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YouTubeTLDR

github.com

WebWindowsmacOSLinuxSelf-hosted
Visit github.com
Spec score 6.9 #25 of 25 in AI Video Summarizers

What it is

YouTubeTLDR is a free, self-hosted YouTube video summarizer that uses Gemini AI. Users provide a YouTube video URL, choose an available Gemini model and customize the AI’s instructions to shape the summary. The app also provides the full raw transcript, and saves summaries locally in the browser for later reference. Its Rust server runs on the user’s machine; users supply a Google Gemini API key, which the project says is used directly without proxies or data collection. The project describes the application as a roughly 0.3 MB single binary, with no database, Tokio or frameworks, and a vanilla HTML and JavaScript interface. The documented setup is to run the executable and open localhost:8000 in a browser. Server IP, port and worker count can be changed using environment variables. It supports Linux, macOS, Windows, web and self-hosted use, and the repository identifies the license as MIT. The project says it is optimized for personal use, not hundreds of concurrent users. It does not support video uploads or chapter generation.

Spec sheet

Purpose
YouTubeTLDR is a lightweight, self-hosted YouTube video summarizer that uses Gemini AI.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Deployment
The project describes itself as a single binary of about 0.3 MB, with no database, Tokio, or frameworks.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Privacy
The README says the app runs on the user's own machine and uses their Gemini API key directly, with no proxies or data collection.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
License
The repository lists an MIT license.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Concurrency limit
The server is optimized for personal use and is not designed to support hundreds of concurrent users.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Configuration
The server IP, port, and worker count can be changed with the TLDR_IP, TLDR_PORT, and TLDR_WORKERS environment variables.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Custom prompts
Users can customize prompts to get summaries in their preferred format.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Dependency footprint
The project describes the application as a roughly 0.3 MB single binary with no database, Tokio, or frameworks.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Gemini API
Users provide their own Google Gemini API key, which the app uses directly without proxies or data collection, according to the project.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Gemini model selection
Users can choose any available Gemini model.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Gemini models
Users can choose any available Gemini model.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
History
Summaries are saved locally in the user’s browser for future reference.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Interface
The app uses a Rust server with a vanilla HTML and JavaScript interface.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Release
The releases page lists version 1.7.0 as the latest release and says it fixed caption fetching.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Requirements
Running the app requires a Google Gemini API key; the README describes Gemini's free tier as having generous limits.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Setup
The README instructs users to run the executable and open http://localhost:8000 in a browser.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Summary history
Summaries are saved locally in the user's browser for future reference.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com
Transcript
The app provides access to the full raw video transcript.Read 8 Oct 2026 · github.com

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free and self-hosted.
  • Users can select Gemini models and customize instructions.
  • Provides the raw video transcript.
  • Summaries are saved locally in the browser.
  • Described as a roughly 0.3 MB single binary.

Limits

  • Requires a Google Gemini API key.
  • Not designed for hundreds of concurrent users.
  • Does not accept video uploads.
  • Does not generate chapters.

Who it suits

YouTubeTLDR suits individuals who want to summarize YouTube videos locally and are comfortable providing a Gemini API key. It is not intended for deployments needing hundreds of concurrent users.

Verdict

YouTubeTLDR offers local YouTube summarization with prompt controls, transcript access and browser-stored history. Its personal-use concurrency limit and Gemini API key requirement are important constraints.

Where Specifiction places it

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