QuickTube is a simple, clean YouTube downloader with a GUI interface. Just paste a URL and click download - that's it!
- Simple Interface - Paste URL, click download, done
- Single Video or Channel - Download one video or entire channels
- Real-time Progress - Watch downloads happen live
- Download History - Track what you've downloaded
- Quality Settings - Choose video quality (best, 1080p, 720p, 480p)
- Audio Only Option - Download as MP3
- Clean UI - Matches CCL launcher theme
- YouTube Search - Search videos without leaving the app
- Video Preview Panel - See thumbnail, title, duration before downloading
- 30-Second Preview Clips - Preview videos with embedded VLC player
- Quick Links - Open video/channel in browser directly
- Batch Selection - Select multiple videos to download at once
- Open Folder Button - Quick access to downloads folder in tab bar
- Automatic Codec Detection - Scans downloads using FFprobe
- Compatibility Warnings - Alerts for problematic files (Opus audio, VP9/AV1 video)
- One-Click Conversion - Convert incompatible files to H.264 + AAC
- Mobile/PLEX Friendly - Ensures videos work on all devices
pip install yt-dlp customtkinter pyperclip pillow requests python-vlc- FFmpeg - For codec detection and conversion
- VLC Media Player - For embedded video preview playback
All videos save to: D:\stacher_downloads
cd D:\QuickTube
python quicktube.py- Copy YouTube video URL
- Click Paste URL (or Ctrl+V)
- Click Download Video
- Watch progress in real-time
- Done! File is in
D:\stacher_downloads
- Copy YouTube channel URL
- Click Paste URL
- Click Download Channel
- Confirm you want to download all videos
- Videos download one by one
- All videos save to
D:\stacher_downloads\[Channel Name]\
- Enter search terms in the search box
- Click Search or press Enter
- Browse results with thumbnails on the left
- Click Preview on any result to see details in the preview panel
- Click Play 30s Preview to watch a clip embedded in the app
- Check boxes to select videos for download
- Click Download Selected to download all checked videos
- Single videos:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=... - Short links:
https://youtu.be/... - Channels:
https://youtube.com/@channelname - Playlists:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=...
Click Settings to configure:
- Best (default) - Highest quality available
- 1080p - Full HD
- 720p - HD
- 480p - SD
- Check this to download MP3 audio only (no video)
- Check Compatibility - Scan downloads for codec issues (default: on)
- Auto Convert - Automatically convert incompatible files (default: off)
- Prefer H.264 - Request H.264 codec from YouTube when available
QuickTube automatically checks downloaded videos for compatibility issues with mobile devices and media servers like PLEX.
YouTube sometimes encodes videos with codecs that don't work well on all devices:
- Opus audio in MP4 - Won't play on many mobile devices or PLEX mobile apps
- VP9 video - Limited support on older devices
- AV1 video - Cutting-edge codec with limited device support
Videos may play fine on your computer but fail on phones, tablets, or streaming servers.
| Level | Video | Audio | Works On |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | H.264 | AAC | Everything - mobile, PLEX, TV, web |
| Good | H.264 | MP3 | Most devices |
| Moderate | H.265 | AAC | Newer devices, some issues |
| Poor | Any | Opus | Computer only, fails on mobile |
| Very Poor | VP9/AV1 | Opus | Limited device support |
When a compatibility issue is detected, QuickTube offers:
- Convert Now - Convert audio to AAC for mobile compatibility
- Skip - Keep the file as-is (works on computer)
- Auto-Convert - Enable in settings to always convert problematic files
- Added embedded VLC player for preview clips
- Preview plays inside the app instead of launching external player
- 30-second clips download via yt-dlp
--download-sections
- Added Open Folder button to tab bar (always visible)
- Added Video/Channel/Preview link buttons under each search result
- Added preview panel on right side with thumbnail, title, and action buttons
- Two-column layout: search results (left) + preview panel (right)
- Fixed issue where cached videos caused wrong file to be downloaded
- Added parsing for "has already been downloaded" yt-dlp messages
- Improved fallback logic to sort temp files by modification time
- Added auto-cleanup of temp files older than 24 hours
- Added FFprobe-based codec detection
- Compatibility warnings for Opus audio in MP4
- Batch conversion tool for problematic files
- Fixed progress tracking with temp folder architecture
- Thread-safe UI updates
- Clean output without ANSI codes
- Duplicate file handling dialog
D:\stacher_downloads\
└── Video Title.mp4
D:\stacher_downloads\
└── Channel Name\
├── Video 1.mp4
├── Video 2.mp4
└── Video 3.mp4
D:\QuickTube\
├── quicktube.py # Main application
├── codec_utils.py # Codec detection utilities
├── settings.json # User preferences
├── download_history.json # Download history
├── temp/ # Temporary download folder
├── logs/ # Application logs
├── README.md # This file
└── FIXES.md # Bug fix documentation
- Ensure VLC Media Player is installed
- Check that python-vlc package is installed:
pip install python-vlc - Check logs in
D:\QuickTube\logs\for errors - Falls back to external player if embedded fails
- This was fixed in 2026-01-09 update
- Temp folder is now auto-cleaned every 24 hours
- If issue persists, manually clear
D:\QuickTube\temp\
- Open Firefox
- Go to youtube.com
- Make sure you're logged in (you should see your profile icon)
- Restart QuickTube
- Ensure download folder exists
- App will create folder if missing
- Falls back to subprocess if os.startfile fails
- Check your internet connection
- Video might be private or age-restricted
- Try updating yt-dlp:
pip install --upgrade yt-dlp
- Files with Opus audio may not play on mobile/PLEX
- Use the conversion feature to convert to AAC audio
- Check
D:\stacher_downloads\*_Converted\for converted files
Add QuickTube to your Command Center LaunchPad:
{
"name": "QuickTube",
"path": "D:\\QuickTube\\quicktube.py",
"category": "Media",
"monitor": 0
}- Ctrl+V - Paste URL from clipboard
- Enter - Submit search (in search tab)
YouTube requires authentication to bypass bot detection. QuickTube handles this automatically.
- Stay logged into YouTube in Firefox (your normal browser)
- QuickTube automatically reads Firefox cookies on startup
- Downloads work without any manual steps
- Firefox browser installed
- Logged into YouTube in Firefox
QuickTube uses yt-dlp behind the scenes. You can also use it directly:
# Download single video
yt-dlp -o "D:\stacher_downloads\%(title)s.%(ext)s" [URL]
# Download channel
yt-dlp -o "D:\stacher_downloads\%(uploader)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s" --yes-playlist [CHANNEL_URL]
# Audio only
yt-dlp -f bestaudio -x -o "D:\stacher_downloads\%(title)s.%(ext)s" [URL]For issues with:
- QuickTube UI: Check this README and FIXES.md
- yt-dlp downloads: Visit https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp
Built with CustomTkinter and yt-dlp | Theme matches CCL Launcher