Setup Guide

Get VidSnap running in under 5 minutes

VidSnap uses yt-dlp under the hood — a powerful Python-based video downloader. Follow the steps below for your operating system.

yt-dlp 2024.12+
Python 3.9+
FFmpeg (optional)
01

Install Homebrew (if not installed)

Homebrew is the easiest way to install development tools on macOS.

bash
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
02

Install Python and yt-dlp

Install Python via Homebrew, then install yt-dlp:

bash
# Install Pythonbrew install python# Install yt-dlppip3 install yt-dlp# Verifyyt-dlp --version
03

Install FFmpeg

FFmpeg handles video/audio stream merging for high-quality downloads.

bash
brew install ffmpeg# Verifyffmpeg -version
04

Install Node.js

Install Node.js 20+ for running the Next.js frontend:

bash
brew install node# Verifynode --version  # Should be 20+npm --version
05

Clone and run VidSnap

Clone the repository and start the dev server:

bash
git clone https://github.com/vidsnap/vidsnapcd vidsnapnpm installnpm run dev

Verify installation:

bash
open http://localhost:3000

All done! VidSnap is ready.

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser and start downloading videos.

Troubleshooting & FAQ