The video downloader, done right.
A lightweight, cross-platform desktop app powered by yt-dlp — 1800+ sites, smart queue, zero bloat.
Download · Features · Development · Website
Most video downloaders are sketchy, have ads, require subscriptions, or just don't work. yt-dlp is incredible but its CLI is hard to remember and doesn't handle batches well.
Catalyst is a proper desktop UI for yt-dlp — fast, private, and packed with features people actually need.
- 1800+ supported sites — YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter/X, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, and many more via yt-dlp
- Smart download queue — Add multiple URLs, reorder by dragging, configure concurrency (1–8 simultaneous)
- Format & quality control — MP4 (H264), Best Quality (AV1/VP9), MP3, M4A · 4K / 1080p / 720p / 480p
- Cache folder — Downloads go to a temp cache first; clean files move to your output folder only when complete
- Output categories — Named destinations (Movies, Music, Work…) each with their own directory and colour tag
- Metadata prefetch — Title, thumbnail, channel, and duration fetched before the download starts
- History — Full download log with search, grouped by date, preview pane, re-download
- System tray — Runs quietly in the background; click to show/hide
- OS notifications — Get notified when downloads finish (only when window isn't focused)
- Update checker — Keeps yt-dlp updated automatically; checks for Catalyst updates too
- Cookie support — Automatically pull cookies from Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, or import a file (for members-only content)
- Proxy support — HTTP(S) and SOCKS5
- No tracking, no analytics — everything stays on your machine
Alpha releases are here! Download from our official download page, or from releases tab
| Platform | Status |
|---|---|
| Windows | ✓ Supported |
| macOS | ✓ Supported |
| Linux | ✓ Supported |
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop framework | Tauri v2 (Rust) |
| Backend / queue | Rust — process management, SQLite history |
| UI | React 18 + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS |
| Download engine | yt-dlp (bundled sidecar binary) |
| Components | shadcn/ui design system |
| Drag & drop | @dnd-kit |
- Node.js 18+
- Rust 1.88+ (via rustup)
- Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools with "Desktop development with C++" workload
git clone https://github.com/Antoinenz/Catalyst
cd Catalyst
npm install
npm run tauri devThe first tauri dev run compiles the Rust backend — this takes a few minutes. Subsequent runs are incremental and fast.
npm run tauri buildOutputs an installer to src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.
Catalyst/
├── src/ # React frontend
│ ├── App.tsx # Main layout + queue state
│ ├── types.ts # Shared TypeScript types
│ └── components/
│ ├── HistoryTab.tsx
│ ├── SettingsPage.tsx
│ └── BulkImportModal.tsx
├── src-tauri/ # Rust backend
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── lib.rs # Tauri commands + setup
│ │ ├── worker.rs # yt-dlp process + queue logic
│ │ ├── config.rs # Settings model
│ │ ├── state.rs # App state
│ │ ├── db.rs # SQLite history
│ │ └── browsers.rs # Browser cookie detection
│ └── binaries/ # yt-dlp sidecar binary
└── docs/ # GitHub Pages website
MIT — see LICENSE