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YouTubearr

Version: 1.19.0 Author: jeff-gooch Last Updated: May 17 2026, 16:52 UTC

Zero-dependency YouTube livestream plugin with automatic monitoring and configurable numbering

License: Unlicense Repository

Dispatcharr min

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Latest Release

Checksums:

MD5:    4ba22e811ea172d005e3d6636705498e
SHA256: 6f39f837cab14821d131ea9990b3e7898dffa022634c727e0df86d08f085dfc0

All Versions

Version Download Built Commit MD5 SHA256
1.19.0 Download May 17 2026, 16:52 UTC d468305 4ba22e811ea172d005e3d6636705498e 6f39f837cab14821d131ea9990b3e7898dffa022634c727e0df86d08f085dfc0
1.18.0 Download May 16 2026, 17:33 UTC debb66d 87b63e8220947c4cb40890d2aebdc62e b90df4a54d499f35a32db6b45bc1ed01040fe4da47d7763225142658ac01e81c
1.17.7 Download May 02 2026, 22:55 UTC de0e8ba b6880b3c69679cd108eadab0189bd884 47e205d2b88a6b4609493328eea4a7e517a55c6ab02788b31aac1c86640eaab8

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Plugin README

YouTubearr - YouTube Livestream Plugin for Dispatcharr

YouTubearr is a Dispatcharr plugin that monitors YouTube channels for livestreams and adds them as playable channels. It uses yt-dlp to detect when streams go live, creates Dispatcharr channels with proper EPG support, and cleans them up when streams end. No YouTube API quota required. I built this with Claude’s help - we’re all using AI now, I’m just honest about it. 🤖

Features

Installation

  1. Copy the youtubearr directory to your Dispatcharr plugins directory: 
    # For Docker
docker cp youtubearr dispatcharr:/app/data/plugins/

# For local installation
cp -r youtubearr /path/to/dispatcharr/data/plugins/
  2. Restart Dispatcharr to load the plugin: 
    # For Docker
docker restart dispatcharr

# For systemd
sudo systemctl restart dispatcharr
  3. Enable the plugin in Dispatcharr UI (Settings → Plugins → YouTubearr)

That’s it. No pip install, no apt-get, no API keys. The bundled yt-dlp binary handles everything.

Configuration

Optional Settings

EPG Setup

YouTubearr automatically creates EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data for each YouTube channel. The plugin stores programme entries directly in Dispatcharr’s database with the livestream title.

Step 1: EPG Source Setup

YouTubearr automatically creates the EPG source on first use — no manual setup required. By default it creates a source named YouTube Live.

If you want to use a different name, create the source manually first:

  1. Go to Settings → EPG in Dispatcharr
  2. Click Add Source
  3. Select Custom Dummy EPG as the source type
  4. Set the name to match the EPG Source Name setting in YouTubearr (default: “YouTube Live”)
  5. Click Save

Then set the same name in YouTubearr’s EPG Source Name setting.

Note: The Dummy EPG source acts as a container for YouTubearr’s programme data. The plugin creates ProgramData entries directly with the livestream title, bypassing the Dummy EPG’s pattern-based generation.

Step 2: Refresh the Guide in Jellyfin

After YouTubearr adds new channels, Jellyfin needs to refresh its guide data to display them.

Manual Refresh

  1. Open Jellyfin and go to Dashboard → Scheduled Tasks
  2. Find Refresh Guide in the task list
  3. Click the Play button to run it immediately

Set up a scheduled refresh so new YouTube channels appear automatically:

  1. Go to Dashboard → Scheduled Tasks → Refresh Guide
  2. Click on the task to edit its schedule
  3. Set it to run every few hours (e.g., every 4 hours) or at specific times
  4. Click Save

Tip: YouTubearr can trigger a Jellyfin webhook when channels are added. Set the Webhook URL in YouTubearr settings to:

http://jellyfin:8096/ScheduledTasks/Running/TASK_ID?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

To find your Refresh Guide task ID:

curl "http://jellyfin:8096/ScheduledTasks?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY" | grep -A2 "RefreshGuide"

Usage

Adding a Stream Manually

  1. Copy a YouTube livestream URL (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID)
  2. Open YouTubearr plugin settings in Dispatcharr
  3. Paste the URL into the Manual YouTube URL field
  4. Click the Add Stream button
  5. The stream will appear as a new channel in your Dispatcharr feed

Monitoring YouTube Channels

  1. Add YouTube handles to Monitored YouTube Channels (see format above)
  2. Set your preferred Poll Interval (how often to check for streams)
  3. Click Start Monitoring
  4. YouTubearr will automatically:
    • Check for new livestreams on monitored channels
    • Add new livestreams as Dispatcharr channels
    • Remove channels when streams end (if auto-cleanup is enabled)
    • Refresh stream URLs to prevent expiration

Manual Actions

Channel Numbering

YouTubearr offers two channel numbering modes to suit different setups:

Numbering Mode Setting

Choose your preferred mode in Channel Numbering Mode:

Mode Example Best For
Decimal (default) 90.1, 90.2, 90.3 Grouping streams from the same YouTube channel together
Sequential 2000, 2001, 2002 Systems that don’t handle decimal channel numbers properly

Decimal Mode (Default)

Streams are automatically grouped by YouTube channel using decimal sub-channels:

Custom Base Number Mapping (Optional)

Assign specific base numbers directly in the Monitored YouTube Channels field:

@WeatherChannel=90
@SpaceChannel=91
@NewsChannel=92
@RelatedNewsChannel=92

Result:

Format: @ChannelName=BaseNumber (one per line)

Tips:

Sequential Mode

If your IPTV player or guide system has issues with decimal channel numbers (e.g., treating 90.10 as 90.1), switch to Sequential Whole Numbers mode:

Title Filtering (For Channels with Many Streams)

Some YouTube channels (like VirtualRailfan) have 70+ simultaneous streams. Use title filtering to selectively add only the streams you want:

@VirtualRailfan=91:Horseshoe Curve|La Grange|Glendale
@WeatherChannel=90

Extended Format: @ChannelName=BaseNumber:TitleFilter

Result:

Filter Syntax:

Supported Channel Formats

For monitoring channels, use @handles in the combined format:

Format Example Notes
@handle @NASA Auto-assigns channel numbers
@handle=Base @NASA=92 Pins base channel number
@handle=Base:Filter @VirtualRailfan=91:Horseshoe Curve Regex filter for multi-stream channels

For manual stream URLs, you can use:

Format Example
Watch URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
Short URL https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
Live URL https://www.youtube.com/live/VIDEO_ID

Troubleshooting

Streams not appearing in Dispatcharr

Stream playback issues

Orphaned channels

Technical Details

Logs

Runtime logs are stored in: /app/data/plugins/youtubearr/youtubearr.log

View logs to troubleshoot issues:

tail -f /app/data/plugins/youtubearr/youtubearr.log

Support

License

This project is released under the Unlicense (public domain). See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for bundled dependency licenses.