README.md

   1 # NimCoon
   2
   3 Play videos from YouTube and PeerTube from the
   4 command line using your preferred desktop media player.
   5
   6 NewPipe app for Android offers similar features.
   7
   8 This application is implemented in [Nim language](https://nim-lang.org) using
   9 only the standard library.
  10
  11 ![nimcoon screenshot with search term 'baby yoda'](screenshot.png)
  12
  13 ## Motivation
  14
  15 ### No similar existing tool
  16
  17 I tried all kinds of alternative YouTube players for the desktop. Most are either electron apps or slow web proxies. There was one cool bash script that did most of what I wanted called `ytview` but it had no way of copying the URL. I added this feature to the bash script but was still unsatisfied. There were CLI players written in Python but are usually a pain to install. They depend on a hard-coded YouTube API token and suffer from rate-limiting. I use youtube-dl with mpv usually (mostly because I like MPV over the YouTube JavaScript player). These tools have hundreds of options and I can't remember them. I needed a wrapper for them that does what I want, is easy to install(portable) and has a simple interface. I am not a big fan of Golang and its fat binaries. I discovered Nim around the same time I had this problem and decided to write this tool using just the standard library.
  18
  19 ### Digital Minimalism
  20
  21 YouTube's business incentive is to make you watch as many videos as possible. If you open the YouTube website and are logged into it, you will just get distracted by recommendations and forget why you opened it in the first place. You might have wanted to watch a conference talk but end up going down a rabbit hole of other "interesting" videos customized for you.
  22
  23 NimCoon has a spartan design. It doesn't even show images of the search results. I have had better success with managing my YouTube consumption after shifting to this tool. Pinafore's wellness settings are an inspiration for this.
  24
  25 ### Why no issues or merge requests?
  26
  27 I made this just for myself. The development is completely based on my needs and wants. I am not going to put a lot of work into this project. But feel free to use it if it works for you.
  28
  29 ## Features
  30
  31 - [x] Search for videos using keywords
  32 - [x] Stream videos and music from YouTube
  33 - [x] Play direct links from YouTube and PeerTube
  34 - [x] Stream video and music from magnet links and hyperlinks to torrent files
  35 - [x] Download music
  36 - [x] Download video
  37 - [x] Play YouTube playlists (MPV only)
  38 - [ ] Download YouTube playlists
  39 - [x] Stream video from torrent file URLs
  40 - [x] BitTorrent is preferred for PeerTube video links
  41 - [ ] Search PeerTube (3.0 or later)
  42 - [ ] YouTube Autoplay (music only)
  43 - [ ] Configuration options
  44
  45 |                         | YouTube  | PeerTube (HTTP) | PeerTube (WebTorrent) |
  46 | --------                | -------- | --------        | --------              |
  47 | Music Streaming         | ✅       | ✅              | ✅                    |
  48 | Video Streaming         | ✅       | ✅              | ✅                    |
  49 | Music Download          | ✅       | ✅              |                       |
  50 | Video Download          | ✅       | ✅              |                       |
  51 | Stream Music from URL   | ✅       | ✅              |                       |
  52 | Stream Video from URL   | ✅       | ✅              | ✅                    |
  53 | Download Music from URL | ✅       | ✅              |                       |
  54 | Download Video from URL | ✅       | ✅              |                       |
  55 | Stream Music Playlist   | ✅       |                 |                       |
  56 | Stream Video Playlist   | ✅       |                 |                       |
  57 | Download Music Playlist |          |                 |                       |
  58 | Download Video Playlist |          |                 |                       |
  59
  60 ## Installation
  61
  62 Nim Coon depends on the following:
  63 - youtube-dl
  64 - mpv (recommended) or vlc
  65 - peerflix and webtorrent (for magnet links)
  66
  67 Install MPV or VLC using your distribution's package manager.
  68
  69 Install YouTube-dl
  70 ``` sh
  71 pip3 install --user youtube-dl
  72 ```
  73
  74 Install PeerFlix and WebTorrent
  75 ```sh
  76 npm install --global peerflix webtorrent-cli
  77 ```
  78
  79 (Optional) If you want your YouTube downloads to be faster, install `aria2` download manager.
  80
  81 ### Installing using Nimble
  82
  83 NimCoon can be installed from Nimble repositories:
  84
  85 ``` sh
  86 nimble install nimcoon
  87 ```
  88
  89 You can also install from source by running the following command:
  90
  91 ```sh
  92 nimble install
  93 ```
  94
  95 ### Installing binary
  96
  97 Download the latest build from GitlabCI (amd64 GNU/Linux only).
  98
  99 ```sh
 100 wget https://gitlab.com/njoseph/nimcoon/-/jobs/artifacts/master/download?job=compile -O artifacts.zip
 101 unzip artifacts.zip
 102 ```
 103
 104 Copy the binary to somewhere on your path like /usr/local/bin
 105
 106 ## Usage
 107
 108 ```sh
 109 nimcoon "emacs"
 110
 111 # If your search query has multiple words, use quotes
 112 nimcoon "nim lang"
 113
 114 # Play audio of the first search result
 115 nimcoon -m -l "counting stars"
 116
 117 # Download audio of the first search result
 118 nimcoon -mld "counting stars"
 119
 120 # Play direct video link
 121 nimcoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOEMv0S8AcA
 122
 123 # Add -d to download or -m to select only audio or both
 124 nimcoon -md https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg
 125 ```
 126
 127 After the search results are displayed, you can enter a number to play one
 128 result, "all" to play all the results or "q" to quit the program.
 129
 130 If a number is entered, after the selected search result is played, the results
 131 are redisplayed, so that you can play the other results without having to search
 132 again.
 133
 134 ### Command line arguments
 135
 136 | **Arguments**     | **Explanation**                            |
 137 |-------------------|--------------------------------------------|
 138 | -m, --music       | Play Music only, no video                  |
 139 | -l, --lucky       | Try your luck with the first search result |
 140 | -f, --full-screen | Play video in full screen                  |
 141 | -d, --download    | Download video or music                    |
 142
 143 Feel free to use these options in any combination. NimCoon will show a helpful
 144 error message if you pick incompatible options.
 145
 146 ## Development
 147
 148 One-liner for compiling and running
 149
 150 ```sh
 151 nim c -d:ssl -r src/nimcoon.nim 'nim lang'
 152 ```
 153
 154 ## Privacy
 155
 156 To avoid storing your nimcoon searches in `zsh` history, run this command
 157
 158 ```sh
 159 setopt histignorespace
 160 ```
 161
 162 Then, add a space before typing nimcoon in the shell, like " nimcoon"
 163
 164 ```sh
 165  nimcoon "this is private"
 166 ```
 167
 168 The same can be achieved in `bash` by setting an environment variable
 169 ```sh
 170 export HISTCONTROL=ignoreboth
 171 ```
 172