Run VLC & Play YouTube from CLI.

I developed this module because I like to have a background video playing behind my translucent CLI (cmder).

How it works

YT-VLC fetches video links from YouTube and sends them over to VLC. It also saves the same as an m3u playlist so you can always stream the same videos using any other player that streams YouTube such as PotPlayer.

Prerequisites

• You will need to install NodeJs

• You will also need VLC

• Ensure your VLC can stream YouTube and if not, then follow the instructions HERE

• You will also need to enable VLC's Web interface as demonstrated HERE

  Take note of the password and username you set up as you will need it. Note that username is optional for VLC Web interface.

Installing

Run npm install --global yt-vlc

NOTE: Not sure why yarn global insall fails. Any ideas?

After installation, then the magic starts. Try and run yt-vlc --help;

Setting Up Your Configurations

It is easier to just save your VLC Web Interface logins once so you wont need to set them again.

To do this you simply type the following commands.

yt-vlc --set_password "your-vlc-password" to set you password config.

yt-vlc --set_username "this_is_me" to set you username config.

Now you are ready to start playing!

Streaming

First ensure VLC is running. If you just configured VLC Web Interface, then restart it for the new configurations to take effect.

Below are the commands you need.

1. yt-vlc eminem or yt-vlc -s eminem Search, save playlist, play eminem videos
2. yt-vlc -s eminem --no-play Search, save playlist but don't start playing eminem videos.
3. yt-vlc -s eminem --no-save Search and play eminem videos. But don't save the playlist files.

NOTE: Always quote multiple word phrases such as yt-vlc "eminem latest songs"

Need to play entire playlists? then here is the magic.

4. yt-vlc -l "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGwWNGJdvx8&list=PLhsz9CILh357zA1yMT-K5T9ZTNEU6Fl6n" fetches all the videos in playlist, saves playlist file and starts playing.
   You can also apply other flags above to stop playlist saving or immediate playback.

NOTE: Playlists take loooong to process so avoid for now. Will fix this in future release.

Extra commands

You can remove a config value by calling the set command with a blank value. For example, to remove your password, run : yt-vlc --set_password

You can also set the "playlist name" by using the -n, --name flag.

Otherwise use --help to have a look at all available options.

Extra Resource

Read This to optimize your VLC streaming experience.