add option for following nightly yt-dlp releases (closes #999)

README.md

@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ Certain values can be set via environment variables, using the `-e` parameter on
 * __YTDL_OPTIONS_PRESETS__: Named bundles of yt-dlp options, selectable per download in the UI. See [Configuring yt-dlp options](#%EF%B8%8F-configuring-yt-dlp-options) for format and examples.
 * __YTDL_OPTIONS_PRESETS_FILE__: Path to a JSON file containing presets. Monitored and reloaded automatically on changes. See [Configuring yt-dlp options](#%EF%B8%8F-configuring-yt-dlp-options).
 * __ALLOW_YTDL_OPTIONS_OVERRIDES__: Whether to show a free-text field in the UI for per-download yt-dlp option overrides. Defaults to `false`. See [Configuring yt-dlp options](#%EF%B8%8F-configuring-yt-dlp-options) for details and security considerations.
+* __YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME__: If set, will cause MeTube to use [nightly yt-dlp builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds) instead of the stable releases. Set to the time (`HH:MM`, 24-hour) when you want the daily upgrades and MeTube restart to happen. Defaults to empty (disabled).
 
 ### 🌐 Web Server & URLs
 

app/main.py

@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@
 import os
 import sys
 import asyncio
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from pathlib import Path
 from aiohttp import web
+from aiohttp.web import GracefulExit
 from aiohttp.log import access_logger
 import ssl
 import socket
@@ -23,6 +25,22 @@ from yt_dlp.version import __version__ as yt_dlp_version
 
 log = logging.getLogger('main')
 
+_NIGHTLY_TIME_RE = re.compile(r'^([01]\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\d$')
+_RESTART_FOR_UPDATE = False
+
+def _request_graceful_exit() -> None:
+    raise GracefulExit()
+
+
+def seconds_until_next_daily_time(time_hhmm: str, now: datetime | None = None) -> float:
+    """Seconds until the next occurrence of HH:MM in local time."""
+    now = now or datetime.now()
+    hour, minute = map(int, time_hhmm.split(':'))
+    target = now.replace(hour=hour, minute=minute, second=0, microsecond=0)
+    if target <= now:
+        target += timedelta(days=1)
+    return (target - now).total_seconds()
+
 def parseLogLevel(logLevel):
     if not isinstance(logLevel, str):
         return None
@@ -73,6 +91,7 @@ class Config:
         'MAX_CONCURRENT_DOWNLOADS': '3',
         'LOGLEVEL': 'INFO',
         'ENABLE_ACCESSLOG': 'false',
+        'YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME': '',
     }
 
     _BOOLEAN = ('DOWNLOAD_DIRS_INDEXABLE', 'CUSTOM_DIRS', 'CREATE_CUSTOM_DIRS', 'DELETE_FILE_ON_TRASHCAN', 'HTTPS', 'ENABLE_ACCESSLOG', 'ALLOW_YTDL_OPTIONS_OVERRIDES')
@@ -104,6 +123,13 @@ class Config:
         if self.YTDL_OPTIONS_PRESETS_FILE and self.YTDL_OPTIONS_PRESETS_FILE.startswith('.'):
             self.YTDL_OPTIONS_PRESETS_FILE = str(Path(self.YTDL_OPTIONS_PRESETS_FILE).resolve())
 
+        if self.YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME and not _NIGHTLY_TIME_RE.match(self.YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME):
+            log.error(
+                'Environment variable "YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME" must be HH:MM (24-hour), got "%s"',
+                self.YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME,
+            )
+            sys.exit(1)
+
         self._runtime_overrides = {}
 
         success,_ = self.load_ytdl_options()
@@ -465,8 +491,18 @@ class Notifier(DownloadQueueNotifier):
         await sio.emit('cleared', serializer.encode(id))
 
 dqueue = DownloadQueue(config, Notifier())
-app.on_startup.append(lambda app: dqueue.initialize())
-app.on_cleanup.append(lambda app: Download.shutdown_manager())
+
+
+async def _download_queue_startup(app):
+    await dqueue.initialize()
+
+
+async def _shutdown_download_manager(app):
+    Download.shutdown_manager()
+
+
+app.on_startup.append(_download_queue_startup)
+app.on_cleanup.append(_shutdown_download_manager)
 
 
 class MetubeSubscriptionNotifier(SubscriptionNotifier):
@@ -486,7 +522,13 @@ class MetubeSubscriptionNotifier(SubscriptionNotifier):
 
 
 submgr = SubscriptionManager(config, dqueue, MetubeSubscriptionNotifier())
-app.on_cleanup.append(lambda app: submgr.close())
+
+
+async def _shutdown_subscriptions(app):
+    submgr.close()
+
+
+app.on_cleanup.append(_shutdown_subscriptions)
 
 
 async def _subscription_loop_startup(app):
@@ -496,6 +538,26 @@ async def _subscription_loop_startup(app):
 
 app.on_startup.append(_subscription_loop_startup)
 
+
+async def _schedule_nightly_update() -> None:
+    global _RESTART_FOR_UPDATE
+    time_hhmm = config.YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME
+    if not time_hhmm:
+        return
+    delay = seconds_until_next_daily_time(time_hhmm)
+    log.info('Next yt-dlp nightly update in %.0f seconds (at %s local time)', delay, time_hhmm)
+    await asyncio.sleep(delay)
+    log.info('Scheduled yt-dlp nightly update: requesting restart')
+    _RESTART_FOR_UPDATE = True
+    asyncio.get_running_loop().call_soon(_request_graceful_exit)
+
+
+async def _start_nightly_update_schedule(app):
+    asyncio.create_task(_schedule_nightly_update())
+
+
+app.on_startup.append(_start_nightly_update_schedule)
+
 class FileOpsFilter(DefaultFilter):
     def __call__(self, change_type: int, path: str) -> bool:
         # Check if this path matches our YTDL_OPTIONS_FILE
@@ -542,8 +604,12 @@ async def watch_files():
     log.info(f'Starting Watch File: {config.YTDL_OPTIONS_FILE}')
     asyncio.create_task(_watch_files())
 
+async def _watch_files_startup(app):
+    await watch_files()
+
+
 if config.YTDL_OPTIONS_FILE:
-    app.on_startup.append(lambda app: watch_files())
+    app.on_startup.append(_watch_files_startup)
 
 
 async def _read_json_request(request: web.Request) -> dict:
@@ -1122,3 +1188,5 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
         web.run_app(app, host=config.HOST, port=int(config.PORT), reuse_port=supports_reuse_port(), ssl_context=ssl_context, access_log=isAccessLogEnabled())
     else:
         web.run_app(app, host=config.HOST, port=int(config.PORT), reuse_port=supports_reuse_port(), access_log=isAccessLogEnabled())
+    if _RESTART_FOR_UPDATE:
+        sys.exit(42)

app/tests/test_config.py

@@ -107,6 +107,22 @@ class ConfigTests(unittest.TestCase):
             c = Config()
         self.assertTrue(c.ALLOW_YTDL_OPTIONS_OVERRIDES)
 
+    def test_ytdl_nightly_update_time_empty_default(self):
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME=""), clear=False):
+            c = Config()
+        self.assertEqual(c.YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME, "")
+
+    def test_ytdl_nightly_update_time_valid(self):
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME="04:00"), clear=False):
+            c = Config()
+        self.assertEqual(c.YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME, "04:00")
+
+    def test_ytdl_nightly_update_time_invalid_exits(self):
+        for bad in ("25:00", "4am", "12:60"):
+            with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME=bad), clear=False):
+                with self.assertRaises(SystemExit):
+                    Config()
+
     def test_runtime_override_roundtrip(self):
         with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(), clear=False):
             c = Config()

app/tests/test_nightly_update.py

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""Tests for nightly yt-dlp update scheduling helpers."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import unittest
+from datetime import datetime
+
+from main import seconds_until_next_daily_time
+
+
+class NightlyUpdateTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_seconds_until_later_today(self):
+        now = datetime(2026, 6, 4, 10, 0, 0)
+        delay = seconds_until_next_daily_time("15:30", now)
+        self.assertEqual(delay, 5 * 3600 + 30 * 60)
+
+    def test_seconds_until_wraps_to_next_day(self):
+        now = datetime(2026, 6, 4, 18, 0, 0)
+        delay = seconds_until_next_daily_time("04:00", now)
+        self.assertEqual(delay, 10 * 3600)
+
+    def test_seconds_until_same_minute_is_next_day(self):
+        now = datetime(2026, 6, 4, 4, 0, 30)
+        delay = seconds_until_next_daily_time("04:00", now)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(delay, 24 * 3600 - 30, delta=1)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()

docker-entrypoint.sh

@@ -8,6 +8,48 @@ umask ${UMASK}
 echo "Creating download directory (${DOWNLOAD_DIR}), state directory (${STATE_DIR}), and temp dir (${TEMP_DIR})"
 mkdir -p "${DOWNLOAD_DIR}" "${STATE_DIR}" "${TEMP_DIR}"
 
+do_upgrade() {
+    echo "Upgrading yt-dlp to nightly channel..."
+    if ! python3 -m pip --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "pip not found; attempting ensurepip"
+        python3 -m ensurepip --upgrade >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    fi
+    if ! python3 -m pip install -U --pre "yt-dlp[default,curl-cffi,deno]"; then
+        echo "Warning: yt-dlp nightly upgrade failed; continuing with existing installation"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    echo "yt-dlp nightly upgrade complete"
+    return 0
+}
+
+run_supervised() {
+    while true; do
+        "$@" &
+        child_pid=$!
+        trap 'kill -TERM "$child_pid" 2>/dev/null; wait "$child_pid" 2>/dev/null' TERM INT
+        wait "$child_pid"
+        exit_code=$?
+        trap - TERM INT
+        if [ "$exit_code" -eq 42 ]; then
+            echo "MeTube requested yt-dlp update restart (exit 42)"
+            do_upgrade || true
+            continue
+        fi
+        return "$exit_code"
+    done
+}
+
+nightly_enabled() {
+    [ -n "${YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME}" ]
+}
+
+disable_nightly_for_non_root() {
+    if nightly_enabled; then
+        echo "YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME is set but this container runs as a non-root user; nightly yt-dlp updates are not supported. Ignoring YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME."
+        unset YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME
+    fi
+}
+
 if [ `id -u` -eq 0 ] && [ `id -g` -eq 0 ]; then
     if [ "${PUID}" -eq 0 ]; then
         echo "Warning: it is not recommended to run as root user, please check your setting of the PUID/PGID (or legacy UID/GID) environment variables"
@@ -16,13 +58,20 @@ if [ `id -u` -eq 0 ] && [ `id -g` -eq 0 ]; then
         echo "Changing ownership of download and state directories to ${PUID}:${PGID}"
         chown -R "${PUID}":"${PGID}" /app "${DOWNLOAD_DIR}" "${STATE_DIR}" "${TEMP_DIR}"
     fi
+    if nightly_enabled; then
+        echo "YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME is set to ${YTDL_NIGHTLY_UPDATE_TIME}; upgrading yt-dlp on startup"
+        do_upgrade || true
+    fi
     echo "Starting BgUtils POT Provider"
     gosu "${PUID}":"${PGID}" bgutil-pot server >/tmp/bgutil-pot.log 2>&1 &
     echo "Running MeTube as user ${PUID}:${PGID}"
-    exec gosu "${PUID}":"${PGID}" python3 app/main.py
+    run_supervised gosu "${PUID}":"${PGID}" python3 app/main.py
+    exit $?
 else
     echo "User set by docker; running MeTube as `id -u`:`id -g`"
+    disable_nightly_for_non_root
     echo "Starting BgUtils POT Provider"
     bgutil-pot server >/tmp/bgutil-pot.log 2>&1 &
-    exec python3 app/main.py
+    run_supervised python3 app/main.py
+    exit $?
 fi

ui/src/app/app.html

@@ -926,7 +926,7 @@
           </th>
           <th scope="col">Name</th>
           <th scope="col">URL</th>
-          <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap"><span class="help-title" ngbPopover="Subscriptions only — which new video titles to queue when this feed is checked. Does not affect manual downloads." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Sub. title filter</span></th>
+          <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap"><span class="help-title" ngbPopover="Subscriptions only — which new video titles to queue when this feed is checked. Does not affect manual downloads." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Filter</span></th>
           <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap">Interval (min)</th>
           <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap">Last checked</th>
           <th scope="col">Status</th>

ui/src/app/app.sass

@@ -202,8 +202,6 @@ main
   margin-bottom: 0.4rem
 
 .help-title
-  text-decoration: underline dotted
-  text-underline-offset: 0.2em
   cursor: help
 
   &:focus

ui/src/app/app.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { faTrashAlt, faCheckCircle, faTimesCircle, faRedoAlt, faSun, faMoon, faC
 import { faGithub } from '@fortawesome/free-brands-svg-icons';
 import { CookieService } from 'ngx-cookie-service';
 import { AddDownloadPayload, DownloadsService } from './services/downloads.service';
+import { MeTubeSocket } from './services/metube-socket.service';
 import { SubscriptionsService } from './services/subscriptions.service';
 import { SubscriptionRow } from './interfaces/subscription';
 import { Themes } from './theme';
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ import { SelectAllCheckboxComponent, ItemCheckboxComponent } from './components/
 export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
   downloads = inject(DownloadsService);
   subscriptionsSvc = inject(SubscriptionsService);
+  private socket = inject(MeTubeSocket);
   private cookieService = inject(CookieService);
   private http = inject(HttpClient);
   private cdr = inject(ChangeDetectorRef);
@@ -328,6 +330,9 @@ export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
     // Initialize action button states for already-loaded entries.
     this.updateDoneActionButtons();
     this.fetchVersionInfo();
+    this.socket.fromEvent('connect')
+      .pipe(takeUntilDestroyed(this.destroyRef))
+      .subscribe(() => this.fetchVersionInfo());
   }
 
   ngOnDestroy() {