YouTube Music Desktop

YouTube Music Desktop is an open-source desktop app that provides a dedicated desktop experience for music streaming. It wraps the music streaming service into a standalone application, removing the need to keep a web browser tab open for audio playback. This allows users to manage their music library and playback controls independently from their primary internet browser.

The application is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Windows users can install it via Winget or Scoop, macOS users can use Homebrew, and Linux users can access it through the AUR or binary downloads. Because it is distributed as a desktop application, it integrates more naturally with operating system window management and task switching than a standard browser tab.

Key features

• Dedicated desktop environment for music streaming
• Support for Windows via Winget and Scoop
• macOS installation via Homebrew Cask
• Linux support including Arch Linux AUR
• Integration with Node.js and Electron
• Ability to build custom installers for multiple platforms
• Support for Debian and RedHat based distributions

The software is built using Electron and JavaScript, utilizing Node.js for its core functionality. This architecture allows the app to run as a cross-platform desktop client while maintaining the features of the original streaming service. The project is designed for extensibility, allowing contributors to build the project from source using Yarn. For those building on Linux, the application supports the creation of both .deb and .rpm packages, ensuring compatibility across various distributions including Ubuntu and Fedora.

To build the project on Windows, the application utilizes the electron build tools suite, which includes Visual Studio and Python. This ensures that the final binaries are packaged correctly for the Windows environment. The development workflow relies on Git for version control and Corepack for managing Yarn installations.

It serves as a lightweight wrapper for users who prefer a separate application window for their music streaming.