// Step 1
Install yt-dlp
Both Video Fetcher and MetaFetch require yt-dlp to be installed on your system. yt-dlp is the open-source download engine that powers everything under the hood.
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu/Mint):
sudo apt install yt-dlp
If your distro's package is outdated, install directly from the yt-dlp project:
sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
Verify it's installed:
yt-dlp --version
💡 Keep yt-dlp updated
Video platforms change frequently. Run yt-dlp -U periodically to update yt-dlp and keep downloads working.
// Step 2
Install Video Fetcher
Video Fetcher is a standalone executable — no installation required. Just download and run.
2
Make it executable
Open a terminal in the folder where you downloaded it and run:
chmod +x VideoFetcher2026
3
Run it
Double-click the file in your file manager, or run from terminal:
./VideoFetcher2026
// Video Fetcher
First Run
On first launch, head straight to the Settings tab and configure the basics:
1
Set your Download Save Location
Click Browse and choose the folder where downloaded videos will be saved.
2
Add Secondary Folders (optional)
If you have existing video folders, add them here. Video Fetcher will skip downloading anything it finds in these folders — preventing duplicates.
3
Set Download Slots
Choose how many simultaneous downloads to run — between 1 and 5. More slots = faster overall but more bandwidth used.
4
Enable Metadata Saving
Check "Save .info.json metadata alongside each downloaded video" — this enables MetaFetch and Stash integration later.
5
Save Settings
Click Save Settings. Video Fetcher will remember these between sessions.
// Video Fetcher
Downloading Videos
The Downloads tab is where you add individual video URLs and start downloading.
1
Paste a URL
Paste a video URL into the input box at the top and click Add (or press Enter). Repeat for multiple URLs.
2
Click Start
Hit the Start button. Download slots will fire up and begin working through your queue.
3
Monitor progress
Watch the Active Download Slots panel — each slot shows filename, progress percentage and download speed in real time.
⚠ Stopping downloads
If you click Stop, you'll be given the option to stop immediately or finish current downloads first. Either way, unstarted URLs are saved back to the queue automatically.
// Video Fetcher
Using the Scraper
The Scraper tab lets you pull all video URLs from an entire channel, profile or category page in one go — without manually copying each URL.
1
Paste a channel or profile URL
Paste the URL of the channel or profile page — not an individual video URL.
2
Set a range (optional)
Set a From/To range to limit how many videos to scrape. Use the quick buttons for 1–500, 501–1000 etc. Leave as default to scrape all.
3
Set request delay
Choose Normal (2s) for most sites. Use Slow if you hit rate limits.
4
Click Scrape
URLs appear in the Scraped URLs list as they're found. When complete, click Add All to Queue.
// Video Fetcher
Managing the Queue
The Queue tab shows everything waiting to download and gives you full control over it.
—
Import from File
Load a plain text file of URLs — one per line — directly into the queue.
—
Export Queue
Save your current queue to a text file — useful for backing up large lists or moving them to another machine.
—
Pre-scan Owned
Scans your secondary folders and removes any URLs from the queue that you already have downloaded — keeping your queue clean.
—
Retry Failed
Re-adds any failed downloads back into the queue for another attempt.
// MetaFetch
MetaFetch Setup
MetaFetch works the same way as Video Fetcher — download, make executable, run.
chmod +x MetaFetch
./MetaFetch
On first run, go to Settings and configure:
1
Add Video Folders to Scan
Click Add Folder and select each folder that contains your video library. MetaFetch will scan these for .mp4 files.
2
Enable Skip Existing
Leave "Skip videos that already have a .info.json file" checked — this avoids re-fetching metadata you already have.
3
Set Request Delay
Fast (1s) works well for most situations. Use a longer delay for very large libraries.
// MetaFetch
Fetching Metadata
1
Click Pre-scan Folders
MetaFetch scans your folders and shows you a summary — total files found, how many already have metadata, how many need fetching, and an estimated time.
2
Review and confirm
Check the Pre-scan Results dialog and click Yes to start fetching, or No to cancel.
3
Let it run
MetaFetch works through each file, saving a .info.json alongside each video. Monitor progress in the Activity Log. You can Pause or Stop at any time.
💡 After MetaFetch
Once MetaFetch has run, use the Stash Plugin to import all your metadata into your Stash media library automatically.