Install yewtube with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, apt

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• yt

Project history

The underlying repository lineage dates to February 2014, when mps-youtube was published as a terminal interface for searching, streaming, and downloading YouTube media. The yewtube README explicitly preserves that ancestry: yewtube is based on mps-youtube, and mps-youtube was based on the older mps terminal music program.

The fork's public change log shows yewtube releases beginning with the inherited v0.2.x line in 2014 and continuing through a revived 2.x series. The 2022 releases are especially visible as the fork removed the old API-key workflow, restored download and playlist behavior, added mpris extras, and updated its playback/downloader plumbing.

Adoption history

yewtube's adoption is tied to command-line users who wanted a YouTube client that could search, queue, stream, download, and manage playlists without opening a browser. The GitHub project has thousands of stars and hundreds of forks, and the README documents installation through pip, pipx, and direct GitHub installs.

The tool stayed relevant by tracking the unstable YouTube ecosystem through yt-dlp updates and compatibility fixes. Later releases in 2023-2026 include downloader bumps and maintenance fixes, which is exactly the kind of churn expected for a terminal video client.

How it is used

Users install yewtube with pip or pipx and run it as yt. Inside the terminal UI, slash-prefixed searches, playlist searches, local playlist saves, media downloads, comment browsing, and album matching are documented in the README.

Playback depends on external players such as mpv, mplayer, or VLC. The README also documents optional mpv input binding integration, mpris support, and the inherited mps-youtube configuration directory at ~/.config/mps-youtube.

Why package nerds care

yewtube is a classic package-nerd artifact: a high-level terminal app whose usefulness depends on keeping a fast-moving web service usable from a stable local command. It also illustrates how package ecosystems preserve abandoned CLI workflows through forks, renamed packages, and compatibility releases.

For media packages, yewtube sits between a downloader such as yt-dlp and a player such as mpv: it is the interactive TUI layer that lets users search, queue, and play from the shell.

Timeline

• 2014-02: mps-youtube repository created.
• 2014-11: v0.2.x release line appears in the project change log.
• 2022-03: v2.8.1 documents removal of API-key instructions and fixes around playlists, search, and playback.
• 2023-08: v2.10.5 bumps yt-dlp.
• 2026-03: v2.13.1 published on GitHub.

Related projects

• mps-youtube: direct predecessor and code lineage.
• mps: older terminal music-search program that inspired mps-youtube.
• yt-dlp: downloader backend tracked in yewtube maintenance releases.
• mpv, mplayer, and VLC: external players used by yewtube.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/mps-youtube/yewtube - repository creation date and adoption signals.
• https://api.github.com/repos/mps-youtube/yewtube/releases - current release tags and publication dates.
• https://github.com/mps-youtube/yewtube - README describes fork lineage, no-API-key behavior, features, usage, and config directory.
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mps-youtube/yewtube/master/CHANGELOG.md - release history and maintenance themes.