Install YTPTube on Ubuntu Linux

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YTPTube is a web-based GUI for yt-dlp that makes downloading YouTube videos simple through your browser. This guide shows you how to install YTPTube on Ubuntu Linux using Docker and configure it to ensure it stays update including how to download videos with proper codec selection, subtitle integration, and automated folder organisation.

YTPTube Features

Downloads:

• Multi-download and queue support
• Live streams and scheduled stream handling
• Per-link options and download limits
• Powerful presets system with media server templates

Interface:

• Dual mode (technical/simple views)
• Built-in file browser and video player
• External subtitle support

Automation:

• Schedule channel/playlist downloads
• Custom feed creation for non-supported sites
• Conditions-based custom options
• Apprise notifications (50+ services)

Integration:

• Browser extensions and bookmarklets
• iOS shortcuts support
• Basic authentication

Docker Benefits:

• Auto-updates (yt-dlp and packages)
• curl-cffi support
• Bundled PO Token provider

Prerequisites

You need Docker and Docker Compose installed on your Ubuntu system. If you don’t have them, follow our Docker and Portainer installation guide.

Quick install:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Install YTPTube

Method 1: Docker Compose (Recommended)

Create a directory for YTPTube:

mkdir -p ~/ytptube
cd ~/ytptube

Create compose.yaml file:

nano compose.yaml

Add this configuration:

services:
  ytptube:
    user: "${UID:-1000}:${UID:-1000}"
    image: ghcr.io/arabcoders/ytptube:latest
    container_name: ytptube
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8081:8081"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config:rw
      - ./downloads:/downloads:rw
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp

Important: Change 1000:1000 to match your user ID and group ID. Find yours with:

id

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

Start YTPTube:

mkdir -p ./{config,downloads}
docker compose up -d

Method 2: Docker Run

Quick one-line installation:

mkdir -p ./{config,downloads} && docker run -d --rm --user "$UID:${GID-$UID}" --name ytptube -p 8081:8081 -v ./config:/config:rw -v ./downloads:/downloads:rw ghcr.io/arabcoders/ytptube:latest

Access YTPTube: Open browser to http://localhost:8081 or http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8081

Configure Download Preset

1. Open YTPTube interface
2. Click Presets → Add New Preset
3. Fill in:
   • Name: Plex Downloads
   • Command options:

yt-dlp -S codec:h265 -f bestvideo*+bestaudio/best --write-subs --sub-langs en --convert-subs srt -o %(uploader)s/%(title)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s

4. Click Save

This preset downloads videos with H.265 codec, English subtitles, organised by channel and video name. Full guide on the commands here.

Download Your First Video

1. In YTPTube, click Add Download
2. Paste YouTube URL
3. Select Plex Downloads preset
4. Click Download

YTPTube will download the video to ~/ytptube/downloads/files/ organised like:

Channel Name/
└── Video Title/
    ├── Video Title.mp4
    └── Video Title.en.srt

Schedule Automatic Downloads

To automatically download new videos from channels:

1. Click Tasks → Add New Task
2. Configure:
   • Name: Daily Tech Videos
   • URL: https://www.youtube.com/@channel/videos
   • Schedule: 0 3 * * * (3 AM daily)
   • Preset: Plex Downloads
   • Auto-start: Yes
3. Click Save

YTPTube checks the channel daily and downloads new videos automatically.

Integrate with Plex

If you’re using Plex, update compose.yaml to download directly to your Plex library:

volumes:
  - ./config:/config:rw
  - /mnt/plex/YouTube:/downloads:rw

Replace /mnt/plex/YouTube with your Plex media path.

Restart YTPTube:

docker compose down
docker compose up -d

Set up your Plex library following our Plex repository guide.

Update YTPTube

cd ~/ytptube
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

YTPTube auto-updates yt-dlp on container restart.

Next Steps

• Learn yt-dlp commands for advanced usage
• Check yt-dlp installation guide for command-line use
• Explore Docker home lab apps

That’s it, Enjoy!