Your personal You Tube Channel tracker - get informed when your favorite channels have new videos available - just this, nothing else. Everything is private to you - everything is stored in your browser indexed DB.
All you need is a You Tube API Key
LatestTube is a simple, privacy-focused tool for tracking videos from your favorite YouTube channels. It's designed as a single HTML file that you can open directly in your browser—no installation, no build step, and no server required.
Key highlights:
- No deploy needed: Simple open
index.htmlin a browser - Privacy-focused: All data stays in your browser's IndexedDB; no accounts, no tracking, no data leaves your device—you have full control
- Zero external dependencies: No npm packages, no CDNs, no frameworks—just vanilla JavaScript
- 📺 Track multiple YouTube channels — Keep tabs on all your favorite creators in one place
- 🔄 Automatic video fetching — Pulls latest video metadata from channel uploads playlists
- 🏷️ Tag videos for organization — Categorize videos by topic, priority, or anything you like
- 🔍 Filter by tags and watched status — Focus on unwatched content or specific topics
- ✅ Mark videos as watched/unwatched — Keep track of what you've seen
- 🌙 Dark theme UI — Easy on the eyes, day or night
- 🚫 Zero external dependencies — Self-contained, no third-party libraries
Before you can use LatestTube, you'll need a free API key from Google:
- Go to Google Cloud Console
- Create a new project (or use an existing one)
- Enable "YouTube Data API v3" for your project
- Go to Credentials → Create API Key
- Copy the API key (it starts with
AIza...)
💡 Note: The free tier includes 10,000 quota units per day, which is plenty for personal use (approximately 300 full refreshes).
No installation required:
- Simply open
index.htmlin Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Edge - No build step or server needed
- Works directly from
file://protocol—just double-click the file
On first launch:
- You will be greeted by the welcome screen
- Getting started will open the settings
- Paste your YouTube API key in the input field
- Ajust default values (optional)
- Click "Save"
Your API key is stored locally in your browser and is never sent anywhere except to YouTube's API.
To start tracking channels:
- Enter a YouTube channel URL, handle, or ID in the input field in the header area
- Click "Add" (or press Enter)
Supported formats:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
| Handle | @channelname |
| Channel ID | UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
| Handle URL | https://www.youtube.com/@channelname |
| Channel URL | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxxxx |
Videos will be listed automatically after adding a channel.
Once channels are added:
- Videos appear sorted by publish date (newest first)
- Use tag filter chips at the top to show only videos with specific tags
- Check "Unwatched only" to hide videos you've already seen
- Click "Load More" to see additional videos beyond the initial batch
Organize your videos with custom tags:
- Click "+ Add Tag" on any video card
- Type a tag name or select from existing tags
- Press Enter or click "Add"
Tags help you organize videos by topic, priority, or any system that works for you.
Keep track of what you've seen:
- Click the checkbox next to "Watched" on any video
- Watched videos show with a strikethrough title for easy identification
- Use the "Unwatched only" filter to focus on new content
Check for new videos:
- Click the refresh button (↻) in the header to check for new videos
- The app also auto-refreshes on page load if more than 30 minutes have passed since the last check
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Single HTML file with separate JS/CSS/images modules |
| Storage | Browser's IndexedDB for channels, videos, tags, and settings |
| API Usage | Uses efficient playlistItems endpoint (1 quota unit per 50 videos) |
| Quota | Default 10,000 units/day = ~300 full refreshes |
| Offline Support | Works offline after initial video list fetch; no network required for browsing the cached list (to watch the video you need a connection of course) |
- When you add a channel, LatestTube fetches the channel's "uploads" playlist ID
- It then fetches video metadata (title, thumbnail, publish date) from that playlist using the YouTube Data API
- Video metadata is stored locally in IndexedDB—you can browse your video list offline
- Tags and watched status are also stored locally—your data never leaves your browser
- Clicking a video opens it on YouTube—the app itself doesn't play videos
LatestTube works in all modern browsers that support IndexedDB:
| Browser | Minimum Version |
|---|---|
| Chrome | 80+ |
| Firefox | 75+ |
| Edge | 80+ |
Requirements:
- IndexedDB support (for local data storage)
- ES6 JavaScript support
- Modern CSS (Grid/Flexbox)
- No data collection: We don't collect any data about you or your usage
- Local storage only: All data (channels, video metadata, tags, API key) stays in your browser's IndexedDB
- Full user control: You can view, export, or delete all stored data directly in your browser
- Direct API calls: Your API key is only used to call YouTube's API directly from your browser
- No third parties: No analytics, no tracking, no external scripts
LatestTube is open source and available under the MIT License.
- ✅ You can use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of this software
- ✅ You must include the copyright notice and permission notice in all copies or substantial portions of the software
- ✅ This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind
The MIT License was chosen because it:
- Allows maximum freedom for users to adapt the software to their needs
- Is simple and easy to understand
- Is compatible with nearly all other licenses
- Matches the privacy-first philosophy of LatestTube — use it however you want, just keep the credit
Plan a browser-only YouTube channel tracker app with watchlist, tags, filters, and local storage using browser DB technology
Planning: Sonnet 4.6 Opus Coding: MiniMax 2.5, Kimi K2.5, also KiloAuto:free
Agent and Kilomode files used in the project are still included so you can easily continue.