VacuumTube
VacuumTube is an unofficial wrapper of YouTube Leanback (the console and Smart TV version of YouTube) for the desktop, with a built-in adblocker and minor enhancements.
Features
- Ad-free
- Controller Support
- Dark Mode
- Built-in Ad-blocker
VacuumTube News & Activities
Recent activities
justarandom added VacuumTube as alternative to Monochrome Music
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mlogictech added VacuumTube as alternative to Playlist Wiper- 6zjqcm7byh-coder liked VacuumTube
facuA added VacuumTube as alternative to FLTube
Danilo_Venom added VacuumTube as alternative to YouTube Desktop
Danilo_Venom added VacuumTube as alternative to Magic-Tape
POX added VacuumTube as alternative to Sonosano- lstar1990 liked VacuumTube
VacuumTube information
Developed by
shyLicensing
Open Source (MIT) and Free product.Written in
Alternatives
57 alternatives listedSupported Languages
- English
AlternativeTo Categories
System & Hardware, Video & MoviesGitHub repository
- 485 Stars
- 28 Forks
- 27 Open Issues
- Updated
What is VacuumTube?
VacuumTube is an unofficial wrapper of YouTube Leanback (the console and Smart TV version of YouTube) for the desktop, with a built-in adblocker and minor enhancements. What exactly is this?
It is not a custom client, YouTube Leanback is an official interface. This project simply encompasses it and makes it usable as a standalone desktop application.
YouTube Leanback is just an HTML5 app, and so you can just use it in your browser by going to https://www.youtube.com/tv, but they intentionally block browsers unless it's one of their console or TV apps.
You can technically bypass this by spoofing your user agent, but it isn't the same experience you'd get on a console or TV as it doesn't support controllers outside of the official app, and it's just a much more involved process to get it working.
VacuumTube solves all of this by wrapping it with Electron, pretending to be the YouTube app, implementing controller and touch support, and overall making it a much better experience than just spoofing your user agent.