Installation & Setup Guide

Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and setting up both components of the YouTube download toolkit: the Chrome extension for collecting video links and the Java application for downloading them.

Prerequisites

Before installing the toolkit, ensure you have the following software installed on your system:

Required Software

1. Google Chrome Browser

   • Version 88 or higher (for Manifest V3 support)
   • Available at: https://www.google.com/chrome/

2. Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 11 or higher

   • Download from: https://adoptium.net/ or https://www.oracle.com/java/
   • Verify installation: java -version

3. youtube-dl Command-Line Tool

   • Download from: https://youtube-dl.org/
   • Alternative: yt-dlp (faster, more features): https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp
   • Verify installation: youtube-dl --version

4. ffmpeg Media Processing Tool

   • Download from: https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
   • Required for merging video and audio streams
   • Verify installation: ffmpeg -version

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10/11, macOS 10.14+, or Linux
• Disk Space: At least 1GB free space for downloads
• Internet Connection: Required for downloading videos
• RAM: Minimum 4GB recommended

Part 1: Chrome Extension Installation

Method 1: Developer Mode Installation (Recommended)

Since this extension is not published on the Chrome Web Store, you'll need to install it in developer mode:

1. Download the Extension

   git clone https://github.com/your-repo/youtube-download-tools.git
   cd youtube-download-tools/YoutubeCopyLinkChromeExtension

2. Open Chrome Extensions Page

   • Open Google Chrome
   • Navigate to chrome://extensions/
   • Or go to Menu → More Tools → Extensions

3. Enable Developer Mode

   • Toggle the "Developer mode" switch in the top-right corner
   • This enables the ability to load unpacked extensions

4. Load the Extension

   • Click "Load unpacked" button
   • Navigate to the YoutubeCopyLinkChromeExtension folder
   • Select the folder and click "Select Folder"

5. Verify Installation

   • The extension should appear in your extensions list
   • You should see "Youtube Links Copy" with version 1.1
   • Pin the extension to your toolbar for easy access

Method 2: Manual File Installation

If you have the extension files without Git:

1. Extract Files

   • Download and extract the extension files to a folder
   • Ensure all files are in the same directory

2. Follow Steps 2-5 from Method 1 above

Extension Permissions

The extension will request the following permissions:

• activeTab: Access to the current YouTube tab
• contextMenus: Add right-click menu options
• storage: Save your preferences and collected links
• unlimitedStorage: Store large lists of video links

Part 2: Java Application Setup

Download and Build

1. Download the Application

   git clone https://github.com/your-repo/youtube-download-tools.git
   cd youtube-download-tools/YoutubeDownloader

2. Build with Maven (if building from source)

   mvn clean install

   This creates target/YoutubeDownloader.jar

3. Alternative: Use Pre-built JAR

   • If available, download the pre-built JAR file
   • Place it in your desired directory

Configuration Setup

1. Create Working Directory

   mkdir youtube-downloads
   cd youtube-downloads

2. Copy JAR File

   cp path/to/YoutubeDownloader.jar .

3. First Run Configuration

   java -jar YoutubeDownloader.jar

   On first run, the application will:

   • Create a default config.properties file
   • Set up the default download directory
   • Display the configuration menu

4. Configure Download Settings

   • Choose option 5 (Change Configuration Settings)
   • Set your preferred download directory
   • Customize file naming template if desired

Windows Batch File Setup

For easier execution on Windows, create a batch file:

1. Create run.bat

   @echo off
   java -jar YoutubeDownloader.jar
   pause

2. Make it Executable

   • Save the file in the same directory as the JAR
   • Double-click to run the application

Part 3: External Dependencies Setup

Installing youtube-dl

Windows

# Using pip (recommended)
pip install youtube-dl

# Or download executable
# Download youtube-dl.exe from https://youtube-dl.org/
# Place in PATH or same directory as JAR

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install youtube-dl

# Using pip
pip3 install youtube-dl

Linux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install youtube-dl

# Or using pip
pip3 install youtube-dl

Installing ffmpeg

Windows

1. Download from https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
2. Extract to a folder (e.g., C:\ffmpeg)
3. Add C:\ffmpeg\bin to your PATH environment variable

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install ffmpeg

Linux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install ffmpeg

Verify Installation

Test that all dependencies are working:

# Test Java
java -version

# Test youtube-dl
youtube-dl --version

# Test ffmpeg
ffmpeg -version

# Test the application
java -jar YoutubeDownloader.jar

Part 4: Initial Configuration

Chrome Extension Setup

1. Open the Extension Popup

   • Click the extension icon in your Chrome toolbar
   • You should see the "Youtube Links Copy" interface

2. Configure Categories

   • In the "Params" text area, enter your desired categories:

   music
   tutorials
   entertainment
   education
   news

3. Save Configuration

   • Click the "Save All" button
   • Your categories are now available in right-click menus

Java Application Configuration

1. Set Download Directory

   Configuration Menu:
   1. View Configuration
   2. Change Configuration Value
   3. Save and Exit
   Enter your choice: 2
   Enter the key: destinationFolderName
   Enter the new value: C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\YouTube

2. Configure File Naming

   Enter the key: downloadedFileName
   Enter the new value: %(channel)s-%(title)s-%(resolution)s.%(ext)s

3. Set Default List File

   Enter the key: defaultListFile
   Enter the new value: my-videos.txt

Part 5: Verification and Testing

Test Chrome Extension

1. Visit YouTube

   • Go to https://www.youtube.com
   • Find any video thumbnail

2. Test Right-Click Menu

   • Right-click on a video thumbnail
   • You should see your configured categories in the context menu

3. Test Collection

   • Select a category from the context menu
   • Open the extension popup
   • Verify the video appears in the "List Links" area

Test Java Application

1. Test Single Video Download

   • Run the Java application
   • Choose option 1 (One video MP4 format)
   • Enter a YouTube URL
   • Choose a resolution (e.g., 720)

2. Test List Processing

   • Create a test file with the collected links from the extension
   • Choose option 4 (Download list from file)
   • Verify videos download to correct folders

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Extension not appearing in context menu:

• Refresh the YouTube page
• Check that the extension is enabled
• Verify you're right-clicking on video thumbnails, not other elements

Java application can't find youtube-dl:

• Ensure youtube-dl is in your system PATH
• Try placing youtube-dl.exe in the same directory as the JAR file

Downloads failing:

• Check your internet connection
• Verify youtube-dl is up to date: youtube-dl -U
• Some videos may be region-restricted or private

Permission errors:

• Ensure the download directory is writable
• Run with administrator privileges if necessary

Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the console output for error messages
2. Verify all dependencies are properly installed
3. Test with a simple, public YouTube video first
4. Check the project's issue tracker for known problems

Next Steps

Once everything is installed and configured:

1. Read the Usage Guide for detailed workflow instructions

Your YouTube download toolkit is now ready to use!