YouTube Source

Subscribe to YouTube channels in the Radio tab and browse their uploads. Double-click a video to download its audio or video (ad-free, via yt-dlp) and play immediately. Downloads are stored in a user-chosen folder (reachability checked before downloading), organized per channel as <Channel Name>/<Title> [<videoId>].<ext> and tracked in a manifest; a format setting (FLAC / MP3 High / MP3 Low / Video 720p / Video 1080p) is in the Library menu. Downloaded audio files are local file:// tracks that play locally and cast to Sonos, Chromecast, DLNA; downloaded videos open in the video player window.

Quick Start (user)

1. Radio tab → + Add YouTube Channel
2. Paste a YouTube channel URL (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/@channel_name)
3. Channel appears as a folder; expand to see uploads
4. Double-click a video to download its audio or video and play
5. Library → YouTube → Set Download Folder… to choose where downloads live
6. Library → YouTube → Format to pick FLAC, MP3 High, MP3 Low, Video 720p, or Video 1080p
7. Library → YouTube → Videos per Channel to pick how many recent uploads to list (50 / 100 / 200 / 500)

Architecture

Sources/NullPlayer/
├── YouTube/
│   ├── YouTubeModels.swift          # Channel, Video, Download, Quality data models
│   └── YouTubeManager.swift         # Singleton: channels, video listing, downloads, manifest (youtube_downloads.json), all in one file
├── Windows/ModernLibraryBrowser/
│   └── ModernLibraryBrowserView.swift # YouTube folder tree integration
└── Windows/PlexBrowser/
    └── PlexBrowserView.swift        # YouTube folder tree integration (classic UI)

YouTubeManager

Singleton (YouTubeManager.shared) that manages:

• Channel list (persisted in UserDefaults under YouTubeChannels)
• Video listing per channel (via yt-dlp)
• Download root folder (user-selected via Library menu, persisted under YouTubeDownloadRoot)
• Download manifest (youtube_downloads.json in the download root)

Key Properties:

private(set) var channels: [YouTubeChannel]  // All subscribed channels
var downloadRoot: URL                        // User-chosen folder (reachability checked before download)
var quality: YouTubeQuality                  // .flac / .mp3High / .mp3Low / .video720 / .video1080 (persisted under "YouTubeQuality")

Notifications:

• YouTubeManager.youtubeChannelsDidChangeNotification — Channel list modified (the only notification)

Data Models

struct YouTubeChannel: Codable, Identifiable, Hashable {
    let id: String       // Normalized channel key (handle or channel ID)
    let title: String
    let url: URL         // Base channel URL (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/@handle)
    let dateAdded: Date
}

struct YouTubeVideo: Codable, Identifiable, Hashable {
    let videoId: String
    let title: String
    let channelId: String
    let duration: TimeInterval?
    let publishedAt: Date?          // approximate upload date (see "Approximate dates" below)
    var id: String { videoId }      // Identifiable
    var watchURL: URL { ... }       // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<videoId>
    var formattedDate: String?      // "MMM d, yyyy", nil when publishedAt is nil
}

struct YouTubeDownload: Codable {
    let videoId: String
    let title: String
    let channelId: String
    let fileName: String            // Path relative to downloadRoot (channel/file)
}

Manifest (youtube_downloads.json)

Stored inside downloadRoot, tracks downloaded files (the in-memory form is a [videoId: YouTubeDownload] dictionary; serialized JSON shape below):

A JSON dictionary keyed by videoId, each value a YouTubeDownload. fileName is a path relative to downloadRoot (<Channel Name>/<Title> [<videoId>].<ext>):

{
  "dQw4w9WgXcQ": {
    "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Video Title",
    "channelId": "channel_handle",
    "fileName": "Channel Name/Video Title [dQw4w9WgXcQ].flac"
  }
}

Channel / Video Listing

Both ModernLibraryBrowserView and PlexBrowserView (classic UI) integrate YouTube as a source branch alongside internet radio stations. Channels appear as expandable folders; expanding a channel calls YouTubeManager.videos(forChannel:limit:) which shells out to yt-dlp --flat-playlist with no API key:

yt-dlp --flat-playlist -J --playlist-end 200 \
  --extractor-args "youtubetab:approximate_date" \
  "https://www.youtube.com/@channel_name/videos"

-J dumps a single JSON object; parseFlatPlaylist decodes its entries (each id/title/duration/timestamp) into YouTubeVideos. The limit defaults to YouTubeManager.videoLimit (a user setting, default 200, persisted under YouTubeVideoLimit, chosen via Library → YouTube → Videos per Channel: 50/100/200/500). Changing it posts youtubeVideoLimitDidChangeNotification; both browser views drop their cached youtubeChannelVideos and re-fetch expanded channels (reloadExpandedYouTubeChannels) so it applies without a restart. Channel title on add comes from a separate --playlist-end 1 fetch (fetchChannelTitle, no extractor arg).

Approximate dates: plain --flat-playlist returns no upload_date/timestamp — the channel grid only exposes relative dates ("3 weeks ago"). The youtubetab:approximate_date extractor arg (passed via fetchYtDlpJSON(…, approximateDate: true), videos call only) makes yt-dlp populate each entry's timestamp with an estimated epoch, decoded into YouTubeVideo.publishedAt. Accurate to the day for recent uploads, coarsening for older ones (older videos can share a timestamp). Unsupported/old yt-dlp just omits it → publishedAt nil → empty Date column, natural newest-first order preserved.

Videos appear as indented child rows. Double-clicking a video triggers YouTubeManager.download(video:) (audio or video MP4 depending on the current Quality setting; then the browser loads the returned local file and plays it).

Column rendering (Channels tab)

Video (leaf) rows render through the established resizable-column path (drawColumnRow), not the simple list path, so a long title truncates inside its column instead of printing over the time. The column set is:

static let youtubeColumns: [ModernBrowserColumn] = [.title, .youtubeDate, .duration]  // .youtubeDate titled "Date", .duration titled "Time"

• A dedicated .youtube case in LibraryColumnVisibilityGroup namespaces the persisted widths (youtube:title, youtube:youtubeDate, youtube:duration) so they survive migrateColumnWidths. This is why the internet-radio column path can't be reused: internetRadioColumns are deliberately non-resizable (hitTestColumnResize early-returns when hasInternetRadioColumns), and the requirement here is a movable Time column like the library tabs.
• The youtubeDate column shows video.formattedDate; sorting it goes through the raw-Date branch of columnSortAreInOrder (via columnDateValue, alongside dateAdded/lastPlayed), not string compare, so it orders by actual date.
• Channel (parent) rows stay on the simple-list path so they keep their ▶/▼ expand arrows; only video rows use columns — mirroring radio folders vs. stations.
• Column headers appear only once a channel is expanded (video rows exist), gated by hasYouTubeColumns (radioSlotShowingChannels + any .youtubeVideo in displayItems).
• Clicking a header sorts via applyYouTubeColumnSort — an in-place sort of each contiguous run of video rows (leaving channel leaders put), mirroring applyInternetRadioColumnSort.
• Plumbing touched: columnGroup(for:), currentColumnGroup(), columnsForItem, currentVisibleColumns, headerColumnsForCurrentContent, columnValue, plus the four allColumns/defaultColumnIds/visibleColumnIds/setVisibleColumnIds group switches.
• Both UIs implement this independently: the classic PlexBrowserView mirrors the whole column set (its own BrowserColumn.youtubeColumns, columnValue, columnDateValue, applyYouTubeColumnSort, session sort, etc.). Any change to YouTube columns/sorting must be made in both ModernLibraryBrowserView and PlexBrowserView — they share no code.

Download Flow

1. Reachability Check: Verify downloadRoot is accessible (mounted NAS, etc.)
2. Download: YouTubeManager.download(video:) builds the format/output args and, for audio qualities, delegates to StreamRipper.downloadAudio(from:formatArgs:outputTemplate:) to download the video's best audio. For video qualities (quality.isVideo) it instead delegates to StreamRipper.downloadVideo(from:maxHeight:outputTemplate:) to download an MP4 capped at quality.videoMaxHeight (720/1080)
3. Channel folder + readable name: Save under a per-channel subfolder as <Channel Name>/<Title> [<videoId>].<ext> (yt-dlp sanitizes the title and picks the extension; the bracketed video ID keeps names unique). The manifest stores this as a fileName path relative to downloadRoot.
4. Manifest Update: Append entry to youtube_downloads.json
5. Track Creation: Construct a local Track(url:) from the manifest entry
6. Playback: Load the track into the audio engine and play

Library Menu Integration

All items live under a single Library → YouTube submenu, built in ContextMenuBuilder.buildYouTubeMenuItem() (actions setYouTubeDownloadFolder, setYouTubeQuality(_:), setYouTubeVideoLimit(_:)). The submenu reads current values at build time, so checkmarks update whenever the menu is rebuilt on open.

Library → YouTube → Set Download Folder…

• Opens NSOpenPanel for directory selection
• Validates reachability before storing
• youtube_downloads.json is written lazily on the first recorded download, not on folder selection
• Persists in UserDefaults under YouTubeDownloadRoot (the folder path)

Library → YouTube → Quality

• Five-way FLAC / MP3 High / MP3 Low / Video (720p) / Video (1080p) setting (YouTubeQuality), persisted in UserDefaults under YouTubeQuality
• Consulted before each download in YouTubeManager.download(video:): audio qualities pass quality.ytdlpArgs to StreamRipper.downloadAudio; video qualities (quality.isVideo) route to StreamRipper.downloadVideo with quality.videoMaxHeight

Library → YouTube → Videos per Channel

• How many recent uploads to list per channel (--playlist-end); presets YouTubeManager.videoLimitChoices = 50/100/200/500, default 200, persisted under YouTubeVideoLimit
• videos(forChannel:limit:) defaults limit to videoLimit
• Changing it posts youtubeVideoLimitDidChangeNotification; both browser views clear youtubeChannelVideos and re-fetch expanded channels (reloadExpandedYouTubeChannels) so it applies live (no restart)

UI Mode Support

YouTube channels appear identically in:

• Modern LibraryBrowserView (right-side tree, expandable channel folders + indented video rows)
• Classic PlexBrowserView (left sidebar + table view, same folder/row structure as radio stations)

Both reuse existing BrowserSource / ModernBrowserSource enum routing.

Casting

Downloaded files are local file:// tracks. After download completes, the Track object is passed to the audio engine's normal playback path:

• Local playback: Direct file read
• Sonos: Track wrapped as a playable item (local file URL → proxy URL if needed)
• Chromecast / DLNA: URL is reachable from the remote renderer via local HTTP server (FlyingFox)

Gotchas

• No API key / YouTube account required: Uses yt-dlp --flat-playlist which scrapes the public channel uploads page (no authentication)
• Video list is flat: --flat-playlist does not recurse; it only lists the channel's uploads. Playlists, live streams, and videos from other channels are not included unless explicitly in the uploads view
• Download folder reachability: isDownloadFolderReachable() checks FileManager.fileExists + URL.checkResourceIsReachable() before downloading; a disconnected mount throws downloadFolderNotReachable instead of writing into a stale path
• Manifest is line-of-business: Direct JSON file writes; no SQLite. Corruption or missing entries are rare but unrecoverable (keep off user-visible data)
• Quality setting is global: One quality setting applies to all future downloads; past downloads retain their own quality field in the manifest
• Streaming playback not offered: YouTube streams (live, members-only, age-restricted) may fail silently if yt-dlp can't extract them; only downloadable videos are listed
• Video titles from yt-dlp: Source of truth is yt-dlp's title extraction; titles are not synced with YouTube's API and may differ from what the web UI shows
• YouTube has its own session sort (default date order): The channels tab must NOT inherit the persisted library column sort (columnSortId), or every rebuild — including after a download — re-sorts videos to A–Z. Both views keep session-only youtubeColumnSortId/youtubeColumnSortAscending (default nil = yt-dlp's newest-first order), read through activeColumnSortId/activeColumnSortAscending by every sort/header-draw path. A header click in the YouTube tab sets the session sort only; it never writes the library sort. This state resets to date order on relaunch (intended).
• Downloaded marker is rebuild-driven: A downloading video draws a per-row spinner gated on downloadingVideoIds; the ⬇ prefix for a finished download is added in buildYouTubeChannelItems from isDownloaded. The download handler calls rebuildCurrentModeItems() on success (adds the marker) and a defer clears downloadingVideoIds (drops the spinner) — so the spinner→icon transition only works because the row stays put, which is why the session-sort fix above matters (an A–Z re-sort would relocate the row mid-transition).
• Channels tab uses the .youtube column group, not the radio column path: Don't route YouTube videos through internetRadioColumns — those columns are fixed-width by design. Video rows use youtubeColumns ([.title, .youtubeDate, .duration]) via the resizable LibraryColumnVisibilityGroup.youtube group; adding/changing that enum requires updating every exhaustive switch group in both ModernLibraryBrowserView and PlexBrowserView