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YouTube Cookie Support Demo - Complete Guide

Summary of Cookie Implementation

✅ Successfully implemented:

  • User-wide configuration system with platformdirs
  • Cookie support via cookies_file and cookies_from_browser
  • Configuration passed to both yt-dlp Python API and git-annex CLI
  • Network settings (proxy, rate limiting)
  • Extractor args support for advanced yt-dlp options

The Challenge: YouTube's n-challenge

When using cookies with YouTube, yt-dlp encounters YouTube's "n-challenge" - a JavaScript obfuscation that requires a JavaScript runtime to solve.

Two Approaches

Approach 1: Cookies + deno (RECOMMENDED for authenticated content)

Pros: Works with age-restricted, members-only, liked videos Cons: Requires deno runtime

Setup:

# Install deno (or use your miniconda environment)
curl -fsSL https://deno.land/install.sh | sh

# Create user config
annextube init-user-config

# Edit ~/.config/annextube/config.toml
cookies_file = "/path/to/cookies.txt"

# Run backup (deno must be in PATH)
annextube backup

Approach 2: Android Client without Cookies (for public content)

Pros: No deno required Cons: No authentication, public videos only

Setup:

# Create user config
annextube init-user-config

# Edit ~/.config/annextube/config.toml
# Android client bypasses n-challenge but doesn't support cookies
ytdlp_extra_opts = ["--extractor-args", "youtube:player_client=android"]

# Run backup (works without deno, public videos only)
annextube backup

Why Android Client + Cookies Don't Work Together

From yt-dlp output:

WARNING: [youtube] Skipping client "android" since it does not support cookies

This is a yt-dlp limitation, not an annextube bug. The Android client API endpoint doesn't accept authentication.

Working Demo Script (Public Content, No Cookies)

See demo-public-no-auth.sh for a complete working demo without authentication.

Working with Cookies + deno

For a demo with full cookie support:

# In your miniconda environment with deno
source ~/miniconda3.sh
conda activate deno

# Create user config with cookies
annextube init-user-config
cat >> ~/.config/annextube/config.toml << 'EOF'

# Cookies for authenticated content
cookies_file = "/home/yoh/proj/annextube/.git/yt-cookies.txt"
EOF

# Run backup - now with full authentication support
export YOUTUBE_API_KEY="your-key"
annextube init /tmp/demo "@apopyk" --videos --limit 2
annextube backup --output-dir /tmp/demo

Testing

Test 1: User Config System ✅

$ annextube init-user-config
✓ Created user config template

Test 2: Config Loading ✅

from annextube.lib.config import load_config
config = load_config(repo_path="/path/to/archive")
print(config.user.cookies_file)  # Shows cookie path

Test 3: git-annex Configuration ✅

$ cd /path/to/archive
$ git config annex.youtube-dl-options
--cookies "/path/to/cookies.txt"

Test 4: yt-dlp Python API ✅

YouTubeService properly receives:

  • cookiefile option
  • extractor_args option
  • All network settings

Implementation Files

  • annextube/lib/config.py - UserConfig, platformdirs integration
  • annextube/services/youtube.py - Cookie and extractor args support
  • annextube/services/git_annex.py - git-annex configuration
  • annextube/services/archiver.py - Extractor args parsing
  • annextube/cli/init_user_config.py - CLI command

Configuration Hierarchy

Environment Variables (ANNEXTUBE_COOKIES_FILE, etc.)
    ↓
Archive Config (.annextube/config.toml)
    ↓
User Config (~/.config/annextube/config.toml)
    ↓
Built-in Defaults

User Config Location (Cross-Platform)

  • Linux: ~/.config/annextube/config.toml
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/annextube/config.toml
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\annextube\config.toml

Example User Config

# Authentication
cookies_file = "~/.config/annextube/cookies/youtube.txt"
# OR
cookies_from_browser = "firefox"

# API key (or use YOUTUBE_API_KEY env var)
# api_key = "your-key-here"

# Network
proxy = "socks5://127.0.0.1:9050"
limit_rate = "1M"
sleep_interval = 3
max_sleep_interval = 5

# Advanced (Android client - public videos only, no cookies!)
# ytdlp_extra_opts = ["--extractor-args", "youtube:player_client=android"]

Next Steps

  1. For authenticated content: Set up deno and use cookies
  2. For public content: Use without cookies or with Android client
  3. For Containerfile: Use deno-enabled base image (e.g., miniforge with deno)

References