🎬 Reels / Shorts Downloader — by OM

Working link : reels-downloader

A full-stack MERN web application to download YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels as MP4 video or MP3 audio, with thumbnail preview, dynamic quality selection, and download analytics.

Made by OM

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📁 Project Structure

reels-downloader/
├── backend/                     # Node.js + Express API
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── DownloadLog.js       # MongoDB schema for download logs
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── info.js              # POST /api/info — fetch video metadata
│   │   ├── download.js          # POST /api/download — stream file
│   │   └── analytics.js        # GET /api/analytics — stats & logs
│   ├── utils/
│   │   ├── validateUrl.js       # URL safety validator
│   │   └── ytdlp.js             # yt-dlp wrapper
│   ├── .env.example
│   ├── package.json
│   └── server.js                # App entry point
│
├── frontend/                    # React + Vite + Tailwind
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   │   ├── DownloaderCard.jsx   # Main UI card
│   │   │   ├── VideoPreview.jsx     # Thumbnail + meta display
│   │   │   ├── SkeletonPreview.jsx  # Loading skeleton
│   │   │   └── ProgressBar.jsx      # Download progress
│   │   ├── hooks/
│   │   │   ├── useVideoInfo.js      # Info fetch hook
│   │   │   └── useDownload.js       # Download trigger hook
│   │   ├── utils/
│   │   │   └── api.js               # Axios instance
│   │   ├── App.jsx
│   │   ├── main.jsx
│   │   └── index.css
│   ├── .env.example
│   ├── index.html               # SEO meta tags
│   ├── tailwind.config.js
│   ├── vite.config.js
│   └── package.json
│
├── .gitignore
├── package.json                 # Root scripts for running both
└── README.md

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⚙️ Prerequisites

Make sure these are installed:

• Node.js v18+
• MongoDB (local or Atlas URI)
• yt-dlp — Install guide
• ffmpeg — Required for merging video/audio

# Install yt-dlp (macOS/Linux)
pip install yt-dlp
# or
brew install yt-dlp

# Install ffmpeg
brew install ffmpeg          # macOS
sudo apt install ffmpeg      # Ubuntu/Debian

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🚀 Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/reels-downloader.git
cd reels-downloader

2. Install all dependencies

npm run install:all

Or manually:

cd backend && npm install
cd ../frontend && npm install

3. Set up environment variables

Backend:

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env

Edit backend/.env:

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/reels-downloader
NODE_ENV=development
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=900000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX=50

Frontend:

cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env

Edit frontend/.env:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

Note: In development, the Vite proxy in vite.config.js automatically forwards /api requests to the backend on port 5000, so VITE_API_URL can be left as /api for local dev.

4. Start development servers

# Run both frontend and backend simultaneously
npm run dev

Or separately:

npm run dev:backend    # Starts backend on http://localhost:5000
npm run dev:frontend   # Starts frontend on http://localhost:5173

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📡 API Reference

POST /api/info

Fetch video metadata and available formats.

Request body:

{ "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/..." }

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "title": "Video Title",
    "thumbnail": "https://...",
    "duration": 30,
    "uploader": "Channel Name",
    "platform": "Youtube",
    "formats": [
      { "formatId": "137", "label": "1080p", "height": 1080 },
      { "formatId": "22", "label": "720p", "height": 720 }
    ]
  }
}

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POST /api/download

Download the video/audio file (streamed directly).

Request body:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/...",
  "format": "mp4",
  "quality": "720p",
  "title": "My Video"
}

Response: Binary file stream with Content-Disposition: attachment

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GET /api/analytics

Returns aggregate download stats.

GET /api/analytics/admin?page=1&limit=20

Returns paginated download logs.

GET /api/health

Health check endpoint.

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🏗️ Production Deployment

Backend (e.g., Railway, Render, VPS)

cd backend
npm start

Set environment variables in your host's dashboard.

Frontend (e.g., Vercel, Netlify)

cd frontend
npm run build
# Deploy the dist/ folder

Update VITE_API_URL in the frontend env to point to your production backend URL.

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🔒 Security Features

• URL whitelist: only YouTube and Instagram domains allowed
• Rate limiting: 20 info requests/min, 10 downloads/min per IP
• No permanent file storage: files are streamed and deleted immediately
• CORS configured to only allow the frontend origin

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📊 MongoDB Collections

downloadlogs

Field	Type	Description
url	String	Original video URL
platform	String	youtube / instagram
format	String	mp4 / mp3
quality	String	e.g. 720p
title	String	Video title
success	Boolean	Whether download succeeded
errorMessage	String	Error if failed
createdAt	Date	Auto timestamp

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 18, Vite, Tailwind CSS
Backend	Node.js, Express
Database	MongoDB, Mongoose
Downloader	yt-dlp, ffmpeg
Fonts	Syne (display), DM Sans (body)

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All rights reserved · Made by OM ·(https://instagram.com/omkedare.dev)