yewtube

Yewtube is a terminal-based YouTube player and downloader. It runs entirely inside a command-line window with no graphical interface, and it does not require a YouTube API key, which many similar tools do. You type a search query, browse the results as a numbered list, and play or download items by entering the corresponding number.

Playback works through an external media player that you install separately. The README lists mplayer, mpv, and VLC as supported options. Audio can be played through VLC without opening any GUI window, which is useful for listening to music in the background while working in a terminal. Video playback is also supported for items that have it.

Beyond basic search and play, the tool can search for an album by name and attempt to match each track based on title and duration, building a playlist from the results. It can search and import YouTube playlists, create and save playlists locally, download content in various formats and resolutions, convert audio to MP3 (if you have ffmpeg or avconv installed), and browse comments on a video.

Search results are customizable: you can change what columns appear (view count, upload date, likes, category, and others) and sort by different criteria. Repeat playback of specific songs or ranges is supported using a simple number syntax.

Yewtube is a fork of mps-youtube, which itself was based on an earlier music search tool. It works on Windows, Linux, and Mac. Installation is straightforward using pip or pipx, and the program starts with the command yt. Python 3 is required.