FreeTubeApp/FreeTube v0.24.0-beta on GitHub

Summary

This release of FreeTube represents an incredible amount of hard work and persistence from the project and its contributors. It brings major improvements across playback, performance, and platform support, with the most significant changes detailed in the FreeTube, YouTube, and Electron sections below.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to @LuanRT, maintainer of YouTube.js and @absidue, for repeatedly helping us resolve that various issues that have impacted playback over time. Your expertise has been invaluable in keeping FreeTube functional through YouTube’s ongoing changes.

A special thank you as well to @PikachuEXE and @absidue for their work on implementing SABR support, a challenging but essential step in adapting FreeTube to YouTube’s evolving streaming methods.

We also want to give a big thank you to the Shaka Player team (@avelad, @joeyparrish, @matvp91, @tykus160, @TAhub, @mariocynicys) for their responsiveness and collaboration. They’ve been quick to fix bugs we’ve reported and their willingness to implement requested functionality have been invaluable to FreeTube.

Lastly, we would like to thank all the translators that make FreeTube more accessible to all of our users!

FreeTube

Implemented SABR playback support via the local API, restoring audio track selection in the player. Watch pages now load faster, but may show timers for pre-roll ads and SABR backoff. The displayed timer values are provided by YouTube and we have no control over them. If playback fails, it will automatically retry or reload. For more details on SABR, see #7119 (comment).
Updated the player to a newer version of Shaka Player with a modernization of the UI. The interface is now cleaner and closely aligned with YouTube’s look and feel.
Removed the Restart window keyboard shortcut. It is known to be unstable and frequently causes allot of issues when used, despite prior guidance to avoid it. As an alternative, use the keyboard shortcuts for navigating back and forward to achieve the same result.
The built-in download feature has been removed. This functionality was already partially broken and became completely unusable following the introduction of SABR. In its existing state, it lacked many features users typically expect from a YouTube downloader, and restoring it would have required a significant rewrite just to bring it back to a minimal, maintenance-level condition. Given the scope of work required and the availability of more robust, dedicated tools such as yt-dlp and various online download services, we determined that removing the built-in downloader was the most practical decision.

YouTube

YouTube has removed its Trending page, but FreeTube’s Trending page remains available by sourcing data from the trending sections of the Gaming, Sports, and Podcasts channels.
YouTube has updated its search filters, and FreeTube has been updated to match these changes.

Electron

Updating from Electron v34 to Electron v41 introduces the following notable changes:

macOS 11 is no longer supported, as Electron v38.0.0 does not support this OS version. macOS 12 (Monterey) or later is required to run FreeTube going forward.
Wayland is supported out of the box in Electron v38.2.0 and newer (if you were previously launching your Electron apps with very long commands like CONFUSING_OZONE_VARIABLE --ozone-platform=wayland, you no longer need to do that).

Known issues

Features

Clickable playlist progress bar by @PikachuEXE and @NishPatel101 in #7782
Add Everforest color themes by @DontBlameMe99 in #6468
Add support for channel's Courses tab by @ChunkyProgrammer in #6641
Add playlist duration to playlist view by @MarmadileManteater in #7007
Add watch progress saving setting with multiple different modes by @PikachuEXE in #6754
Add support for upcoming livestream trailers by @ChunkyProgrammer in #6375
Add "New Windows" item to the Windows taskbar and macOS dock menu by @rugabunda in #7049
Add more YouTube keyboard shortcuts to the player by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7487
Implement a "search X in new window" context menu item by @PikachuEXE in #7477
Add a reset button to the search filters by @ozrendev in #7531
Add sort by date on history page by @anurag2787 in #7157
Handle more YouTube URLs by @absidue in #7654
Add support for transcript voice replies with the local API by @ChunkyProgrammer in #7573
Add support for viewing posts with the Local API by @ChunkyProgrammer in #7728
Add keyboard shortcuts to go to the next or previous item while viewing playlists on the watch page by @im-jking in #7593
Add an option to the Parental Control settings to hide the video uploader on the watch page by @DontBlameMe99 in #7514
Show a popup in the player when rewinding or fast forwarding by @caetano-dev in #7729
Add an option to minimise to the system tray on Windows and Linux by @Devenor in #6915
Show liked by uploader on nested comments by @ozrendev in #7926
Transform in-app URLs into YouTube URLs when dragging them by @absidue in #7970
Support exporting single playlists as a list of video URLs by @absidue in #8054
Show player controls on keyboard interaction by @caetano-dev in #7757
Add username and password fields for proxies support by @Vaipex in #7996
Add a "New Window" button to the tray menu by @Devenor in #7995
Add Catpuccin Latte Theme by @ozrendev in #7943
Add support for importing and exporting YouTube and FreeTube search history by @absidue in #8237
Add a share button to posts by @aditya0155 in #8317
Add support for exporting watch history in YouTube's JSON format by @absidue in #8323
Support exporting single playlists in YouTube's CSV format by @absidue in #8430
Add a "Show All Windows" button to the tray menu by @absidue in #8494
Implement YouTube's SABR by @PikachuEXE in #8047
Add button to open live YouTube's live chat popup in the browser by @ozrendev in #8278
Add support for showing premier videos in the Up Next section by @absidue in #7848

Fixes

Prevent scrolling inside a prompt from scrolling the page behind it by @antoniosarro in #6698
Fix video pausing when saving a screenshot to the default folder by @absidue in #6721
Fix layout issues caused by videos with very long titles in the Up Next section by @ozrendev in #6731
Fix incorrect 'Enter' behaviour when using IME input by @j-nava in #6799
Fix search history texts overflowing for long search terms by @ozrendev in #6728
Fix Matrix URLs by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #6891
Fix loading the community tab on channels with the Invidious API by @ChunkyProgrammer in #6933
Fix CTRL+click to reset playback rate not working by @absidue in #6943
Fix search suggestions erroring with long search queries by @absidue in #6955
Fix layout issues on the About page on smaller screens by @NeonMan5311 in #7012
Fix being able to have duplicate keyword search history due to spaces by @PikachuEXE in #7110
Fix images not showing up occasionally because of YouTube ratelimits by @absidue in #7151
Fix playback rate handling while loading/buffering by @absidue in #7178
Fix live streams not working on the local API by @absidue in #7233
Fix the channel name not showing up on the channel home tab by @absidue in #7232
Fix shorts not being imported from FreeTube playlist exports by @absidue in #7083
Ensure there is at most one power save blocker per open window by @absidue in #7247
Pause player when opening recommended video in external player by @absidue in #7387
Fix opening links in new windows not working correctly by @absidue in #7417
Fix channel about tab not showing any information with the Local API by @absidue in #7446
Fix translations with broken placeholders by @absidue in #7474
Fix parsing related channels without a subscriber count on the channel home page by @absidue in #7486
Fix the FreeTube logo now showing up on the taskbar on Linux by @absidue in #7392
Fix playlist videos disappearing when sorted differently by @absidue in #7490
Fix the profile selector not closing when selecting a profile in the profile selector by @PikachuEXE in #7419
Fix Alt+D not focusing the main search field on macOS by @PikachuEXE in #7448
Fix opening URL in a new window restores main window on Windows by @PikachuEXE in #7489
Fix livestreams not being labelled as live on the channel home tab by @ozrendev in #7595
Fix some search suggestions being treated as search history by @caetano-dev in #7721
Fix Change Media Formats being cut off when the Hide Sharing Actions setting is enabled by @caetano-dev in #7726
Fix layout issues with the watched progress bar for videos that are only 1 second long by @caetano-dev in #7727
Fix scroll to seek/change volume/playback rate changing too fast on touchpads by @PikachuEXE in #6666
Fix the Region for Trending setting showing the wrong value when the Settings page is set as the Default Landing Page is set to the Settings page by @caetano-dev in #7704
Fix search suggestions being cut off when selected with keyboard keys by @caetano-dev in #7734
Fix the extended navigation menu not closing on smaller screens by @caetano-dev in #7725
Fix selecting a new quick bookmark playlist by @absidue in #7803
Respect watch history setting when opening in a video in an external player by @absidue in #7853
Fix "Show Added Items" not working for "Hide Videos from Channels" by @absidue in #7854
Fix the playback rate being reset when video ends by @caetano-dev in #7718
Fix the full screen button not showing up for live streams in the player by @absidue in #8065
Handle videos without a view count in the Up Next section by @absidue in #8066
Fix not being able to add videos to playlists by @PikachuEXE in #8082
Fix the icon colors for SponsorBlock categories by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8108
Fix importing and exporting data after the Electron 38.2.0 update by @absidue in #8106
Fix URL deciphering on Windows in development mode by @PikachuEXE in #8134
Handle videos in the Up Next section that are missing the published text and view count by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8170
Fix toasts with a timeout of 0 being displayed for the three second default by @PikachuEXE in #8168
Fix the behavior of the skip frame keyboard shortcuts by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8200
Clean up corrupted database data automatically instead of crashing by @absidue in #8202
Fix not being able to hide custom external player arguments by @ozrendev in #8232
Fix rounding issues in the fast forward/rewind popup in the player by @ozrendev in #8236
Fix the chapter view on the watch page not scrolling to the current chapter when it is opened by @PikachuEXE in #8242
Fix the view comment replies text being squashed together after the Vue 3 upgrade by @PikachuEXE in #8210
Fix the playlist view on the watch page not scrolling to the current video when it loads by @PikachuEXE in #8239
Fix playlist progress bar preview not working with the Invidious API by @PikachuEXE in #8245
Fix the published dates on Up Next videos with the Invidious API by @absidue in #8251
Fix not being able to open a search in a new window from the main search bar by @PikachuEXE in #8254
Fix incorrect window sizing and positions on Linux wayland by @absidue in #8238
Fix the uploader subscription count not showing up on watch page with the Invidious API by @PikachuEXE in #8255
Fix layout issues with long playlist names on the channel home tab by @ozrendev in #8275
Fix video view counts not showing up on the playlist page with the local API by @absidue in #8290
Fix layout issues on the Settings page after the Vue 3 migration by @absidue in #8292
Fix windows not showing up on Linux wayland by @absidue in #8294
Fix the spacing between playlist metadata on the playlist page by @absidue in #8311
Fix number of videos to be added to playlist by @ozrendev in #8262
Fix playlist page width & long playlist name handling by @PikachuEXE in #8313
Fix view count with RSS feeds by @absidue in #8328
Fix watch page locking up on live streams by @absidue in #8331
Fix channel thumbnail on hearted community post comments by @absidue in #8356
Work around the back button not updating the window title by @absidue in #8357
Fix Allow Adding Duplicate Videos toggle when adding videos to playlist by @caetano-dev in #8388
Add , and dir="auto" to text that may not match the display language by @absidue in #8365
Fix DeArrow thumbnails for shorts getting stretched by @absidue in #8434
Fix refresh button to handle ctrl+r shortcut on subscription, trending and most popular pages by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8475
fix: video player playback rate by @lukasstorck in #8407
Fix channel collaboration video links by @PikachuEXE in #8276
Decipher the live HLS manifest URL by @absidue in #8582
Support partial parsing for broken video links by @absidue in #8611
Prompt for default screenshot folder when it is unset by @absidue in #8581
Fix player full screen causing the app to start in full screen by @absidue in #5138
Reuse a single PO-token session with data cleanup by @absidue in #8669
Fix playing wrong item after deleting first item in playlist by @PikachuEXE in #8612
Fix switching from legacy to audio format doesn't select correct audio track by default by @PikachuEXE in #8674
Fix the proxy test by stripping the request headers by @absidue in #8704
Fix using Shift on watch page by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8491
Trim video titles with the local API to avoid breaking the databases by @absidue in #8354
Workaround for electron/electron#49253 by @Devenor in #8714
Fix Up Next section missing upload date by @TaranT1 in #8773
Fix age-restricted videos breaking the watch page by @absidue in #8831
Respect Hide Sharing Actions setting for community posts by @aditya0155 in #8891
Fix menus on small player sizes by @absidue in #8860
Ensure linguistic alphabetical order for profile names by @caetano-dev in #8869
Fix broken URLs not being treated as search queries by @absidue in #8900

Changes

add skip to previous/next video buttons in media player by @lukasstorck in #8285
Enable Breton Language by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7608
Add icons to page headers + subscription tabs by @ChunkyProgrammer in #6669
Hide Search Bar and Filter when less than two content in Add Video to Playlists , History, Channels by @anurag2787 in #7134
Update side-nav-colors of black and dracula theme by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #6673
Local API: Improve audio quality by sorting streams, highest bitrate first by @AlyoshaVasilieva in #6807
Replace icns Mac icon with HQ one by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7212
Change Close button color to white in the Search Filters modal by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7752
Do not use title color as accent color by @DontBlameMe99 in #7141
Change Player icons by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8057
Hide Proxy password by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8102
Use shadow color for light themes by @DontBlameMe99 in #7142
Use maxVideoPlaybackRate for the max value of Default Playback Rate by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7184
Remember playlist sort by @anurag2787 in #7139
Adjust default playback rate to the maximum value when it is too large by @absidue in #7221
IV RSS Subscriptions: properly detect error channels by @ChunkyProgrammer in #4407
Rename Community to Posts by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7349
Hide member only videos (Local API) by @PikachuEXE in #7208
By default disable Check for Latest Blog Posts by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7840
By default disable Fallback to Non-Preferred Backend on Failure by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7903
Update Sort by strings by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8109
Hiding Watched Videos on Channel View by @palharesf in #7366
[Enhancement] Hide home channel tab when no content is available. by @caetano-dev in #7730
Change Settings order by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7722
Move General section within the Distraction Free Settings to top by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #7719
Mark video as watched when opening external player from the watch view by @Hoverth in #7707
Show more information on long playlists. by @caetano-dev in #7804
Hide more Invidious specific functionality when backend fallback is disabled by @absidue in #7964
[Feature]: Hide videos immediately when marking as watched by @palharesf in #7866
Move Loop to Overflow menu by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8049
Update next video countdown toast to be refreshed per second instead of using workaround by @PikachuEXE in #8103
Hide active subscriptions wrapper on mobile display and center bottom SideNav items by @Adr1GR in #8133
Remove Hide Channel from the kebab menu on the Subscriptions page by @ozrendev in #8175
Embed update information in x64 AppImage by @TheAssassin in #8153
Change containing text input limit by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8174
Remove broken restart window keyboard shortcut by @absidue in #7281
Add Hide channels based on text by @ozrendev in #7948
Change clear filter button from text to icon by @ozrendev in #8205
Change profile icon to include lowercase letters by @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc in #8253
Change Freetube Logo App text color for dark and black themes by @ozrendev in #8288
Replace broken trending with a local API only equivalent by @absidue in #8289
Always use SABR, remove experimental setting by @absidue in #8542
Remove broken download functionality by @absidue in #8543
Update to Vue 3 by @absidue in #8094
Update about us page translation to make them translable with non-English grammar by @PikachuEXE in #8615
Show more detailed error when decipher script throws an error by @MarmadileManteater in #8789
Use the native <details> and <summary> elements for the chapters by @absidue in #7959
Wrap interactive FontAwesomeIcons in actual buttons by @absidue in #8206
Wrap interactive FontAwesomeIcons in FtInput in actual buttons by @absidue in #8324
Pass button icon and label through props in FtShareButton by @absidue in #8346
Improve the accessibility of the component by @absidue in #8383
Update search filters in line with YouTube changes by @absidue in #8812
Re-order search filters to match YouTube.com by @absidue in #8879
Temporarily patch out the broken auto quality selection by @absidue in #8908
Remove blog functionality as it no longer exists by @absidue in #8907
Ensure popup does not obstruct video title in full screen by @caetano-dev in #8870
Dozens of PRs with assorted performance improvements by @absidue
Dozens of PRs with assorted security improvements by @absidue
Dozens of PRs with assorted code refactors by @absidue
Dozens of PRs with assorted component migrations to the composition API by @absidue, @MarmadileManteater and @ChunkyProgrammer

Miscellaneous

Dependencies updated to their latest versions on March 27, 2026
Translations updated via Weblate on March 31, 2026
Dozens of PRs with assorted code cleanups by @absidue @PikachuEXE @efb4f5ff-1298-471a-8973-3d47447115dc

New Contributors

@antoniosarro made their first contribution in #6698
@ozrendev made their first contribution in #6731
@jn64 made their first contribution in #6810
@AlyoshaVasilieva made their first contribution in #6807
@j-nava made their first contribution in #6799
@NeonMan5311 made their first contribution in #7012
@anurag2787 made their first contribution in #7134
@rugabunda made their first contribution in #7049
@palharesf made their first contribution in #7366
@caetano-dev made their first contribution in #7730
@im-jking made their first contribution in #7593
@Devenor made their first contribution in #6915
@kokomo123 made their first contribution in #8041
@Vaipex made their first contribution in #7996
@Adr1GR made their first contribution in #8133
@TheAssassin made their first contribution in #8153
@aditya0155 made their first contribution in #8317
@lukasstorck made their first contribution in #8285
@saxc made their first contribution in #8529
@radmorecameron made their first contribution in #8652
@TaranT1 made their first contribution in #8773

Full Changelog: v0.23.15-beta...v0.24.0-beta

FreeTubeApp/FreeTube v0.24.0-beta v0.24.0 Beta on GitHub