Medba Downloader

Medba Downloader is an open-source YouTube Downloader web app. Paste a YouTube URL, pick a quality, and download MP4, MP3, or thumbnail files in seconds. No accounts, no database, no dashboard.

Screenshots

Light Mode

Dark Mode

Format Selection

Arabic Support

Fully responsive

Features

• Fast single-page YouTube Downloader UI
• Download YouTube videos as MP4 qualities with merged audio
• Download YouTube audio as MP3
• Download original YouTube thumbnail
• English/Arabic language toggle
• Light/Dark theme toggle
• Friendly and readable error messages
• Temporary file cleanup after streaming download

Tech Stack

• Frontend:
• Backend:
• Download engine:
• Media processing:

Project Structure

medba-downloader/
├── client/
│   ├── public/
│   │   └── assets/
│   │       └── favicon.png
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── App.jsx
│   │   ├── index.css
│   │   └── main.jsx
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── package.json
│   └── vite.config.js
├── server/
│   ├── scripts/
│   │   └── dev.js
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── download.js
│   │   └── formats.js
│   ├── tmp/
│   ├── package.json
│   └── server.js
├── .env.example
└── README.md

Requirements

Built and tested on:

Setup by OS

Linux (general)

Install ffmpeg, python3, and pip with your distro package manager, then install yt-dlp with pip.

Examples:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ffmpeg python3-pip
python3 -m pip install yt-dlp

sudo dnf install ffmpeg python3-pip
python3 -m pip install yt-dlp

sudo pacman -S ffmpeg python-pip
python -m pip install yt-dlp

Install dependencies with winget:

winget install --id Gyan.FFmpeg -e
winget install --id Python.Python.3.12 -e
py -m pip install yt-dlp

Then restart terminal so ffmpeg and yt-dlp are available in PATH.

Quick Start

1) Install dependencies

cd server && npm install
cd ../client && npm install

2) Configure environment

Create backend env file:

cd server
cp ../.env.example .env

PowerShell alternative:

cd server
Copy-Item ..\.env.example .env

Optional client env (client/.env):

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000
VITE_GITHUB_URL=https://github.com/med6ba/medba-downloader

3) Run the app

From the project root, run:

npm run dev

Open: http://localhost:5173

You now have Medba Downloader running locally as a full YouTube Downloader web app.

Environment Variables

From .env.example:

PORT=5000
CLIENT_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=60000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX=120
YTDLP_TIMEOUT_MS=120000
REMOTE_FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS=15000
VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000

Notes:

• PORT and CLIENT_ORIGIN are used by the backend.
• RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS and RATE_LIMIT_MAX control API rate limiting.
• YTDLP_TIMEOUT_MS and REMOTE_FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS control network/process timeouts.
• VITE_API_URL is used by the frontend and should be set in client/.env if needed.

API Endpoints

Base URL: http://localhost:5000

POST /api/formats

Returns available MP4 qualities for a YouTube URL in Medba Downloader.

Request body:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
}

Response:

{
  "title": "Video Title",
  "formats": [
    {
      "formatId": "137",
      "quality": "1080p",
      "hasAudio": false
    }
  ]
}

GET /api/download/video

Downloads MP4 file.

Query params:

• url (required): YouTube URL
• formatId (required): format id from /api/formats
• hasAudio (required): true or false (controls direct format vs merge with best audio)
• title (optional): preferred output filename base

GET /api/download/mp3

Downloads MP3 file.

Query params:

• url (required): YouTube URL
• title (optional): preferred output filename base

GET /api/download/thumbnail

Downloads best available thumbnail.

Query params:

• url (required): YouTube URL
• title (optional): preferred output filename base

Implementation Notes

• YouTube URL validation on backend routes for safer YouTube Downloader requests
• yt-dlp invoked with spawn for safer process handling
• Request size limit + API rate limiting are enabled server-side
• Security headers are enabled (X-Frame-Options, nosniff, Referrer-Policy, etc.)
• Downloads are streamed directly to browser
• Temporary files are auto-deleted after stream finish/close
• Content-Disposition uses UTF-8 safe filename handling

Security & Privacy

• Do not commit real .env files, API keys, tokens, cookies, or personal data.
• Keep only .env.example in GitHub.
• server/tmp is excluded from Git and should never contain committed media.
• Before pushing, run:

git status

and verify no sensitive files are staged.

Legal Notice

This tool is for personal/authorized use only. Users are responsible for complying with YouTube Terms of Service and applicable copyright laws. Medba Downloader is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with YouTube or Google.