vrc-ytdlp-resolver

A small web tool that resolves temporary direct video stream URLs from YouTube using yt-dlp.

This can be useful for VRChat worlds where the built-in video extraction sometimes fails or gets rate-limited.
Instead of resolving the link inside VRChat, this tool resolves it server-side and returns a direct playback URL (*.googlevideo.com).

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⚠️ Important Behavior (Read This First)

YouTube's streaming URLs are time-limited and often IP-bound.

This means:

• The direct video link usually only works for the same public IP that requested it.
• If another user in VRChat tries to use that same link from a different network, the video may fail to load.
• If your VRChat world is public and players are on different networks → you must run this tool on a shared server and the world should receive links resolved by that shared server, not by individual players.

In short:

Who resolves the URL?	Who can watch?
A player on home Wi-Fi	Only that player (same IP)
A dedicated server	Anyone connected to the VRChat world

So if you want everyone in the instance to be able to watch: → Host this tool on a server (VPS / Docker / Linux box) and resolve the URLs there.

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✨ Features

• Resolves YouTube links to direct streaming URLs
• Prefers progressive MP4 (H.264 + AAC) when available
• Falls back to adaptive (video+audio split) if necessary
• Shows:
  • Local yt-dlp version
  • Latest available version from GitHub
  • Update availability notice
• Clean web UI (no CLI required)

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📦 Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• yt-dlp installed (or provided via Docker image)
• If running in VRChat shared environments: run this on a server, not on players’ PCs

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🐳 Docker (Recommended for Server Deployment)

docker run -d \
  --name vrc-ytdlp-resolver \
  -p 8080:3000 \
  mrunknownde/vrc-ytdlp-resolver:latest

Web UI → http://localhost:8080

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🧱 Local Install (Non-Docker)

git clone https://github.com/MrUnknownDE/vrc-ytdlp-resolver
cd vrc-ytdlp-resolver
npm install
npm run dev

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Usage Instructions

1. Open the web interface
2. Paste a YouTube URL
3. Click Resolve
4. Copy the direct link
5. Paste into your VRChat video player

Remember: if you are not running this on a server, only you will be able to watch the video.

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🔄 Why URLs Expire

YouTube uses signed playback tokens:

• Expire after minutes/hours
• Often tied to your public IP
• Cannot be manually extended

Just resolve again when needed.