Cobalt: A Media Downloader That Doesn't Download Media
"Open-source media downloader with a sharp UI and a principled no-tracking stance, undermined by a centralized proxy model that YouTube has effectively neutered. The flagship use case is broken on the main instance, and self-hosting isn't a product answer for most people."
open-sourcesveltearchitectureperformanceuxprivacy
key issues identified
- •YouTube downloading broken on the main instance since mid-2025 - the most popular use case
- •90% failure rate reported on mobile devices
- •Centralized proxy model fundamentally vulnerable to platform anti-scraping
- •Clone site proliferation with no official way to verify safe instances
- •No batch or playlist downloading - one link at a time
- •Quality degradation: sometimes downloads 720p when 4K was requested
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