Open Video Downloader is a cross-platform desktop GUI for yt-dlp built in Rust with Tauri and Vue that eliminates the need to use the command line for downloading videos.
The tool wraps yt-dlp to provide a graphical interface for downloading videos, audio, subtitles, and metadata from hundreds of supported websites. It handles quality selection, format choice, playlist downloads, custom output naming with templates, and intelligent queue management to prevent system slowdown. The application supports authentication via browser cookies, basic auth, and video passwords, and keeps both itself and yt-dlp automatically updated.
Open Video Downloader suits anyone who wants to download video content without learning command-line syntax. It works across Windows, macOS, and Linux with native installers for each platform. The interface adapts to system theme preferences and provides clear progress tracking and error messages. Users can set download locations, choose video resolution and frame rate, extract audio only, and download entire playlists in a single operation. Keyboard shortcuts and system notifications allow background monitoring of downloads.
The project shows consistent maintenance with regular updates addressing user needs and platform compatibility. Development activity demonstrates responsiveness to issues and feature requests across the supported operating systems. The codebase maintains active refinement of the download queue system and authentication handling. Updates to the underlying yt-dlp integration are deployed regularly to keep pace with changes in supported websites.
