploy it using images from the GitHub Container Registry. This flexibility allows the software to function as either a local utility or a centralized media server for a home network.

Key features

• Support for over 1000 websites via the yt-dlp engine
• RSS auto-download automation for background creator subscriptions
• Configurable output containers including MP4, MKV, and WebM
• Real-time progress tracking for active downloads
• Queue management with pause, resume, and retry options
• Dedicated API server with SSE events for status updates
• Docker-ready deployment for web and API components

The architecture is organized as a monorepo. It separates the downloader core, which relies on yt-dlp and FFmpeg for processing, from the API and web frontend. This structure allows for different deployment targets, including a browser extension and a cross-platform desktop app. The web client communicates with the API server using oRPC to manage the download history and file storage. Users can configure specific environment variables to define the download directory and the path for the history database.

VidBee is designed for users who require a visual interface for bulk media downloading and automated content archiving from various social media platforms.