Release v0.19.1 Beta

Electron

• Electron has been updated to v22.3.25 which fixes the recent libwedp vulnerability

Features

• Added external player support for the Clapper Media Player by @trostboot in #3916
• Added Pastel & Hot Pink Themes by @jasonhenriquez in #3937
• Implemented right-to-left interface for relevant languages by @jasonhenriquez in #3970

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the video title was disappearing due to a YouTube page change by @PikachuEXE in #4105
• Fixed the styling on the channels with errors list within the subscription view by @PikachuEXE in #3921
• Fixed an issue where Scroll playback rate over video player prevented the page from scrolling when disabled by @PikachuEXE in #3933
• Fixed an issue where clicking below the save icon wouldn't play the video by @vinit620 in #3951
• Fixed an issue where raw HTML would show up in video descriptions by @jasonhenriquez in #3946
• Fixed the styling of the watch page layout when theatre mode is enabled and sidebar is hidden by @PikachuEXE in #3931
• Fixed an issue where the subscribe button clipped on the Channel page on tablet / mobile devices by @jasonhenriquez in #4057
• Fixed an issue where buttons would intersect on the Subscribed Channels tab by @jasonhenriquez in #4058
• Fixed an issue where playlists wouldn't always grab data when using the local API by @PikachuEXE in #4102
• Fixed the styling for Channel page on desktop view by @jasonhenriquez in #4112

Changes

• Added the GitHub Discussions page to the Help section of the About tab by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #3901
• The search bar now recognizes youtube.com/live/ URLs by @PikachuEXE in #3930
• The current resolution being used now displays when Auto is selected by @Benjababe in #3935
• Video list buttons now only show up on hover or focus by @jasonhenriquez in #3954
• New distraction free option to replace comment photos with generic ones by @Benjababe in #3939
• Added a button to pause continuing the playlist after the current video by @Benjababe in #3938
• Theatre mode will now be used by default if there's no sidebar by @absidue in #3981
• Enable Persian language (Farsi) by @ChunkyProgrammer in #4010
• Hashtags now show up in search results by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3780
• Comments by channels that you're subscribed to now shows an indicator of your subscribed status by @Benjababe in #4007
• The handling of watch history was given some optimizations and a performance boost by @absidue in #4017
• The community tab has been added to the subscriptions tab by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3973
• Added support for multiple audio tracks and AV1 for when using the Invidious API by @absidue in #3942
• Added some visual improvements to the channel page for mobile and tablet devices by @jasonhenriquez in #4061

New Contributors

• @vinit620 made their first contribution in #3951
• @Benjababe made their first contribution in #3935
• @da-batt made their first contribution in #3890
• @github-actions made their first contribution in #3988
• @MaxMaxMaxCh made their first contribution in #4060

Full Changelog: v0.19.0-beta...v0.19.1-beta

Release v0.19.0 Beta

General Update

I know it's been a long time since a formal update. I'll try to explain my thoughts regarding this in a later blog post. Despite the silence, there's a wealth of changes in this release and I hope this will make up for the wait.

Local API

Our local API has undergone a massive overhaul. We have switched all local API hooks to use YouTube.js instead of our separate modules for each function. This should hopefully allow us to fix any issues with the local API faster than what we could beforehand. Any relevant module that we have created has been merged into YouTube.js for a more uniformed experience. A massive thank you to @LuanRT for their help and support on YouTube.js.

This is a very large change to how we handle things. If you happen to see anything that seems broken compared to the last release, please consider creating a ticket over on our GitHub so that we can look at it.

Features

• Mobile devices can now automatically enter fullscreen when rotated to landscape. Find the toggle in the player settings. By @MarmadileManteater in #2808
• You can now share channel links using the new share button within a channel page by @Alhuin in #2859
• You can now right click on a video to open it in a new window or copy YouTube / Invidious links via the context menu by @absidue in #2873 and #2957
• You can now hide upcoming premieres in the distraction free settings by @miangraham in #2853
• Added Cmd / Ctrl + H shortcut to go to history by @PikachuEXE in #2870
• You can now hide the FreeTube logo within the theme settings by @theforbiddenpool in #2893
• You can now jump between video chapters using the Cmd or Ctrl + Left Arrow and Cmd or Ctrl + Right Arrow keyboard shortcuts by @absidue in #2912
• Playlists now support proper pagination (Local API only) by @absidue in #2956
• Settings can now be password protected by @elshimone in #2932
• You can now hide channels from various lists within the app by @petaded in #2849
• You can now scrub through a video via scrolling. Find the toggle within settings. By @ai25 in #2418
• Added support for DeArrow, a service created by @ajayyy. DeArrow swaps the titles of a video with a more descriptive title. By @elshimone in #2987 and by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3688
• You can now use AV1 video formats when available. Enable the toggle within player settings. By @absidue in #3105
• Viewing a channel now shows their Community Page by @GilgusMaximus in #1568
• Viewing a channel now shows their Live Videos Page by @absidue in #3273
• Viewing a channel now shows their Shorts Videos Page by @absidue in #3533
• Viewing a channel now shows their Releases and Podcasts Pages by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3778
• You can now have comments automatically load when watching a video. Find the option within settings. By @PikachuEXE in #3352
• Added support to view hashtag pages by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3483 and #3571
• The video player now supports multi-audio videos (Local API only) by @absidue in #3563
• The Subscriptions page now has separate tabs to see shorts and live streams by @PrestonN in #3725
• Added basic support for the PotPlayer, MPC-HC, MPC-BE external players by @trostboot in #3798
• The search bar can now parse Invidious search URLs by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3849

Fixes

• Fixed an issue with emoji's displaying within the profile selector by @absidue in #2815
• Fixed an issue where chapter markers were slightly offset by their actual times by @absidue in #2874
• Fixed an issue where cached subscription videos were not cleared when you remove all subscriptions by @absidue in #2905
• Fixed an issue where the Unsubscribe button would show in a channel page if parental controls were enabled by @elshimone in #2906
• Fixed an issue where copying a URL link would sometimes provide an internal URL by @absidue in #2951
• Fixed in issue where the import subscriptions link wouldn't open in your default browser by @absidue in #2981
• Fixed an issue where some playlist links from YouTube were not being parsed properly by @petaded in #2972
• Fixed an issue where Cmd or Ctrl + C wouldn't copy text when viewing a video by @PikachuEXE in #3027
• Updated the Mastodon URL to the new account in the About view by @MarmadileManteater in #3038
• Fixed an issue where searching within channels wouldn't work by @PikachuEXE in #3062 and #3073
• Fixed an issue where clicking on the currently selected trending tab would try to grab information again by @absidue in #3070
• Fixed an issue where subtitles would sometimes not display within the video player by @absidue in #3100
• Fixed an issue where Shift + Enter wouldn't open the search within a new window by @PikachuEXE in #3113
• Fixed an issue where QT apps using the FreeTube protocol wouldn't work properly by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3119
• Fixed some styling issues in the playlist page by @MarmadileManteater in #3123
• Fixed in issue where the channels page wouldn't populate with videos when sorting by popular and using the Invidious API by @camcam1773 in #3126
• Fix an issue where the app would sometimes load on a non-existant second monitor by @kawanakaiku in #3008
• Fixed an issue where external video players would sometimes not open within the Subscriptions page by @ArturWagnerBusiness in #3172
• Fixed an issue where the Trending and Watch pages wouldn't allow certain arrow key events by @absidue in #3170
• Fixed an issue where FreeTube couldn't parse channel URLs if they included tab information by @absidue in #3241
• Fixed an issue where Live and Upcoming videos wouldn't show up within playlists by @absidue in #3250
• Fixed an issue where Premieres wouldn't display properly in the Subscription page by @absidue in #3240 and #3358
• Fixed an issue where session volume would not apply when opening a video in a new window by @predystopic-dev in #3203
• Fixed an issue where FreeTube would permanently prevent the PCs screen saver from applying by @absidue in #3286 and by @PikachuEXE in #3557
• Fixed an issue with playing videos within playlists while using the Invidious API by @PikachuEXE in #3294
• Fixed an issue where the chapter index wouldn't reset when changing videos by @absidue in #3400
• Fixed an issue where watching a video would use your saved watch progress if progress saving is disabled by @PikachuEXE in #3453
• Added better external link parsing for comments within the Local API by @PikachuEXE in #3448
• Fixed an issue where the countdown to watch the next video in a playlist would still show up when you're at the end of a playlist and looping is disabled by @PikachuEXE in #3362
• Fixed an issue with sorting upcoming subscriptions when using the Invidious API by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3485
• Fixed an issue with fetching more comment replies when using the Invidious API by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3489
• Fixed an issue where FreeTube wouldn't stay running in the background on MacOS when all windows were closed by @PikachuEXE in #3526
• Fixed an issue with fetching more search results when using the Invidious API by @ChunkyProgrammer in #3486
• Fixed an issue where the user's name wouldn't show up or when a URL is m...

Release v0.18.0 Beta

Features

• Playlists now show a progress bar by @makerio90 in #2402
• You can now open up a new window when searching by holding the shift key. Works while clicking on the search arrow or when hitting the enter key. By @PikachuEXE in #2427
• You can now open up a new window for videos and channels by right clicking on them by @constraintAutomaton in #2027
• Chapters now display within the video player as well as in a new box to jump around in the video by @absidue in #2224
• You can now refresh subscriptions, trending, and most popular pages by using the r key by @Aiz0 in #2689
• The video player now has improved touch functionality. Double tap the sides to go back / forward by a few seconds. The video player also better responds to touch for playing / pausing. By @MarmadileManteater in #2719
• Disable http disk cache and implempent in-memory image cache by @absidue in #2498

Fixes

• Fix issue with unsubscribing from the "All Channels" profile by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2451
• Fix issue where the minimize window shortcut wouldn't function when viewing a video by @PikachuEXE in #2486
• Fix an issue where Sponsorblock markers would sometimes not display by @MarmadileManteater in #2493
• Video titles now localize properly by @MarmadileManteater in #2535
• Fixed an issue where the Invidious list within settings wouldn't update properly when typing by @MarmadileManteater in #2601
• Fixed an issue where shortened linked in the description wouldn't work by @absidue in #2572
• Tweaked the quality selector in the video player so that it doesn't overflow into the fullscreen button by @absidue in #2556
• Fixed an issue where the search bar would close on mobile when using a virtual keyboard by @MarmadileManteater in #2667
• The settings page should resize better for mobile views by @MarmadileManteater in #2694
• Fixed an issue where clicking on a channel while holding Ctrl wouldn't open up a new window when on the watch page by @absidue in #2713
• Fix issue where the Region for Trending dropdown wouldn't populate by @MarmadileManteater in #2737

Changes

• Comments now show bold, italics and strikethrough formatting by @absidue in #2475
• FreeTube now uses Electron v21 by @PikachuEXE in #2717
• FreeTube is once again using the upstream ytdl-core module for the local API by @absidue in #2510
• Updated yt-trending-scraper, yt-comment-scraper, and yt-channel-info modules for the local API
  • This fixes the recent channel issues due to YouTube updating their layout
• Upcoming live streams now show the time remaining until they will go live by @Aiz0 in #2501
• Binary builds have been reduced in size by @absidue in #2511 #2569
• Number separators should now be properly localized by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2557
• FreeTube now remembers if it was fullscreen when closed and will resume in fullscreen next time you open the app by @PikachuEXE in #2495
• Enabled the Urdu locale by @ArshErgon in #2509
• You can now prevent FreeTube from automatically fetching subscriptions during the app startup by @Aiz0 in #2632
• The logic for importing subscriptions has been tweaked by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2604
• Invidious instances that have the API disabled will no longer show up in the instance list within settings by @MarmadileManteater in #2714
• The Most Popular tab will now be hidden if the Invidious API is disabled by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2772
• The app menu now has a link to go to the settings page by @PikachuEXE in #2777

New Builds

We are now building for Linux armv7l and Windows arm64. We also now have 7zip variants for all portable releases. Check out the new builds over on the website.

New Contributors

• @MarmadileManteater made their first contribution in #2483
• @makerio90 made their first contribution in #2402
• @cappic90 made their first contribution in #2537
• @Aiz0 made their first contribution in #2501
• @Jai-JAP made their first contribution in #2113
• @ArshErgon made their first contribution in #2509

Full Changelog: v0.17.1-beta...v0.18.0-beta

Release v0.17.1 Beta

Features

• New Channels page in the sidebar. Can be used to view and search for channels in your active profile by @hockerschwan in #2129
• Parental controls have been added to the settings. You can now hide items like the subscribe button, the search bar, and automatically filter videos to only show family friendly videos (Password protection will come at a later update) by @ChunkyProgrammer in #1456
• New Catppuccin Mocha Theme by @Rekit0 in #2395

Fixes

• Fix issue with local API unable to play videos
• Fix an issue where attempting to navigate to the same location multiple times would spam the dev console by @absidue in #2286
• Fixed in issue where a string wasn't translated properly in the settings page by @9ekaitz in #2075
• Fixed an issue where the "Show more replies" button in comments would sometimes stay visible even if there were no more comments available by @Svallinn in #2460
• Fixed an issue where the settings page would load slow when navigating to it by @absidue in #2452
• Fixed an issue where FreeTube wouldn't properly redirect channel URLs by @absidue in #2457

Changes

• Videos containing a watch progress located near the end of the video will now start from the beginning when passed to an external player by @Svallinn in #2325
• Channel names that are too long will now be cut off properly by @vallode in #2292
• The following languages have been enabled for use within the app: Catalan, Spanish (Argentina), Estonian, Basque, Korean, Lithuanian by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2322

Full Changelog: v0.17.0-beta...v0.17.1-beta

Release v0.17.0 Beta

Features

• Themes should now sync between windows by @vallode in #2090
• Ctrl + L and Cmd + L (For Mac users) can now be used to focus the search bar by @absidue in #2175
• DASH formats can now be used in livestream replays by @absidue in #2208
• The base theme can now follow your system default (Must be enabled in settings, only applies to light / dark theme) by @vallode in #1800
• Channel members and custom emojis now show up in comments by @ChunkyProgrammer in #1819
• Add support for next/previous/pause/resume global hotkeys/actions by @absidue in #2239
• Add support for more SponsorBlock features. Can now edit color for each category as well as behavior by @ChunkyProgrammer #1849
• Add support to take screenshot of video, can be enabled within player settings by @hockerschwan in #2221

Fixes

• Fix iconsistent white icon by @vallode in #2088
• Fix an issue where video thumbnails were being obstructed by the time tooltip by @0x6e656b6f in #2078
• Fix an issue where going back to previous search results would sometimes show duplicate entries by @hockerschwan in #2124
• Fix issue where focusing the search bar using Alt + D was not working by @vallode in #2140
• Fix issue where Trending page requests were not being cached properly by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2125
• Fix issue where watch progress was still being cached when a video was removed from watch history by @Svallinn in #2220
• Fix issue where playlists within a channel would be missing or show incorrect playlists when using the Invidious API by @hockerschwan in #2215
• Fix issue where the search bar would overwrite text in your clipboard within Linux by @vallode in #2108
• Fix issue where the dropdown menus when viewing a playlist didn't match the dark mode theme by @jilv220 in #2199
• Fix various issues with stats for nerd not working properly
• Fix various issues with filtering within history and playlists not working properly
• Fix various issues with importing / exporting subscriptions via .csv by @ChunkyProgrammer in #2247
• Fix issue where quickly cycling between different channels would display incorrect information by @hockerschwan in #2259
• Fix loading subtitles for non-English languages by @hockerschwan #2268
• Fix handling of YouTube link middle mouse click by @PikachuEXE in #2083
• Update search module used in Local API to fix errors by @absidue in #2148
• Fix issue where the Autoplay Playlists setting wasn't being respected
• Trending in EU countries should now work again

Changes

• Fast forwarding and rewinding with keyboard shortcuts now change based on the video playback rate by @hockerschwan in #2153
• Checking for the latest update is now much leaner and therefore faster by @absidue in #2169
• The picture in picture and stats for nerds keyboard shortcuts have been swapped (i and d respectively) by @vallode in #2141
• The filter box in the history and playlist pages is now hidden when there are no videos by @absidue in #2177
• The Picture in Picture button as well as it's keyboard shortcut is now disabled when using audio only formats by @absidue in #2227
• Dividers were added to some dropdown menus by @PikachuEXE #1748
• The search bar has been cleaned up a bit by @vallode #2279
• The app binary size has been drastically reduced
• The site we used for the proxy test button stopped working. We have updated the test to send a request to https://ipwho.is/

Release v0.16.0 Beta

Features

• Complete database overhaul. Data should now much better sync up between windows (theme changes are still not synced)
• Comments now show pinned, owner, and reply from owner indicators
• Adding support for default custom arguments for external players
• FreeTube should now recognize more channel links when pasting through the search bar / sent from browser extensions
• You can now search through your history and playlists for videos
• You can now import / export your playlists. Please export your playlists at some point before the next release as the next major release will likely be full playlists. Best to have a backup before that just in case
• Downloading videos / audio is now done within FreeTube. You will be notified when the download starts and when the download is finished
• Implemented "Stats for nerds" to show certain details about the video being watched. Right click on the video player to view it
• Middle clicking on a video will now open that video in a new window (Also prevents non-YouTube links from opening up in a separate window)

Fixes

• Updated the ytdl-core module, which fixes the very recent buffering issue with videos from the local API
• Fixed an issue where dates were not translated properly
• Fixed various places where text would overflow from its container (ex.: autoplay, comments)
• Fixed an issue where a user's playlist page would scroll to the top when loading more videos
• The current playback speed will always be displayed when hovering over the list of playback rates

Changes

• Electron has been updated to v16.0.8, fixing an issue with video playback on older versions of Windows
• The dislike count and the like / dislike ratio bar has been hidden due to the recent changes with YouTube. We'll look into possible alternates when a privacy respecting option exists
• Certain settings will automatically get disabled when incompatible settings are enabled
• Hovering over watched videos now show a smooth transition

Release v0.15.1 Beta

Features

• More YouTube channel URLs are now supported. This should include links clicked via the Privacy Redirect extension
• Added pinned, owner, and reply from owner indicators to comments

Fixes

• Update local API to fix recent buffering issues
• Update Electron to v15
  • This fixes issues with PiP controls not working properly
  • Also fixes issue where media player controls were not working properly
• Some incompatible settings can no longer be enabled at the same time
• Comments can no longer overflow outside of their text box
• Loading more videos in the "Playlists" tab will no longer scroll to the top
• Fixed an issue where the app would show a white screen if it could not properly load the list of Invidious instances
• Fixed an issue where viewing the playlists window when watching a video and using the Invidious API would cause it to not work properly

Navigate to our official announcement to view & discuss the full list of changes.

Release v0.15.0 Beta

Release Overview

• UI/UX improvements to settings, trending, and channel pages
• New Dracula theme and Dracula theme color options
• New button to clear the search box
• Fix Invidious API behavior for video playback
• Fixed opening videos with the middle mouse button
• Fixed media control buttons
• Fixed comment formatting
• Switched from NPM to Yarn 1 for installing dependencies

Navigate to our official announcement to view & discuss the full list of changes.

Release v0.14.0 Beta

Release Overview

• Comments are now working again
• Invidious API fallback for comments is fixed
• Support for importing/exporting csv YouTube subscriptions
• The Invidious instance is now randomized on startup by default
• Support for opening videos in an external Video player (Currently supported: MPV)
• Most settings (including locale changes) and history are now properly synchronized across windows
• Assorted quality of life improvements and bug fixes

Navigate to our official announcement to view & discuss the full list of changes.

Release v0.13.2 Beta

Hotfix

• Fixes issue where videos were not loading properly with the Local API.
  • With this fix, some information may not be available at times. Please see this issue for updates and more information. We will stay up to date and publish a new release when a fix is available.

Comments

• Sorry for the wait, and thank you for your patience!