Yt2Cli

A simple command-line (CLI) tool for searching and playing YouTube videos directly from the terminal, without needing to open a browser.

Features

• Search YouTube videos by keyword, with an optional result limit (--limit=<n>, default 10)
• Filter results by video type with --type=short|long|both (short = 4 minutes or less, long = more than 4 minutes)
• Browse a channel's videos by its YouTube handle: channel <channeluser> (supports --limit=<n> and --thumbs=yes|no)
• Load videos from a YouTube playlist URL: playlist <url> (supports --limit=<n> and --thumbs=yes|no)
• Results are cached per query and options (limit, type, thumbs), so re-searching the same keyword is instant
• Load more results from the last search with more
• Display search results as formatted video cards (title, channel, views with K/M/B suffix, duration, and Short/Normal badge) with the video thumbnail rendered as block/pixel art; cards flow into a responsive multi-column grid based on terminal width. Disable thumbnail rendering with --thumbs=no for faster results
• Play any video from the list through mpv, falling back to the system's default application if mpv isn't installed
• Play a video directly by URL without searching: open --url=<youtube-url>
• Type a YouTube URL directly at the prompt to play it automatically, no command needed (recognizes youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, /shorts/, and /embed/ links)
• Download one or more videos to an existing folder with --path=<existing-dir>: download <id1> <id2> ... --path=~/Videos, or download all loaded videos with download all --path=~/Videos, including direct URLs: download --url=<youtube-url> --path=~/Videos
• Copy a video's URL to the clipboard with copy <id> (uses pyperclip)
• Clear the in-memory cache and the loaded list with reset or cache:clear
• Any unrecognized command is treated as a search query
• Command line editing and history via readline
• Cross-platform: works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Requirements

1. Python

Recommended version: Python 3.10 or newer.

2. mpv for video playback (optional)

The app relies on mpv as the default player. If it's not installed, the app will fall back to opening the link with the system's default application.

Installing mpv:

Installation

pip install yt2cli

Usage

yt2cli

This launches an interactive prompt. Type a command and press Enter.

Available Commands

Note: Any input that isn't a recognized command is treated as a search query. A direct YouTube URL (youtube.com/watch, youtu.be/..., /shorts/..., or /embed/...) is played automatically instead of being searched.

Example

==================================================
                  AVAILABLE OPTIONS
==================================================
  [channel]  Browse a channel's videos by its YouTube handle
  [copy]  Copy a video's URL to the clipboard (ID required)
  [open]  Play a video from the list by its ID
  [clear]  Clear the terminal screen
  [show]  Show the currently loaded videos
  [exit]  Exit the application
  [help]  Show available commands
  [reset]  Clear the video list and backend cache
  [cache:clear]  Clear cached search results only
  [more]  Load more results from the last search
  [download]  Download a YouTube video
  [playlist]  Load videos from a YouTube playlist URL
  ==================================================

Yt2Cli Run: python tutorial --type=both
Searching...
Results for: python tutorial (limit=10, type=both, thumbs=yes)
 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 ┌─────────────── block art ───────────────┐  [0] Python Basics for Beginners
 │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │      Programming Academy
 │ ░░░░░░ ░░ ░ ░  ░░   ░  ░░░ ░░░ ░░ ░░░  │      2.34M views
 │ ░ ░░░░ ░ ░░ ░ ░ ░░ ░ ░░ ░ ░░░ ░ ░░░░░  │      18:42 duration
 │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │      Normal video
 └─────────────────────────────────────────┘
 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# The number in [brackets] is the video's index in the list (used by `open`/`download`/`copy`), not the YouTube video ID

Yt2Cli Run: open 0

Video Card Layout

Each search result is printed as a card:

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 ┌─────────────── block art ───────────────┐  [0] Python Basics for Beginners
 │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │      Programming Academy
 │ ░░░░░░ ░░ ░ ░  ░░   ░  ░░░ ░░░ ░░ ░░░  │      2.34M views
 │ ░ ░░░░ ░ ░░ ░ ░ ░░ ░ ░░ ░ ░░░ ░ ░░░░░  │      18:42 duration
 │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │      Normal video
 └─────────────────────────────────────────┘
 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

• The card is bounded by a horizontal line (─)
• Left side: the video thumbnail rendered as terminal block/pixel art (~40 columns wide) via term-image
• Right side: the bold [index] Title (truncated to 45 chars), the channel (truncated to 40 chars), the view count formatted with K/M/B suffixes, the video duration, and a Short/Normal video badge
• Cards are laid out in a responsive grid — as many cards per row as the terminal width allows, and each card is padded so columns align
• The [index] is the card's position in the loaded list — the number you pass to open <id>, download <id>, or copy <id>

You can also play a video directly by URL, without searching first:

Yt2Cli Run: open --url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id

Or simply type the URL itself — it will be detected and played automatically (youtube.com/watch, youtu.be/..., /shorts/..., and /embed/... links are recognized):

Yt2Cli Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id

You can also browse a channel's videos directly by its YouTube handle:

Yt2Cli Run: channel MrBeast --limit=5

You can also load videos from a YouTube playlist URL:

Yt2Cli Run: playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxxx --limit=5

Project Structure

yt2cli/
├── src/
│   └── yt2cli/
│       ├── __init__.py      # App export entry point
│       ├── App.py           # Core logic and command handling
│       ├── Backend.py       # Search logic (yt-dlp), result caching, and downloads
│       ├── Logger.py         # Custom silent yt-dlp logger
│       ├── ParamManager.py   # Parses `--option=value` arguments for commands
│       ├── Player.py        # Video playback (mpv with system fallback)
│       ├── SearchResults.py # Renders the video cards and thumbnail block art
│       └── cli.py           # Interactive REPL entry point

Notes

• The app uses yt-dlp to search and extract video playback URLs.
• channel <channeluser> loads a channel's videos from its /videos tab using the channel's YouTube handle (@handle or just handle); it accepts --limit=<n> and --thumbs=yes|no, and results are cached per channel and options.
• playlist <url> loads videos from a YouTube playlist URL; it accepts --limit=<n> and --thumbs=yes|no, and results are cached per playlist and options.
• Search results are cached per query and options (limit, type, thumbs) in memory; playing a video re-resolves the stream URL with yt-dlp.
• --type=short|long|both filters results by duration: short videos are 4 minutes or less, long videos are more than 4 minutes, both returns everything.
• --thumbs=yes|no (also accepts true/false) toggles whether search results render the video thumbnail as block art; no skips fetching thumbnails for faster results.
• more re-searches the last query with a higher limit (adds 5 results each time).
• download <id> --path=<existing-dir> saves the video with yt-dlp into the given existing folder. The folder must already exist and is passed with --path. It accepts multiple ids at once: download 0 2 5 --path=~/Videos. Use download all --path=<existing-dir> to download every video currently loaded.
• copy <id> copies the video's URL to the clipboard via pyperclip.
• open --url=<youtube-url> plays any video directly by URL, without needing to search for it first.
• download --url=<youtube-url> --path=<existing-dir> downloads any video directly by URL, without needing to search for it first.
• Typing a YouTube URL (youtube.com/watch, youtu.be/..., /shorts/..., or /embed/...) directly at the prompt plays it automatically.

License

MIT