Browse a faster, lighter Youtube Dec. 18th,
2009
..the wise man said "Keep it simple, stupid!" 

I’m quite excited to release this into the wild: a little tool I’ve been using lately.
It’s super minimalist, lightweight enhancement kit for Youtube, made using the site’s own infrastructure and data API.

  • All videos served in a single-page. No reloads. No clutter.
  • Works on any Youtube video page (not the front page)
  • Easily Download videos (as flash or mpg: HD or otherwise)
  • .. and few other things. Try it for yourself, it’s a only drag + click away

Get the bookmarklet

To use this bookmarklet, drag the link below onto
your bookmarks toolbar, or right-click and bookmark;
Youtubian

Go to any video (or start with this death defying one) and click the bookmarklet.

Tested and works in: Firefox 3 Chrome Safari 3.2 Opera 10

Superior video browsing powers
Taking a multi-page application and turning it into a single-page is no easy feat.
This is my attemp to hack Youtube into a clean, single page application, where all videos are played with a single click. Most people have a latent disdain for Youtube comments, so by making subtle changes here, reworking the interface there, everything but the actual content is kept off the view. This is what you get:

This is a bit of productivity killer, so park your work somewhere safe.

Also, keep in mind that because this tool uses Youtube’s own infrastructure, once the external files are included into your first video page, all video requests are made by your web-browser to youtube.com and go no further than that.

I love the simplicity.


Sourcecode

For the curious souls, here is the complete sourcecode.

Update #1 — 22.dec

  • Greasemonkey version should be available soon.
  • I’m not currently able (emphasis on able) to make it work in Internet
    Explorer. If any of you got the powers, please step forward and unleash
    your magic – some will surely appreciate it . I couldn’t even make that
    IE debugger give me an error msg, even a vague one, like it usually
    does, gah!

Update #2– 27.dec

  • It’s now using Youtube’s internal player, so you can click on the video to play/pause and double-click to toggle full screen mode. Booyah!


56 Comments »

  1. Ikem Says:

    1. I like your bookmarklet. It makes YouTube very clear. :)

    2. I want to use it as default interface. So, how do I run it, everytime i visit YouTube?

    3. I think there is a bug in this script. If I click on the link “More information” in the description box, nothing happens.

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  2. 2. I have a greasemonkey in mind, I don’t know when it’ll be available, tho.

    3. In fact, something did happen, but there wasn’t “more info” to show for that video. Nonetheless, the button should have changed to reflect that. It is fixed now. well spotted!

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  3. Webster Says:

    WTF … It runs of google’s SVN. Did they do this dilibraty or what?

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  4. [...] The gain in features comes with the loss of some other features—such as video comments. But the nice part about it is it’s not a script that always changes YouTube—you only get the minimalist version when you use the bookmarklet, so you’re never locked out of any of YouTube’s functionality. You can always go back to regular YouTube by hitting the “Expand” button at the top of the page and using any of those links to get to the home page, your account, or anywhere else. Youtubian [...]

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  5. Rocket Says:

    Downloading does not work in Google Chrome. All download links link to http://www.youtube.com/get_video and that 404s.

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  6. Anonymous Poster Says:

    Nice bookmarklet. Only problems I have with it is that it nullifies a very awesome Greasemonkey script I have (YousableTubeFix), and the video description doesn’t change when I switch videos.

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  7. Could you incorporate features such as the ones in this script?
    http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/49366

    Auto Buffer (Disable auto-play and begin buffering)
    Auto HD (Automatically select the highest quality version available)
    Remove Ads (The ones automatically snuck into YouTube videos and ads around the border if present)

    Also, your script could use some cleaning up in the player area, if the player is expanded in the window:
    http://i49.tinypic.com/2w32d6s.png

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  8. @Rocket:
    Downloading does work in Chrome, but if you’re trying to download the LQ version of a video, then Youtube doesn’t always provide that. Have a link to the said video?

    @Anon
    video description not changing is perhaps due to your greasemonkey. If it modifies the content/structure of page before you click the bookmarklet, it obviously won’t work. Does it change if you disable YousableTubeFix?

    @DrMacinyasha:
    Thanks, I’ll look into that. One thing, tho: if you’re playing ONE video at a time, why would you disable auto-play?

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  9. Apollo Says:

    Please Please Please, add a download links to just download the sound of the video.

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  10. IEFan Says:

    IE8 support?

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  11. Anonymous Poster Says:

    “Does it change if you disable YousableTubeFix?”

    Nope, the video description never changes.

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  12. [...] The gain in features comes with the loss of some other features—such as video comments. But the nice part about it is it’s not a script that always changes YouTube—you only get the minimalist version when you use the bookmarklet, so you’re never locked out of any of YouTube’s functionality. You can always go back to regular YouTube by hitting the “Expand” button at the top of the page and using any of those links to get to the home page, your account, or anywhere else. Youtubian [...]

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  13. Rocket Says:

    Nevermind, it does work. One of my extensions was screwing with it. Not sure which one.

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  14. [...] YouTubian: a lighter, gentler Youtube (tags: webservice video Bookmarlet) [...]

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  15. HEY I LOVE HCD AND GC

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  16. [...] Youtubian è un eccellente strumento per gratuito scaricare video da YouTube con un click. [...]

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  17. webtik Says:

    Hi,

    I love all your bookmarklets really awesome!!

    Congratulations for your stuff! ^__^

    I really love it!
    I just wonder why your twitter account dont report the greatest jobs you did it here!

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  18. [...] The gain in features comes with the loss of some other features—such as video comments. But the nice part about it is it’s not a script that always changes YouTube—you only get the minimalist version when you use the bookmarklet, so you’re never locked out of any of YouTube’s functionality. You can always go back to regular YouTube by hitting the “Expand” button at the top of the page and using any of those links to get to the home page, your account, or anywhere else. Youtubian [...]

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  19. [...] – Have it: a lighter, gentler Youtube | Small labs Inc. Easily Download videos (as flash or mpg: HD or [...]

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  20. [...] Have it: a lighter, gentler Youtube | Small labs Inc. lightweight enhancement kit for Youtube, made using the site’s own infrastructure and data API. * All videos served in a single-page. No reloads. No bloat. * Works on any Youtube video page (not the front page) * Easily Download videos (as flash or mpg: HD or otherwise) * .. and few other things. Try it for yourself, it’s a only drag + click away Get the bookmarklet To use this bookmarklet, drag the link below onto your bookmarks toolbar, or right-click and bookmark; Youtubian (tags: bookmarklet firefox utilities youtube script videos) [...]

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  21. [...] filme vorbim aici . Doresc să vă atrag atenţia asupra unui bookmarklet util. Numele lui este Youtubian, care mie mi-a mers bine în Firefox, nu tocmai bine în Chrome (în ambele trageţi în bara de [...]

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  22. manuel Says:

    Awesome so far. No problems. The limitation are exactly where I want them to be. Great job.

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  23. icyrainz Says:

    Please add the ability to play/pause when clicking on the video. currently it keeps opening the video in new tab with the original youtube interface when clicking on them.

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  24. skyxkami Says:

    If I’m not mistaken, (I know nothing about programming btw) this script makes the video behave as if it’s an embedded video. I tried watching a random one as a test run but it wouldn’t work because the user had disabled embedding.

    Also, I think you should add a way to expand the search results in case there are more than 36. That’s my personal preference though. It’s obviously not necessary for the pure viewing experience Youtubian gives.

    Great work!

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  25. skyxkami: You’re right on that one, it behaves like an external player, thus: a click on the video opens a new window, as noticed by user “icyrainz”, and videos whose embedding is disabled by request are, uhm, disabled. But you can always click and open it in a new tab.

    I can’t remove this behavior without it loosing all the mojo that makes it fly. Dont know if there are ways to mend this..

    nein, nein, nein, oh yes yes yes!
    ..turns out it's possible, see my update
    

    Regarding the result page: I changed it, now 50 videos appear (which is theh max) and I added a link for the full result.

    Thank you all for your feedback.

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  26. [...] YouTubian es el nombre de un bookmarklet creado por Small Means que permite descargar los vídeos de YouTube con un solo click, además de otras funcionalidades interesantes. [...]

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  27. [...] instalarlo entren en el sitio de Youtubian y arrastren el bookmarklet hacia la barra de marcadores, cuando quieran descargar un video pinchan [...]

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  28. [...] Youtubian è un eccellente strumento per gratuito scaricare video da YouTube con un click. [...]

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  29. dschloss Says:

    @Apollo

    To download just the audio from a youtube clip (in mp3 format), just add “123″ in front of youtube.

    Example:
    To download audio from:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNzrwh2Z2hQ

    Download the audio at this link:
    http://www.123youtube.com/watch?v=iNzrwh2Z2hQ

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  30. dschloss Says:

    edit:
    use “abc” in front of youtube instead of “123″

    http://www.abcyoutube.com/watch?v=iNzrwh2Z2hQ

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  31. [...] Posted Dicembre 28, 2009 Filed under: Senza Categoria | Tags: download, video, youtube | Youtubian consente facilmente di scaricare video da Youtube sul proprio [...]

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  32. [...] gratuitement aux flux RSS pour rester au courant des derniers articles !Powered by WP Greet BoxYoutubian est un service Web ultra simple qui va vous permettre de télécharger des vidéos gratuitement sur [...]

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  33. [...] Youtubiam [...]

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  34. [...] Youtubian es un bookmarklet que nos permite descargar videos de YouTube con un par de clicks. Es compatible con Firefox 3 o superior, Chrome, Safari 3.2 y Opera 10; dependiendo de la calidad del video, podremos descargarnos el video en flV (LQ; Normal, HQ), MPG en alta calidad y si está disponible en HD, además de poder descargar en 3GP para los móviles. [...]

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  35. [...] instalacion sencilla es simplemente entrando al sitio de YouTubian, arrastrar el bookmarklet a la barra del marcadores de su navegador favorito (Funciona con Firefox [...]

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  36. [...] el cual podremos descargar videos de YouTube facilmente, para hacerlo solamente tenemos que visitar Youtubian y arrastrar  el bookmarklet hacia nuestra barra de marcadores, es compatible con navegadores como [...]

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  37. icyrainz Says:

    I noticed that the control bar at the bottom of the video is not centered when using in Youtubian mode

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  38. [...] filme vorbim aici . Doresc să vă atrag atenţia asupra unui bookmarklet util. Numele lui este Youtubian, care mie mi-a mers bine în Firefox, nu tocmai bine în Chrome (în ambele trageţi în bara de [...]

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  39. [...] dem Tool Youtubian gibt es nun eine Möglichkeit, Youtube Videos direkt von der Youtube Seite via Bookmarklet [...]

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  40. random414 Says:

    I wrote a small User JavaScript file using the Youtubian bookmarklet; the YouTubian User JavaScript – having a cool YouTube interface without clicking on a bookmarklet.

    More info here: http://my.opera.com/random414/blog/2010/01/04/a-user-javascript-version-of-the-youtubian-bookmarklet

    I hope that there is no problem using your code in a User JavaScript file, I gave full credits in the file.

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  41. [...] Browse a faster, lighter Youtube | Small labs Inc. "I’m quite excited to release this into the wild: a little tool I’ve been using lately. It’s super minimalist, lightweight enhancement kit for Youtube, made using the site’s own infrastructure and data API." (tags: youtube enhancement tool) [...]

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  42. Aaron Gardner Says:

    Is this available as an extension in Chrome Beta Channel?

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  43. This enhancement is very cool and usable. However I missed the “favourite/playlist/share” panel. Is it possible to access that panel now? Maybe it’s just me who can not find it?

    It would be great to see that panel with this enhancement.

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  44. @random414:
    You’re very welcome to do that. Didn’t know Opera had a custom “User JavaScript” notation. Nice way of getting things done fast!

    @Aaron Gardner:
    That, along with extensions for Firefox/Opera, will be available soon.

    @Aleksandras:
    The favourite/share panel is not necessary all the time. Not all videos are deemed favorite, but you can open the occational ones you wish to share in a new tab (CTRL + click).

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  45. [...] Youtubian 是一个书签代码,它可以添加在书签条上。这是一个javascript,你可以在Youtube上观看网页上点击它,它会立刻在页面上添加下载选项,你可以选择不同的视频格式进行下载。非常容易和快速。 [...]

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  46. myGlob Says:

    [...] http://www.smallmeans.com/tools/youtubian/ – Skryptozakładka umożliwiająca pobieranie wideo bezpośrednio z YouTube. Kod: [...]

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  47. LargoLaGrande Says:

    Salute!

    First of all it’s a great composition and arrangement of the functionality for yt com
    thanks for that.

    One question:
    Is it possible to get the code for the sliding header?

    I really would like to use it in my “customized” black youtube design (wich is optimized for widescreen resolution) – of course just for private use.

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  48. [...] can grab Youtubian from its homepage. (To install drag the red "Youtubian" box to your bookmarks toolbar.  To use it, click on it.) [...]

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  49. vaporware Says:

    This is Awesome!

    ¡Este es Imponente!

    C’est Impressionnant!

    Das ist Schrecklich!

    Isto é Impressionante!

    Это является Удивительным!

    Това е страхотно!

    Ovo je odlično!

    To je úžasné!

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  50. Jarad P Says:

    Love Youtubian! having trouble getting downloads to work. Pop-up window still appears, but no downloads begin. Is there a bandwidth limit?

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  51. @LargoLaGrande: No problemo, check your mail.
    @vaporware: I hear you loud and clear, awesomeness in many shapes and forms ;)

    @Jarad: Am not aware of any limits, but some (few) times, the low quality version of the video, though available, will not download. Try the HQ version or switch formats.

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  52. [...] En realidad YouTubian es un bookmarklet para YouTube que hace varias cosas. Os lo explico con dos pantallazos. Esto es un [...]

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  53. [...] semplice da utilizzare, una volta collegati alla pagina principale di YouTubian è necessario spostare il bookmarklet nella barra dedicata del nostro [...]

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  54. Locutus Says:

    Hey there! I’ve been anxiously awaiting the Greasemonkey version… any news? I love this, but people who use my computer to download the MP4s always ask me how because I use this and they don’t remember… I’d like for it to be the default for all youtube.com/watch?v= pages…

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  55. I guess that to get the personal loans from banks you must present a firm reason. But, one time I’ve got a credit loan, because I was willing to buy a car.

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