gtktube 1.0.1

Local privacy-first Python/GTK4 YouTube player

GTKTube

GTKTube is a local privacy-first Python/GTK4 YouTube player for Linux. It stores subscriptions and viewing history locally in SQLite, and does not use a Google account. The feed has no algorithm. It just shows recent videos from the channels you subscribe to.

Features

• Browse recent videos from your subscribed channels without YouTube recommendations.
• Watch without ads.
• No tracking by GTKTube.
• Search YouTube for videos and channels without signing in.
• Subscribe and unsubscribe locally; no Google account, OAuth, cookies, or account sync.
• Play videos inside the GTK app with libmpv.
• Choose playback quality and speed, including speeds up to 4x.
• Use normal playback shortcuts for play/pause, seeking, fullscreen, and speed changes.
• Keep watching while browsing with a mini-player.
• Track watch history locally, including watched time ranges rather than only a last position.
• Search and review local watch history.
• Store thumbnails on disk and app data in SQLite.

Screenshots

Channel Browsing

Player

Queue And Mini-Player

Install

pipx ensurepath
pipx install --system-site-packages gtktube

GTKTube also needs GTK4/PyGObject and libmpv from your Linux distribution. If required system dependencies are missing, the app can launch a small installer helper.

Run

GTKTube installs a desktop app entry, so you can launch it from your normal Linux app launcher. You can also run it from a terminal:

gtktube

Useful startup flags:

• gtktube --show-upgrade opens the upgrade dialog even when GTKTube has not detected a newer version.
• gtktube --show-deps-installer opens the system dependency installer even when GTKTube thinks dependencies are present.

Data Storage

GTKTube keeps its state on your machine:

• subscriptions and watch history in SQLite
• thumbnail cache under the user cache directory
• no Google account integration
• no cloud sync
• no analytics or tracking by GTKTube

License

GTKTube is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See LICENSE.