yoinks is a command-line video downloader that lets you fetch videos from YouTube, X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and over 1,800 other sites directly from your terminal.
The tool solves the problem of downloading videos without navigating through ad-laden websites or sketchy download services. It works by wrapping yt-dlp, the underlying video-fetching engine, in a full-screen terminal interface built with React. When you paste a URL, yoinks presents available formats and resolutions in an interactive picker where you navigate with arrow keys, number keys, or mouse clicks, then saves the file to your Downloads folder. The tool automatically handles dependencies: it fetches the yt-dlp binary on first run if you don't have it installed, and uses ffmpeg for merging high-resolution streams and extracting audio.
You should choose yoinks if you prefer working in the terminal and want a straightforward, ad-free way to archive videos without installing Python or managing complex configuration. It suits anyone who regularly downloads videos for personal use and values a clean, distraction-free interface over web-based alternatives. The tool requires Node 18 or higher but bundles or automatically fetches everything else needed, so setup is minimal.
The project shows active development with a clear roadmap including scriptable flags to skip the interactive picker, output directory selection, playlist support, and clipboard detection. The maintainer has already published the tool to npm for easy installation and is planning additional distribution methods. Development appears focused on expanding functionality while maintaining the core simplicity of the interface.
