FAQ
Everything about playing, downloading, and listening to YouTube audio with YTAudioBar.
Open YTAudioBar and search for the video, podcast, or track directly inside the app — it streams just the audio track, so there's no video to render and no browser tab required. Playback continues in the background from your system tray (Windows/Linux) or menu bar.
Yes. Any track, video, or full playlist can be downloaded for offline playback in MP3, M4A, or OGG at up to 320kbps, with track metadata filled in automatically. There's no limit on how many downloads you can keep.
Yes — paste a playlist URL or find one through search, and YTAudioBar will preview it and let you queue or download the whole thing at once.
YTAudioBar is completely free and open source, with no ads of any kind — no pre-rolls, no banners, nothing interrupting playback.
It's a Spotify-inspired desktop player, but instead of a licensed catalog, it plays anything available on YouTube — music, podcasts, lectures, DJ sets, interviews — with a queue, playlists, and background playback. See our full comparison on the Spotify alternative page.
Yes. YTAudioBar integrates with your OS's native media controls — Windows SMTC and Linux media key/MPRIS support — so play, pause, skip, and previous all work from your keyboard or system media widget.
Yes — anything that exists as audio on YouTube works the same way, including full podcast episodes, university lectures, interviews, and talks. Queue up an episode list or playlist and it plays back-to-back like a podcast app.
macOS, Windows, and Linux, each with a native-feeling build: a menu bar app on macOS, a system tray app on Windows, and an AppImage on Linux.
No — because it never loads or renders video, it's far lighter than keeping a YouTube browser tab open. It's built to sit quietly in the background like a native music player.
Still have questions? Visit the homepage or download YTAudioBar.