English
Pinchflat Hosting
Automatically download and archive YouTube channels and playlists to your own storage.
No setup fees-
One click deploy -
1 GB RAM Memory needed -
15 GB Disk Space Needed -
From 2 € Price
Tech
- Docker image
- ghcr.io/kieraneglin/pinchflat:latest
- Default port
- 8945
How Pinchflat works
Pinchflat watches source definitions built around channels, playlists, or other supported yt-dlp targets. It checks those sources on a schedule, applies user-selected rules, downloads matching media, and places completed files into an organised library. Naming templates, metadata, thumbnails, subtitles, audio extraction, and media-centre options help shape the output for the intended player.
The application is designed around recurring sources rather than one-off browsing. Users decide which material to follow, how historical items should be handled, what formats or quality constraints apply, and where completed files belong. Pinchflat delegates retrieval to yt-dlp, so compatibility depends on that upstream tool and on the behaviour of each source website.
Key Pinchflat features
Source options can limit downloads by date, title, duration, shorts, livestreams, and other filters. Media profiles make those choices reusable, while optional RSS feeds, SponsorBlock processing, API access, and notification integrations support more specialised workflows. The hosted package does not include accounts for source websites, subscription access, media-server software, or playback clients.
Pinchflat stores downloaded files on its persistent application volume, making capacity the main practical limit. Large videos, higher resolutions, retained subtitles, thumbnails, audio copies, and growing channel histories consume space rapidly. Downloads also use network transfer and temporary processing capacity, especially when several source checks finish together.
Who uses Pinchflat
Home media collectors follow selected creators or educational channels, families retain permitted videos for offline viewing, and researchers preserve authorised public material that may change over time. Media-server users can point a separate library scanner at Pinchflat’s completed directory after confirming naming and metadata conventions.
The service is not a streaming subscription, copyright clearance tool, or promise that a source will remain downloadable. Users are responsible for source terms, access rights, local law, and the permissions needed to retain or redistribute any material.
Self-hosting Pinchflat: requirements and cost
Pinchflat resource use is driven by download volume, selected quality, source-check frequency, conversion work, metadata assets, simultaneous retrievals, and the size of the retained media library. The catalogue records PostgreSQL and MariaDB as Not required; application state and downloaded media remain on the persistent Pinchflat volume. Pinchflat is marked storage-driven in the plan mapping, so 50 GB on Plan 3 is a realistic starting point and 100 GB on Plan 4 provides more room for a large working set.
On AvaHost, Pinchflat uses Plan 1 at €2. The hosted Pinchflat package includes one-click deployment, a custom domain with automated HTTPS, automatic application updates, and scheduled backups. Downloaded content, source-site credentials, paid subscriptions, media-server applications, and playback devices are not included. Application email is disabled, so email notifications are unavailable; any supported non-email notification provider requires the customer’s own external account and configuration. Source compatibility can change when websites or yt-dlp change.
F.A.Q
Pinchflat starts at €2 on Plan 1, but downloaded media can outgrow the entry storage quickly. Source count, video quality, history depth, thumbnails, subtitles, audio copies, temporary processing, and simultaneous downloads determine practical demand. Review retained files regularly and select more capacity before a growing collection approaches its storage limit.
The mapping treats Pinchflat as storage-driven. Plan 3 provides 50 GB as a realistic starting point for a modest retained library, while Plan 4 provides 100 GB for a larger collection. Actual capacity depends on duration, resolution, codec, subtitles, artwork, duplicated audio, and how much historical content each source is allowed to fetch.
No source subscription, account, media licence, or playback service is bundled. Pinchflat retrieves material through supported source URLs and stores files for separate players or media servers. Customers provide lawful access, follow the source terms, and connect their own Plex, Jellyfin, Kodi, Emby, or file-based playback environment where needed.
Pinchflat relies on yt-dlp and on external websites whose pages, authentication, rate limits, and delivery methods can change. A source may require updated cookies, new application code, different filters, or a later yt-dlp release. Automatic application updates help deliver upstream fixes, but they cannot make an unsupported or blocked source available.