DOKK / manpages / debian 12 / ytfzf / ytfzf.1.en
YTFZF(1) General Commands Manual YTFZF(1)

ytfzf - search and play videos

ytfzf [options] [search-query]

ytfzf [options] -

ytfzf is a POSIX script that helps you find videos from Youtube, Peertube or Odysee (without API) and opens/downloads them using mpv/youtube-dl.

Search operators are special search queries.

Standard search operators include:

:help
Prints a possibly brief description of how to use the scraper.

Addon scrapers may have more or less search operators

These shortcuts will apply in any menu that supports it.
The only menu that currently supports it is fzf.
Shortcuts starting with alt, will exit the menu, shortcuts starting with ctrl will not.
To change any of the defaults set the corresponding variable in your configuration file.

alt-d (download_shortcut)

alt-v (video_shortcut)

alt-m (audio_shortcut)

alt-e (detach_shortcut)

alt-l (print_link_shortcut)

alt-f (show_formats_shortcut)

alt-i (info_shortcut)

alt-s (search_again_shortcut)

ctrl-p (next_page_action_shortcut)

Information

Show help text.
Show ytfzf's version.

How to play the selected videos.

Download the selected videos. This can also be set in the config file with is_download.
Play audio only. This can also be set in the config file with is_audio_only.
Show available formats before proceeding.
The format selection screen type to use.

Types:
This can also be set in the config file with format_selection_screen.
The --format-sort to use in ytdl. This can also be set in the config file with format_selection_sort.
--video-pref=pref
Set the ytdl video format to pref. This can also be set in the config file with video_pref.
Set the ytdl audio format to pref. This can also be set in the config file with audio_pref.
Set the ytdl format to pref. This can also be set in the config file with ytdl_pref.
Detach the video player from the terminal. This can also be set in the config file with is_detach.
The function/program to use as a url handler. This can also be set in the config file by adding load_url_handler <handler>.
Instead of playing the selected videos, get information about them in the selected format. The available options are:
Prints the URL of the selected videos.
Prints the json of the selected videos.
Prints the json of all the videos in the search results.
Prints the video format being used.
Prints the data of the selected videos, as appears in the menu.
Alias for -I L
The action to do when --info-wait is 1. info_wait_action.
Whether or not to wait after printing info requested with -I or -L. This can also be set in the config file with info_wait.
--url-handler-opts=opts
Opts to pass to the url handler, by default this will pass extra opts to mpv. This can also be set in the config file with url_handler_opts.

Menu options

Reopen the menu when the video stops playing. This can also be set in the config file with is_loop.
After closing fzf make another search. This can also be set in the config file with search_again.
Show thumbnails. Doesn't work with -D or -H. This can also be set in the config file with show_thumbnails.
Whether or not to download thumbnails asynchronously.
Downloading asynchronously will open the menu before all thumbnails are downloaded. This can also be set in the config file with async_thumbnails.
Whether or not to skip the thumbnail download. This is used if you want to not have thumbnails, or use custom thumbnails in $YTFZF_CUSTOM_THUMBNAILS_DIR.
For more info see CUSTOM THUMBNAILS in ytfzf(5)
This can also be set in the config file with skip_thumb_download.
Show notifications when a video is about to be played, and other notifications relating to playing videos. This can also be set in the config file with notify_playing.
The preview side in fzf.
Options:
This can also be changed in the config file with fzf_preview_side.
Use program for displaying thumbnails.
Built-in programs:
chafa, chafa with 16 colors, chafa with 4 colors.
catimg, catimg with 256 colors.
Good with tiling window managers.
Similar to imv.
For the kitty terminal.
Only works on the sway wayland compositor.
Only works on the hyprland compositor. Uses swayimg to render an image.
<custom>
Additional viewers can be put into $YTFZF_THUMBNAIL_VIEWERS_DIR.
This can also be changed in the config file by adding
load_thumbnail_viewer <viewer>.
Use an external menu instead of fzf. The default is dmenu. This can also be set in the config file with interface="ext".
Use a custom interface script, which would be in $YTFZF_CUSTOM_INTERFACES_DIR. This can also be set in the config file by adding load_interface <interface>.
Sorts videos (after scraping) by upload date.
--sort-name=name
Calls a function set in $YTFZF_CONFIG_FILE. Or sources a script in $YTFZF_SORT_NAMES_DIR (if it exists). See SORT NAMES in ytfzf(5) for more information.
Whether or not to have a separator between each subscription. When this option is used it automatically disables --sort as it will mess up this option.
This can also be set in the config file with fancy_subs.
Whether or not to disable the back button in submenus.
This can also be set in the config file with enable_back_button.
Whether or not to disable submenus.
Submenus are the menus that happen after a playlist or channel (currently only supported by youtube/invidious) is selected
This can also be set in the config file with enable_submenus.
Whether or not options passed into ytfzf also get passed into submenus. This can also be set in the config file with keep_vars.
The opts to use in the submenu.
This can also be set in the config file with submenu_opts.
DEPRECATED (use --submenu-opts instead) Does the same thing as --submenu-opts.
This can also be set in the config file with submenu_scraping_opts.

Auto selecting

Auto-play the first result.
Select all results.
Auto-play a random result.
Auto-play a specific video.

Examples:
2
Select the second video
$
Select the last video
/^h/
Select all videos starting with h

The number of videos to select with -a or -r.

Scrapers

Set which scraper to use. Multiple scrapers can be separated by comma (,). The currently supported builtin scrapers are:
Scrapes invidious' api with a search query
Scrapes a youtube channel with youtube
Scrapes a youtube channel with $invidious_instance
When this scrape is active the search query is the link to a channel.
Scrapes recommended videos from an invidious video link
Scrapes a youtube playlist
When this scrape is active the search query is the link to a playlist.
youtube-trending|T
Scrapes invidious' api to get youtube trending.
When this scrape is active the search query is the tab of trending to scrape.
Uses ytfzf recursively to scrape multiple things with multiple different options
See ytfzf -c M :help for more info
Tabs:
youtube-subscriptions|S|SI
SI Scrapes invidious for channels instead of youtube. Scraping youtube may result in rate limiting.
uses your $YTFZF_SCRAPELIST_FILE as scrape and search input. See "scrape lists" ytfzf(5) for more information.
(Only if $enable_hist is enabled)
Opens the url in the video player and exits
Treats the url as an item, and will open fzf, or the external menu.
Scrapes the comments of a video link from youtube
Alias for -c H.
Scrapes history file.
Same as -c, but keeps the default scrape as well.
Removes scraper from list of scrapers to use
Whether or not to use multi search.
To use multi search, separate each search with a comma, this works well when using multiple scrapers.
This can also be set in the config file with multi_search.
When using the youtube scraper, convert the invidious links to youtube links before playing/downloading.

Scraper Options

Currently, --video-duration, --type, --thumbnail-quality, and --features only applies to the scrape: youtube/Y

Amount of pages to scrape on youtube/invidious, and the comments scraper. This can also be set in the config file with pages_to_scrape.
The page to start on. This can also be set in the config file with pages_start.
Amount of threads that can be used to scrape youtube search, playlists, and channels. (this does not apply to the subscription scraper).
This can also be set in the config file with max_thread_count.
Set the max_thread_count to 1, this has the same effect as making everything single threaded. (this does not apply to the subscription scraper).
This can also bet set in the config file with max_thread_count=1.
--odysee-video-count=amount
Amount of videos to scrape on odysee. This can also be set in the config file with odysee_video_search_count.
Whether or not to search for nsfw videos.
Only works with odysee/O This can also be set in the config file with nsfw.
--sort-by=sort
Works with youtube/Y and odysee/O.
To use a different sort for each scrape, use comma (,) to separate the sorts.
As apposed to --sort, this happens during the search, not after. Results should sort by:
Works with youtube/Y and odysee/O
To use a different sort for each scrape, use comma (,) to separate the dates.
Search for videos within the last:
--video-duration=duration
Whether or not to search for long or short videos. Possible options:
The type of results to get.
Select the quality of the thumbnails. Available options:
The first frame of the video (low quality)
The middle frame of the video (low quality)
The end frame of the video (low quality)
The features to have on a video (comma separated).
3d
4k
360
The region (country code) to search.
Supported by the scrapes youtube/Y and youtube-trending/T

Miscellaneous

Use a different invidious instance.
If this flag is provided, refresh instance cache with healthy instances using Invidious API
Prints the invidious instances that may be used and exits.
--channel-link=link
Converts channel links from 'https://youtube.com/c/name' to 'https://youtube.com/channel/id'
Use search history instead of a search. This can also be set in the config file with search_source=hist.
The source to use for the search query. Valid values include:
args
Use commandline arguments as the search (default)
prompt
Ask for a search via a prompt
hist
Use search history.
next
Used internally to use the next search in the list when multi_search is enabled.
fn-args
Used internally to use the function arguments passed to the function as the source.
<custom>
A custom search source may be used if a function called get_search_from_<source> exists. The function must set the _search variable to a search.
Clear search and watch history (if -x or --history-clear is used)
To specify either search or watch history use --history-clear=<search|watch>
Whether or not to keep cache after ytfzf exists. This can also be set in the config file with keep_cache.
Pass command-line options to youtube-dl when downloading. 
example: --ytdl-opts=
Specify the path to youtube-dl or a fork of youtube-dl for downloading.
This can also be set in the config file with ytdl_path.
Load an extension.
You may also add load_extension extension to your config file.
Lists all addons and exits.
Sets the file to log thumbnail debug info to. This can also be set in the config file with thumbnail_debug_log.

The default behaviour of ytfzf can be changed by modifying the config file. See ytfzf(5) for more information.

There are a few types of addons,
interfaces (-i, --interface)
scrapers (-c, --scrape)
sort-names (--sort-name)
thumbnail-viewers (-T, --thumb-viewer)
url-handlers (-u, --url_handler)
extensions (-e, --ext)

To install an addon, place the addon in $YTFZF_SYSTEM_ADDON_DIR/<addon-type>/addon-name

To use an addon, use one of the options listed above, or add
load_interface <interface>
scrape=<scraper>
load_sort_name <sort-name>
load_thumbnail_viewer <viewer>
load_url_handler <url-handler>
load_extension <ext>
In your configuration file

0
Success
1
General error
2
Invalid --option, option value, or configuration error.
3
Missing dependency
5
Empty search

$YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR
The directory to store config files. The default is $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ytfzf (or ~/.config/ytfzf)
$YTFZF_CONFIG_FILE
The configuration file to use. The default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/conf.sh
$YTFZF_SUBSCRIPTIONS_FILE
The subscriptions file to use. The default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/subscriptions
$YTFZF_SCRAPELIST_FILE
The scrapelist file to use. The default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/scrapelist
$YTFZF_THUMBNAIL_VIEWERS_DIR
The directory to keep additional thumbnail viewers. The default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/thumbnail-viewers
$YTFZF_CUSTOM_SCRAPERS_DIR
The directory to store custom scraper scripts in The default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/scrapers
$YTFZF_CUSTOM_INTERFACES_DIR
The directory to store custom interface scripts in the default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/interfaces
$YTFZF_SORT_NAMES_DIR
The directory to store custom sort-name scripts in the default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/sort-names
$YTFZF_URL_HANDLERS_DIR
The directory to store custom url handlers in the default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/url-handlers
$YTFZF_CUSTOM_THUMBNAILS_DIR
The directory to store custom thumbnails the default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/thumbnails
$YTFZF_EXTENSIONS_DIR
The directory to store extensions the default is $YTFZF_CONFIG_DIR/extensions
$YTFZF_SYSTEM_ADDON_DIR
The directory to store system installed addons. The default may vary depending on how you installed ytfzf.
$YTFZF_CHECK_VARS_EXISTS
Whether or not to check if variables are set in the environment before setting default values. The default is 1
$YTFZF_TEMP_DIR
The temporary directory The default is is $TMPDIR/ytfzf-$user-id.
If $TMPDIR is not defined it will use /tmp

~/.config/ytfzf/conf.sh
The configuration file. If submenu-conf.sh does not exist, this will also be used as the config in submenus
~/.config/ytfzf/submenu-conf.sh
The submenu configuration file
~/.config/ytfzf/subscriptions
The subscriptions file.

Each instance of ytfzf has its own directory in $YTFZF_TEMP_DIR, if $keep_cache is enabled, it uses $cache_dir instead.
The structure of each instance folder looks like this: (<> represents a placeholder, ? means optional)
If an addon scraper is used, it may use undocumented files.

$cache_dir
| -- watch_hist
| -- <search>-<pid>
|  | -- searches.list
|  | -- post-scrape
|  | -- <submenu-search>-<submenu-pid>?
|  | -- thumbnails?
|  | -- environment
|  | -- tmp
|  |  | -- curl_config
|  |  | -- <scrape>.html
|  |  | -- <scrape>.json
|  |  | -- <scrape>.json.final?
|  |  | -- menu_keypress
|  |  | -- all-ids.list
|  |  | -- downloaded-ids.list
|  | -- ids
|  | -- videos_json

An explanation of each directory/file:

A list of all searches
If --multi-search is enabled, each search is separated by a new line
The watch history file.
<search>-<pid>
An instance's parent folder.
If no search was given it uses the name "SCRAPE-<scrape>-<pid>" instead.
A folder that contains files relating to the scraping of a selected result.
<submenu-search>-<submenu-pid>
Created when a submenu is opened (eg: when a channel/playlist is selected).
Stores the thumbnails for the instance (only with -t).
Every variable that is set and it's value, in that instance of ytfzf
Stores less important temporarily used files.
The configuration file for curl for downloading thumbnails (only with -t).
<scrape>.html
For scrapers that need to scrape websites, this is the output of curl.
<scrape>.json
The json scraped from a website.
<scrape>.json.final
The final json scraped from a website. (Is used when multiple threads are used for scraping)
The key pressed in fzf.
File that contains all scraped ids. Mainly to compare against downloaded-ids.json
File that contains which thumbnails have been downloaded
The file that stores the id of each selected video.
The file that stores a json of all videos displayed in fzf.
This file is very helpful for making playlists as it is in the same format.

Originally written by pystardust. <https://github.com/pystardust>

Report bugs on github <https://github.com/pystardust/ytfzf/issues>

ytfzf(5) youtube-dl(1), mpv(1) fzf(1) dmenu(1)

ytfzf is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3 as published by the Free Software Foundation.

ytfzf is distributed in the hope that it will be useful but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with ytfzf. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

2021 September ytfzf 2.0