A focused desktop home for YouTube
Official playback, local Shields, a calm window, and practical desktop controls.
A calmer YouTube window for focused viewing and everyday multitasking.
 |
 |
| Quick playback profile with a 1080p default target. | Illustrative Shields status view; counts vary with page activity and loaded rules. |
| Release | Version |
|---|---|
| TubeNow v1.0.0 | v1.0.0 |
The v1.0.0 release contains eight ZIP packages: Electron and Tauri builds for Windows x64, macOS universal, Linux x86_64, and Linux ARM64. Every package name identifies its shell, operating system, and architecture. Windows ARM64 is not included in this release. The macOS universal package contains both Intel and Apple Silicon binaries; no package covers multiple operating systems.
TubeNow keeps the official YouTube website in a dedicated desktop window while adding desktop-oriented controls for focused viewing, multitasking, and local privacy preferences. The YouTube player, account experience, watch pages, Shorts, and live streams remain familiar.
TubeNow is independent software. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by YouTube or Google LLC. Use YouTube and any download feature according to applicable terms, law, and media rights.
Electron is the best starting point when predictable behavior matters more than installation size. It includes its own browser engine, so the package does not depend on the version of a system webview. It is the safer choice for managed computers where WebView2 or other webview components are outdated or restricted.
Tauri is the better fit when a smaller installation and lighter desktop shell matter more, especially on Windows systems with a current Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime. Tauri uses the operating system's webview, so startup and page behavior depend on that component being installed, current, and healthy.
These are practical selection guidelines, not benchmark results:
| Computer or preference | Recommended build | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10/11 with 4-8 GB RAM | Tauri, when WebView2 is current | Usually the lighter shell. |
| Windows 10/11 with 8-16 GB RAM | Electron | A predictable default for everyday use. |
| Windows 10/11 with 16 GB RAM or more | Electron, unless size is the priority | The bundled engine reduces system-runtime dependencies. |
| A managed computer with restricted WebView2 updates | Electron | The app does not rely on the system webview version. |
| macOS or Linux | Electron for the simplest first install | A consistent browser-engine package across systems. |
| A current webview and the smallest practical package | Tauri | Avoids shipping a second browser engine. |
Actual memory use also depends on video resolution, captions, GPU decoding, extensions, open tabs, and the rest of the desktop session. If the choice is unclear, start with Electron. Switch to Tauri when the smaller shell is more valuable and the system webview is well maintained.
For a side-by-side summary, see Choosing a TubeNow build.
- Official YouTube playback, account controls, watch pages, Shorts, and live streams in a dedicated window.
- A 1080p default playback target for quicker starts; higher YouTube quality levels remain available when the video and device support them.
- Local Shields with a visible protection summary and user-controlled status.
- A persistent local sign-in session, subject to YouTube's own account and session rules.
- Fullscreen through the YouTube player control, video double-click,
F, andF11;Escexits fullscreen. - Tray controls for showing or hiding the window, mute, background playback, application information, and quit.
- Windows taskbar playback controls on supported Windows builds.
- External-link handling that keeps YouTube navigation in TubeNow and sends unrelated links to the default browser.
- Optional video downloads through
yt-dlpafter the user requests them.
- Open the GitHub Releases page.
- Choose an installer whose name starts with the required shell, operating
system, and architecture:
- Windows on Intel or AMD:
...-windows-x64-. - macOS on Intel or Apple Silicon:
...-macos-universal-. - Linux x86_64:
...-linux-x64-. - Linux ARM64:
...-linux-arm64-. Replace the...withTubeNow-ElectronorTubeNow-Tauri. Windows ARM64 is not supported by the v1.0.0 public release. Do not treat the Windows x64 package as an ARM64-native package.
- Windows on Intel or AMD:
- Install the package and open TubeNow. Sign in through YouTube's own page if a signed-in session is needed.
- On a video watch page, use the optional download action when the media may be saved under applicable terms and rights.
The v1.0.0 release may display a Windows publisher or macOS Gatekeeper warning
because platform-signing credentials are not included. Verify checksums.txt
before installing.
TubeNow asks for permission before installing yt-dlp when a download needs
it. The installation is handled by the desktop application after a native
confirmation. Choosing Not now or rejecting the confirmation displays a
notice and disables the active video's download. Downloads remain unavailable
until yt-dlp is later accepted and installed successfully. A manually
installed yt-dlp can be used instead when it is available to TubeNow.
Downloaded files are placed in a TubeNow folder inside the normal Downloads
directory. Some formats also require a working FFmpeg installation.
TubeNow does not operate a TubeNow account database, advertising SDK, or TubeNow analytics service. YouTube traffic still goes to YouTube, and services used for protection updates remain external upstream services. The local profile, cookies, and downloaded media remain on the computer unless moved or shared by the user.
No desktop filter can guarantee that every advertisement or tracker will be removed. YouTube changes its page, player, delivery services, and account experiments independently of TubeNow. Behavior can therefore vary by account, video, platform, and release. See SECURITY.md for local-data guidance and security reporting.
The public repository is the visitor and release surface: documentation, artwork, checksums, and installers are published there. The implementation source and private engineering material remain in a separate private source repository. This keeps the product contract clear without publishing the private machinery behind TubeNow's distinctive desktop behavior.
See the public repository policy for the boundary, and CONTRIBUTING.md for user-facing issues and documentation contributions.
TubeNow uses Electron, Tauri, Rust, yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and other open-source
projects. Each dependency remains subject to its own license. See
LICENSE and the release notes for the public product boundary.
Use the issue tracker for focused bug reports and product suggestions. Include the TubeNow version, shell, operating system, architecture, and the YouTube route where the issue appears. Remove account names, cookies, watch history, tokens, and private paths from screenshots or logs.
TubeNow is maintained by @benedictusrey.