YoutubeFocus Desktop

Navigate your YouTube subscriptions and playlists without Google's noise: no Shorts, no algorithmic recommendations, no ads. A clean, fast interface that respects your attention.

Desktop app for macOS and Windows, built with Tauri v2 + React.

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Features

• Subscriptions: all your channels in a grid, sortable (A→Z, Z→A, recent, oldest)
• Playlists: your personal playlists with thumbnails
• Videos: grid per playlist, "watched / unwatched" filter, sort by date or duration
• Shorts hidden: videos shorter than 60s are automatically filtered out
• Search: across your locally cached content
• Dark mode: follows your system preference, manually toggleable
• Local cache: your data stays on your device — API quota preserved

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Installation

Go to the Releases tab and download the installer for your platform.

macOS

• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) → YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_aarch64.dmg
• Intel → YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_x64.dmg

Open the .dmg, drag the app to Applications, launch it.

First launch: right-click → Open (Gatekeeper warning — app is unsigned).

Windows

• Windows 10/11 (64-bit) → YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_x64-setup.exe or YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_x64_en-US.msi

Double-click the installer.

First launch: click "More info" → "Run anyway" (SmartScreen warning — app is unsigned).

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First Setup — Configure Your Google Credentials

The app does not include any API key. On first launch, a setup guide walks you through it. Full details:

Step 1 — Create a Google Cloud project

1. Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in.
2. Top-left, click the project selector → "New project".
3. Give it a name (e.g. MyVideos) and click "Create".

Step 2 — Enable the YouTube API

1. Left menu → "APIs & Services" → "Library".
2. Search for YouTube Data API v3, click it, then "Enable".

Step 3 — Create your API key

1. Left menu → "APIs & Services" → "Credentials".
2. Click "+ Create Credentials" → "API key".
3. Copy the key shown (e.g. AIzaSyAbc123...).

Step 4 — Create your OAuth Client ID

1. Still in "Credentials" → "+ Create Credentials" → "OAuth 2.0 Client ID".
2. If prompted, configure the OAuth consent screen:
   • User type: External
   • App name: YoutubeFocus
   • Your email address → Save.
3. Application type: "Web application".
4. Under "Authorized redirect URIs", add exactly:

   http://localhost:5173/callback
   

5. Click "Create" and copy the Client ID shown.

Step 5 — Authorize your account

1. Left menu → "Google Auth Platform" → "Audience".
2. Scroll to "Test users" and add your Gmail address.

This step is required while your app is in "Testing" mode (perfect for personal use).

Step 6 — Enter your credentials in the app

On first launch, the setup screen appears automatically.

Paste your API Key and OAuth Client ID, click "Save and continue", sign in with Google — you're all set.

Your credentials are stored locally in the app's data directory. They never leave your device.

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Architecture

src/
├── components/     # React components (SubscriptionGrid, VideoGrid, Settings...)
├── pages/          # Views (Home, Playlist, Search, Config)
├── hooks/          # useYouTube, useCache, useTheme
├── services/       # YouTube API client, local cache (IndexedDB)
└── types/          # TypeScript types

src-tauri/
├── src/lib.rs      # Rust: plugins + OAuth callback interceptor
└── tauri.conf.json # Tauri config

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Build from source

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Rust + Cargo (curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh)
• macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools
• Windows: Microsoft C++ Build Tools + WebView2 (included in Windows 11)

git clone https://github.com/djangocourcelles/YoutubeFocus-Desktop.git
cd YoutubeFocus-Desktop
npm install
npm run tauri dev        # development

macOS:

PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH" npm run tauri build
# → src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/YoutubeFocus.app
# → src-tauri/target/release/bundle/dmg/YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_aarch64.dmg

Windows:

npm run tauri build
# → src-tauri\target\release\bundle\msi\YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_x64_en-US.msi
# → src-tauri\target\release\bundle\nsis\YoutubeFocus_x.x.x_x64-setup.exe

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Technical notes

• OAuth in Tauri: the webview intercepts Google's redirect to http://localhost:5173/callback via on_navigation in Rust, rerouted to tauri://localhost/callback — no local server needed.
• API quota: all lists are cached (TTL 1h). Video metadata cached indefinitely. videos.list batched in groups of 50 to minimize API calls.
• Shorts detection: no reliable API flag — detection by durationSeconds < threshold (configurable in Settings).

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License

MIT