gotubecast

gotubecast is a small Go program which you can use to make your own YouTube TV player.

It connects to the YouTube Leanback API and generates a text stream providing pairing codes, video IDs, play/pause/seek/volume change commands etc. It doesn't have any dependencies and runs on any of the platforms supported by golang. For example, use it on a Raspberry Pi in combination with youtube-dl and omxplayer for a DIY Chromecast clone or make a YouTube TV extension for your favorite media center software.

Build + Install

Provided you have golang correctly set up:

go get cbix.de/gotubecast

Run

With default options:

gotubecast

Minimal dumb YouTube TV example (opens every video in a new browser window, no control possible):

gotubecast -n "Dumb TV" -i dumb-v1 | while read line
do
    cmd="`cut -d ' ' -f1 <<< "$line"`"
    arg="`cut -d ' ' -f2 <<< "$line"`"
    case "$cmd" in
        pairing_code)
            echo "Your pairing code: $arg"
            ;;
        remote_join)
            cut -d ' ' -f3- <<< "$line connected"
            ;;
        video_id)
            xdg-open "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=$arg" &
            ;;
    esac
done

Usage help:

$ gotubecast -h
Usage of ./gotubecast:
  -d int
		Debug information level. 0 = off; 1 = full cmd info; 2 = timestamp prefix, this changes the output format!
  -i string
		Display App (default "golang-test-838")
  -n string
		Display Name (default "Golang Test TV")
  -s string
		Screen ID (will be generated if empty)

More in the examples folder.

Text stream

The following keys are being written to stdout:

Essential methods

• pairing_code <aaa-bbb-ccc-ddd>: the device pairing code formatted with separating dashes
• video_id <id>
• play
• pause
• seek_to <seconds>
• set_volume <percent>

Other

• generic_cmd <cmd> <params>: all non-implemented commands
• remote_join <id> <name>: client connects
• remote_leave <id>: client disconnects
• next
• previous
• screen_id: The screen ID will be generated if not passed by -s flag. If you want to keep connected devices over restarts, generate it first and pass it from then on.
• lounge_token, option_sid, option_gsessionid: API internals

Roadmap / TODO

• dbus interface (for YouTube specific commands as well as connecting to MPRIS supported players)
• testing
• video duration
• autoplay
• subtitles