youtube-viewer

Search for a video

$ youtube-viewer [search_term]

$ youtube-viewer --login

$ youtube-viewer --player=[vlc] [https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ]

$ youtube-viewer -[7]

youtube-viewer [options] [search terms or video ID or playlist ID]

-h, --help
    Display help message and exit

-V, --version
    Display version information

--video-player=PLAYER
    Specify player: mplayer, mpv, vlc, totem (default: mplayer)

--mpv-opts=OPTIONS
    Extra options for mpv

--mplayer-opts=OPTIONS
    Extra options for mplayer

--vlc-opts=OPTIONS
    Extra options for VLC

--cookies-from-browser=BROWSER
    Extract cookies from firefox, chrome, etc., for auth

--video-format=FORMAT
    Video format: best, worst, highres, hd1080, etc.

--video-quality=QUALITY
    Quality alias: best, worst, small, medium, large, hd720, hd1080

--playlists=ID
    Play YouTube playlist by ID

--playlist-start=INDEX
    Start playlist from index (default: 1)

--playlist-end=INDEX
    End playlist at index

--interface-type=TYPE
    Interface: mplayer, mpv, curses (default: curses)

--proxy-server=URL
    Use proxy server

--get-video-info
    Print video info (title, author, duration, etc.)

--download-with-external-downloader
    Download video using external downloader

--subtitles=LANG
    Download subtitles in language (e.g., en)

--auto-subtitles
    Auto-generate subtitles

--comments=NUM
    Fetch top NUM comments

--preferences=FILE
    Custom preferences file

--language=LANG
    YouTube interface language

--region=REGION
    YouTube region (e.g., US)

youtube-viewer is a lightweight, feature-rich command-line tool written in Perl for searching, streaming, and managing YouTube videos directly in the terminal. It fetches video metadata and streams content using external players like mplayer, mpv, or VLC, bypassing the need for a web browser. Key capabilities include keyword-based searches, playlist playback, video format selection (e.g., HD, best quality), subtitle support in multiple languages, and integration with browser cookies for personalized results.

Users can browse related videos, view comments, download videos via external tools like youtube-dl, or customize playback with player-specific options. It supports proxies, region/language preferences, and even traffic percentage monitoring during playback. The tool maintains a preferences file for persistent settings and offers a curses-based interface for navigation.

Ideal for users preferring keyboard-driven workflows, low-bandwidth environments, or scripting automation, youtube-viewer handles YouTube's evolving API by parsing web pages, though it may require updates for compatibility.

Requires external player (mplayer/mpv/VLC) and Perl modules (LWP::UserAgent, etc.). May break with YouTube updates; check for upstream fixes. No official YouTube API key needed but uses page parsing. High CPU for curses interface on large results.

Install via package managers: sudo apt install youtube-viewer (Debian/Ubuntu), yay -S youtube-viewer (Arch). Or from GitHub releases.

Settings saved in ~/.config/youtube-viewer/preferences. Edit for defaults like player, quality, language.

Developed by Trizen (tzvika) starting around 2012 as an open-source Perl script on GitHub (github.com/trizen/youtube-viewer). Actively maintained with frequent updates to handle YouTube changes. Available in Arch Linux AUR, Debian repos, and as AppImage. Gained popularity for terminal enthusiasts; version 3.9.x as of 2023.

mplayer(1), mpv(1), vlc(1), yt-dlp(1), curl(1)