YouTube Viewer: A Lightweight, Feature-Rich YouTube Client for the Terminal
A Brief Introduction to the project:
YouTube Viewer is a simple, yet considerably feature-rich, open-source project hosted on GitHub. Its primary purpose is to enable users to search, view, and download YouTube videos directly from the terminal, with the ability to parse YouTube feeds and playback video in an external player. The significance of YouTube Viewer lies in its unique proposition, bringing YouTube browsing capabilities to the terminal and providing an alternative to standard graphical user interfaces.
Project Overview:
YouTube Viewer aims to provide a light-weight, fast, and convenient utility for YouTube enthusiasts who prefer or rely on command-line interfaces. The tool addresses the need for a terminal-based YouTube client, capable of replicating most of the features one would expect in a YouTube application. It is particularly targeted at users with limited system resources, those who seek a performance-oriented alternative, or simply those who enjoy using the terminal.
Project Features:
Key features that set YouTube Viewer apart include its ability to search for videos and channels, playlist manipulation, custom video resolutions, and video download capabilities. It supports both the traditional YouTube API and the Invidious API (an alternative front-end to YouTube). Each of these features contributes towards creating a feasible YouTube client for the terminal, potentially saving resources while maintaining functionality.
An example use-case could be a user who frequently downloads YouTube videos for offline use. With YouTube Viewer, they could quickly search for videos, select the desired resolution, and download the content, all within the terminal context.
Technology Stack:
YouTube Viewer is primarily written in Perl, a high-level, versatile programming language. Perl is known for its text processing capabilities, making it ideal for parsing the YouTube API responses. The project also leverages a number of Perl libraries (like LWP, JSON, Term::ReadLine) that each facilitate specific aspects of the program’s requirements.
Project Structure and Architecture:
The project primarily consists of a command-line interface (CLI) script, 'youtube-viewer', which manages the core functionalities. It is complemented by 'GTK-youtube-viewer', a GUI extension of the project. The GUI extension provides the project with a more familiar, visual interface for those users who prefer it while maintaining the lightweight ethos.
The interaction between different components involves retrieving data from the YouTube API, processing this data into user-friendly information, and executing user commands such as playing or downloading videos.
Contribution Guidelines:
