grab any video. paste. fetch. done.

one tool. every site. your terminal. — 2000+ supported

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Download videos from YouTube, X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and 1,800+ other sites — right from your terminal. Paste a url, pick a resolution (or audio-only mp3), done. No popups, no fake download buttons, no sketchy redirects.

✨ Features

• one command, every site — a single fetchit <url> covers anything yt-dlp understands (2,000+ extractors). YouTube, X, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Vimeo, Twitch, Reddit, Facebook and more are recognized by host and labeled in the UI.
• pick a resolution, see the size first — the format list shows each option with an estimated file size computed from the real format metadata, so you know whether 1080p is a 50 MB or a 500 MB download before you hit enter. Resolutions are capped at 8 entries to keep the picker tidy.
• audio-only mp3 — extract the audio track at best quality (--audio-quality 0) with one option, no extra flags.
• honest sizes — the format_id you sized the label from is the exact one downloaded, so the label never lies. If a cached media url has expired and yt-dlp re-extracts, a height-bounded fallback selector keeps the download from escaping your cap (no surprise 4K pulls).
• full-screen TUI — takes over the terminal, centers everything, and restores your scrollback on exit. Resizes live with the window.
• mouse + keyboard — click the fetchit button, the format list, the footer hints, or the logo (takes you home). Or drive it entirely from the keyboard with readline-style editing.
• three themes — auto follows your terminal's own colors (light or dark), or force light / dark. Cycle live with [Ctrl+T].
• clipboard-aware — launch bare and fetchit notices when your clipboard already holds a link; [Tab] pastes it, [Enter] fetches it.
• url history — last 50 links are recalled with [↑] / [↓] and stored at ~/.config/fetchit/history.json.
• zero Python, zero manual setup — the standalone yt-dlp binary is fetched on first run; ffmpeg is found on your PATH with a bundled fallback. Nothing else to install.
• scriptable mode — fetchit --best <url> / fetchit --mp3 <url> skip the picker entirely and download directly, no terminal takeover. Pair with -o <dir> to point the output anywhere. Built for shell scripts, cron jobs, and CI pipelines.
• chapters & time ranges — --chapters embeds YouTube chapter markers into the file (view in VLC: right-click → Playback → Chapter; Windows Media Player doesn't support them), and --from/--to download just a clip from a long video. Toggle both live in the picker with [C] and [T].
• parallel playlist downloads — playlist items download 3 at a time instead of one-by-one, cutting a 12-video playlist from ~30 min to ~10 min. The progress UI shows all active bars at once. YouTube is auto-sequential (it throttles parallel streams); override with --concurrency N.
• cookie authentication — --cookies-from-browser firefox <url> passes your browser cookies to yt-dlp for age-restricted or bot-checked videos. Inside the TUI, press [B] on the error screen to pick a browser and retry without leaving fetchit. On Windows, use Firefox (Chrome and Edge encrypt their cookies — see Troubleshooting).
• self-update — fetchit update updates the bundled yt-dlp binary in place, or press [U] inside the TUI. The one-command fix for when downloads stop working because yt-dlp is stale.

📚 Documentation

New to fetchit? Start with the Getting Started guide — it walks you through install, your first download, and where files go.

For everything else, there's a dedicated guide:

Guide	What's inside
Install	All install methods, standalone binary, building from source, platform notes
Getting Started	First run, your first download, quick reference
Interactive Mode	Full-screen TUI, every keyboard shortcut, mouse, themes, clipboard, history
Scriptable Mode	--best / --mp3 / direct quality, -o, exit codes, scripting examples
Playlists	Playlist detection, multi-select picker, batch downloads, output structure
Troubleshooting	Common errors, updating yt-dlp, ffmpeg issues, platform notes

📺 Supported platforms

Fetchit labels the source automatically from the url host. Anything not listed below still works — it just shows as the bare hostname.

Host	Label
youtube.com, youtu.be, music.youtube.com	YouTube
x.com, twitter.com	X / Twitter
instagram.com	Instagram
threads.net, threads.com	Threads
tiktok.com	TikTok
vimeo.com	Vimeo
twitch.tv	Twitch
reddit.com	Reddit
facebook.com, fb.watch	Facebook
…and 1,800+ more via yt-dlp	your hostname

Install

One-liner (no Node.js needed)

curl -fsSL https://fetchit-cli.vercel.app/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell -c "irm https://fetchit-cli.vercel.app/install.ps1 | iex"

The script detects your OS, downloads a standalone binary, and adds it to your PATH. No Node.js, no npm, no manual setup.

Via npm (requires Node 18+)

npm install -g @vedant1521/fetchit

Try without installing

npx @vedant1521/fetchit

Everything else (yt-dlp, ffmpeg) is fetched or bundled automatically on first run. See the full install guide for details, including building a standalone binary from source.

Usage

$ fetchit https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ    # straight to the format picker
$ fetchit                                 # prompts for a url
$ fetchit --theme light                   # force the light palette
$ fetchit update                          # update the bundled yt-dlp binary

fetchit takes over the terminal (full-screen, centered — and restores your scrollback on exit). Pick a format with [↑]/[↓] (or j/k, or number keys) and hit enter. [Esc] goes back, [Ctrl+C] quits. Or just use the mouse — the fetchit button, the format list and the footer hints are all clickable, and clicking the logo takes you back home. Files are saved to ~/Downloads, and the file path is printed to your terminal when you're done.

Keeping yt-dlp up to date

yt-dlp updates frequently (sometimes weekly) because sites keep changing their layout. If downloads start failing, the fix is almost always to update yt-dlp. If fetchit downloaded yt-dlp for you (most users), run:

fetchit update

This runs yt-dlp -U on the bundled binary at ~/.fetchit/bin/yt-dlp and prints the new version. If you have yt-dlp installed system-wide (via pip, brew, or winget), fetchit tells you to update it through your package manager instead — it can't update a system install.

Scriptable mode (no picker)

For scripts, cron jobs, and pipes — skip the interactive picker entirely and download directly. No terminal takeover, no React, just a one-line result. Works in any CI or shell pipeline.

$ fetchit --best https://youtu.be/…           # best quality, straight to download
$ fetchit --mp3 https://youtu.be/…            # audio-only mp3, straight to download
$ fetchit https://youtu.be/… 1080p            # direct quality — pick a resolution
$ fetchit https://youtu.be/… mp3              # same as --mp3, positional form
$ fetchit https://youtu.be/… 720p -o ~/Videos # save into ~/Videos instead
$ fetchit --best -o ~/Videos https://youtu.be/…  # flags + positional together
$ fetchit --chapters https://youtu.be/…       # best quality + chapter markers
$ fetchit --best --from 5:30 --to 10:15 https://youtu.be/…   # download a clip

--best and --mp3 are mutually exclusive and both require a url. The direct quality form takes a second positional: any resolution the video offers (1080p, 720p, 360p, 144p, …) or mp3 / audio. They auto-detect playlists (same as interactive mode) and download every item into ~/Downloads/<playlist title>/ (or your -o dir). Progress is printed as dots so the output stays pipe-friendly — . per progress tick, | when merging/extracting.

--chapters, --from, and --to also trigger scriptable mode — they download at best quality by default, so pair them with a quality or --best/--mp3 to choose something else. --chapters embeds YouTube chapter markers into the output file (requires ffmpeg, and the video must have chapters set by its creator). --from and --to download only a time range — accept MM:SS or HH:MM:SS and can be used together or individually (--from 5:30 downloads from 5:30 to the end). Note: time-range downloads need a system ffmpeg; the bundled fallback may not support section splitting.

Options

Flag	Description
[url]	a video link to fetch immediately; skipped if omitted
[quality]	a resolution like 1080p/720p/360p, or mp3/audio (scriptable)
--best	scriptable: download best quality, no picker (requires url)
--mp3	scriptable: download audio-only mp3, no picker (requires url)
--chapters	embed YouTube chapter markers into the output file
--from <time>	download from this point (MM:SS or HH:MM:SS)
--to <time>	download up to this point (MM:SS or HH:MM:SS)
--concurrency <n>	parallel playlist downloads (default 3; YouTube auto-sequential)
--cookies-from-browser <browser>	use browser cookies for authenticated downloads (chrome, firefox, edge, safari, brave)
-o, --output <dir>	save into <dir> instead of ~/Downloads
--theme <mode>	start in auto, light, or dark for this run
--theme=<mode>	equals form, useful after the url
-h, --help	show help
-v, --version	show version

⌨️ Keyboard reference

Key	Action
[Enter]	fetchit (from the url field or the format picker)
[↑] / [↓]	choose a format, or recall url history in the input
[Esc]	back / cancel the current probe or download
[Ctrl+C]	quit
[Ctrl+T]	cycle theme: auto → light → dark → auto
[Tab]	paste a link detected in your clipboard
[C]	toggle chapter embedding (in the format picker)
[T]	edit a time range to download a clip (in the format picker)
[U]	update the bundled yt-dlp binary (from any non-busy phase)

The url field is a full readline-style editor:

Key	Action
[Ctrl+A] / [Ctrl+E]	jump to start / end
[Alt+←] / [Alt+→] (or [Alt+B] / [Alt+F])	jump back / forward one word
[Alt+Backspace] / [Ctrl+W]	delete one word back
[Ctrl+U] / [Ctrl+K]	delete to start / end of line
[Shift+←] / [Shift+→]	extend the selection
[Backspace] / [Delete]	delete one char back / forward

Pasting a full url into an empty field submits it automatically.

🖱️ Mouse

While fetchit is running, left-button presses are reported (your terminal's native text selection needs a modifier key — option or shift). Clickable regions: the fetchit button, every format row, each footer hint, the theme control, and the logo (click to go home / cancel).

🎨 Themes

The default auto theme uses your terminal's own foreground and background, so it follows light and dark terminal themes without guessing. Press [Ctrl+T] or click the theme control in the footer to cycle through auto, light, and dark for the current session. Use --theme auto, --theme light, or --theme dark to choose the starting theme for one launch.

How it works

• Powered by yt-dlp. On first run, fetchit downloads the standalone yt-dlp binary to ~/.fetchit/bin — no Python required. If you already have yt-dlp installed, it uses yours.
• ffmpeg (needed for merging high-res streams and mp3 extraction) is found on your PATH, with ffmpeg-static as a bundled fallback.
• The probe step caches yt-dlp's -J metadata to a temp file so the download starts immediately via --load-info-json instead of re-extracting. If a cached media url has expired, fetchit transparently retries with a fresh extraction.
• The UI is Ink — React for the terminal.

🛠️ Tech stack

Layer	Choice
Language	TypeScript (strict)
TUI framework	Ink — React in the terminal
UI runtime	React 19
Download engine	yt-dlp (standalone binary, auto-fetched)
Media processing	ffmpeg via ffmpeg-static fallback
Bundler	tsup (esm, node18 target)
Binary	Bun --compile
Test runner	Node's built-in node:test + node:assert
Package manager	npm

Development

npm install
npm run build        # bundle to dist/ with tsup
npm run dev          # rebuild on change
node dist/cli.js <url>
npm run typecheck    # tsc --noEmit
npm test             # tsx --test src/**/*.test.ts
npm run build:binary # standalone binary (requires Bun)

To try it as a global command without publishing: npm link, then run fetchit anywhere.

Release

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the release process — pushing a v* tag builds binaries across 3 platforms and creates a GitHub Release automatically.

Contributing

Bug reports, feature suggestions, and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the conventions, the PR process, and what needs help.

Roadmap

• --best / --mp3 flags to skip the picker (scriptable mode)
• -o <dir> to choose the output folder
• Playlist / thread-with-multiple-videos support
• Clipboard detection: launch bare and auto-suggest the url you copied
• Self-update for the bundled yt-dlp binary (fetchit update)
• Publish to npm (npm i -g @vedant1521/fetchit / npx @vedant1521/fetchit)
• Standalone binary (curl ... | sh installer, no Node.js required)

A note on fair use

fetchit is a personal-archiving tool. Downloading content may violate a platform's terms of service — only download what you have the right to keep, and be excellent to creators.

License

MIT © Vedant Gupta