# Invidious — Alternative Privacy-First Frontend for YouTube

> Invidious lets you watch YouTube without ads, tracking, or a Google account. It proxies video content and strips all tracking — a self-hostable frontend for YouTube that respects your privacy.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Invidious — Privacy-First YouTube Frontend

## Quick Use
```bash
# Use a public instance — no install required
# Lists of public instances:
#   https://docs.invidious.io/instances/
# Examples: yewtu.be, invidious.projectsegfau.lt, vid.puffyan.us

# Or self-host with Docker
git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
cd invidious
docker compose up -d
# Visit http://localhost:3000
```

## Introduction
Invidious is the flagship alternative frontend for YouTube. It fetches videos from YouTube, strips all JavaScript tracking and ads, and serves a lightweight HTML interface. Your browser never talks to Google's servers; only the Invidious instance does.

With over 19,000 GitHub stars, Invidious is maintained by a volunteer collective (iv-org). Public instances come and go (YouTube's anti-scraping measures are a constant cat-and-mouse), which is why self-hosting for personal or small-group use is the most reliable option.

## What Invidious Does
Invidious queries YouTube's internal APIs (the ones the mobile app uses), extracts video URLs + metadata, and re-serves them through its own frontend. It strips tracking, ads, and recommendations-injection, and offers features YouTube doesn't — like downloading videos, subscribing without a Google account, and RSS feeds for channels.

## Architecture Overview
```
Browser -> [Invidious frontend (Crystal)]
              |
              | scrapes / calls YouTube's internal APIs
              v
       [YouTube]

No client-side JS from Google. Videos are proxied through Invidious
(which means Invidious bandwidth grows with usage).

Features:
  - RSS feeds per channel
  - No account subscriptions (cookie-based local storage)
  - Full account mode: import YT subscriptions, create playlists
  - Trending, popular, search without ads
  - Download videos / audio-only
  - Embedded video without tracking
```

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
```yaml
# docker-compose.yml (excerpt)
services:
  invidious:
    image: quay.io/invidious/invidious:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports: ["3000:3000"]
    environment:
      INVIDIOUS_CONFIG: |
        db:
          dbname: invidious
          user: kemal
          password: kemal
          host: invidious-db
          port: 5432
        check_tables: true
        external_port: 443
        domain: invidious.example.com
        https_only: true
        hmac_key: "GENERATE_A_RANDOM_STRING"
        statistics_enabled: false
        popular_enabled: true
        hsts: true
        default_user_preferences:
          dark_mode: auto
          quality_dash: auto
        captcha_enabled: false
    depends_on: [invidious-db]

  invidious-db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: invidious
      POSTGRES_USER: kemal
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: kemal
    volumes:
      - postgresdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
```

```bash
# Add to your mobile browser: pipe-pipe or NewPipe (Android) can use your
# Invidious instance as data source for better Android experience
```

## Key Features
- **No ads** — stripped before reaching your browser
- **No tracking** — your IP/browser fingerprint never touches Google
- **No account needed** — subscribe via cookies or self-hosted account
- **RSS feeds** — subscribe to channels in any feed reader
- **Download + audio-only** — pull videos without ytdlp on the client
- **Dark mode + customization** — clean, fast UI
- **Embedded player** — embed videos without YouTube's tracking scripts
- **Import/export YT subscriptions** — move your Google subs into Invidious

## Comparison with Similar Tools
| Feature | Invidious | Piped | NewPipe (Android) | yt-dlp | FreeTube (desktop) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting model | Self + public | Self + public | On-device | CLI | On-device |
| Ads | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | N/A | Blocked |
| Audio-only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Feed subscriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | CLI-based | Yes |
| RSS output | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Comments | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Best For | Browser + self-host | Browser + self-host | Android phone | Power CLI | Desktop app |

## FAQ
**Q: Is using Invidious legal?**
A: Grey area. Scraping YouTube technically violates ToS. No one has been prosecuted for using it (and several public instances operate openly), but self-hosting in jurisdictions that honor YouTube ToS strictly could carry risk. For personal use, most users accept the trade-off.

**Q: Why do public instances keep going offline?**
A: YouTube actively blocks scraping IPs. Public instances have a half-life of months or less. Self-hosting (with residential proxies or rotating IPs) is more reliable for heavy use.

**Q: Invidious vs Piped?**
A: Similar goals. Piped has a polished React frontend and may hold up better against YouTube blocks. Invidious is older and more configurable. Run both and pick based on which works on your current ISP.

**Q: Does it support YouTube Music?**
A: Audio playback works for any YouTube video (music or otherwise). For a dedicated music experience, check Hyperpipe (fork of Piped optimized for music).

## Sources
- GitHub: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
- Website: https://invidious.io
- License: AGPL-3.0

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/30ea4998-381e-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot