YouTube downloads

Youtarr

YouTube channel tracker and library downloader

Youtarr tracks YouTube channels, downloads selected videos, and can refresh a Plex library after completion.

What It Does

Tracks channels and queues individual YouTube videos for download.
Uses yt-dlp and FFmpeg to create media files with metadata and artwork.
Stores its application state in MariaDB and can trigger Plex library refreshes.

How Stackarr Fits

Stackarr keeps Youtarr optional and loopback-only by default, provisions a dedicated MariaDB service, persists media and application data, includes a consistent MariaDB dump in backups, applies the shared Stackarr login, and exposes focused MCP actions for health, library reads, and one-video download requests.

Stackarr layout

Optional Docker Compose profile: youtarr
App image: dialmaster/youtarr:latest by default, with a runtime override available
Database image: mariadb:10.11
Private URL: http://127.0.0.1:3087
Default Portless URL: https://youtarr.stack
YouTube library: ${YOUTARR_OUTPUT_ROOT} → /usr/src/app/data (new installs default to ${MEDIA_ROOT}/Videos/YouTube)
App config: ${YOUTARR_CONFIG_ROOT} → /app/config
Job state: ${YOUTARR_JOBS_ROOT} → /app/jobs
Images: ${YOUTARR_IMAGES_ROOT} → /app/server/images
Database: Compose-managed youtarr-db-data volume

Enable and apply it with:

bin/stackarr youtarr enable
bin/stackarr youtarr apply
bin/stackarr portless apply

First run and authentication

Stackarr enables Youtarr authentication by default. Setup generates the dedicated MariaDB credentials and uses the Stackarr account as Youtarr’s preset first account. Youtarr accepts usernames up to 32 characters and passwords up to 64 characters. Stackarr enforces those limits when Youtarr is enabled.

Open Youtarr after the containers become healthy. If you want Plex library refreshes, finish the Plex token and library selection in Youtarr. Stackarr manages the container-facing Plex URL but does not copy the Plex token into tracked configuration.

For a folder-organized Plex Other Videos library, use ${MEDIA_ROOT}/Videos as the Plex library location and browse the library by Folder. Youtarr remains in the YouTube child folder, while sibling folders such as Music Videos become top-level categories without changing Youtarr's selected Plex library ID. Existing installs keep their configured YOUTARR_OUTPUT_ROOT; Stackarr does not relocate downloaded media automatically.

Youtarr writes its channel name into the MP4 album tag, which Plex uses for the per-channel collection. Music videos can follow the same convention by setting album to the artist name; Agregarr is not needed for either grouping model. See Storage Paths for the combined folder and collection layout.

Agent actions

When Youtarr is enabled, Stackarr exposes three focused MCP actions:

Read Youtarr and database health.
List downloaded videos with pagination and safe summary fields.
Queue one validated YouTube video URL for download.

Stackarr uses Youtarr’s API key for download requests when configured. It uses an authenticated session for protected read operations. Broader Youtarr administration remains in its own UI.

Backup and restore

Stackarr backups include Youtarr config, job metadata, images, and a consistent MariaDB dump. Downloaded videos live under the installation's media root and remain part of the separate media backup policy. If Youtarr is enabled but its database cannot be dumped, the backup fails rather than creating an incomplete archive. Restore presents Youtarr database recovery as a separate option.

Youtarr remains loopback-only by default. Portless provides the local friendly URL after portless apply. Cloudflare exposure remains explicit and optional.