videotomp3transcriptor/COOKIES_QUICK_START.md at main

Debian User ea0caa9349 Add YouTube cookies support to bypass bot detection

- Add cookies support in youtube.js service
- Create extract-cookies.sh script for automatic cookie extraction
- Add YOUTUBE_COOKIES_PATH environment variable
- Update .env.example with cookies configuration
- Add comprehensive documentation (YOUTUBE_COOKIES.md, COOKIES_QUICK_START.md)
- Update .gitignore to exclude cookies files for security
- Pass cookiesPath option through all download functions

This fixes Sign in to confirm you're not a bot errors from YouTube.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

2025-12-05 13:32:35 +00:00

2.6 KiB

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The Problem

YouTube blocks automated downloads with this error:

Sign in to confirm you're not a bot

The Solution

Use cookies from your browser to authenticate!

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Extract Cookies (Choose ONE method)

Method A: Automatic (Chrome/Firefox on same machine)

cd /home/debian/videotomp3transcriptor
bash scripts/extract-cookies.sh

Follow the prompts and choose your browser.

Method B: Manual (Any browser, any machine)

Install browser extension:
- Chrome/Edge: Get cookies.txt LOCALLY
- Firefox: cookies.txt
Go to YouTube and log in:
- Visit https://www.youtube.com
- Make sure you're logged into your account
Export cookies:
- Click the extension icon
- Click "Export" or "Download"
- Save the file as youtube-cookies.txt

Upload to server:

# On your local machine
scp youtube-cookies.txt debian@toMP3.etheryale.com:/home/debian/videotomp3transcriptor/

2. Configure the API

Edit .env file:

nano /home/debian/videotomp3transcriptor/.env

Add or uncomment this line:

YOUTUBE_COOKIES_PATH=/home/debian/videotomp3transcriptor/youtube-cookies.txt

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter)

3. Restart the API

pm2 restart toMP3-api

4. Test It

curl -X POST http://localhost:3001/download \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

If it works, you'll see download progress! 🎉

Common Issues

"Permission denied" when reading cookies

chmod 600 /home/debian/videotomp3transcriptor/youtube-cookies.txt

Cookies expired

Re-export fresh cookies from your browser. Cookies typically last a few weeks.

Still getting "not a bot" error

Make sure you logged into YouTube before exporting cookies
Try a different browser
Check the path in .env is correct
Verify the file exists: ls -la /home/debian/videotomp3transcriptor/youtube-cookies.txt

Security Warning ⚠️

Cookies = Your YouTube Session

Keep cookies file secure (like a password)
Never commit to git (already in .gitignore)
Don't share publicly
Re-export periodically when they expire

Need More Help?

See full documentation: docs/YOUTUBE_COOKIES.md

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Quick Start: Fix YouTube "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot"