fix: adjust initialData extraction for new a/b change

reports factually wrong, but close enough resolution. to be removed
when this will be fixed on yattee's end.

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,50 @@
 # ythdd
+*Archive videos while you watch them.*
 
+**ythdd** is tool which can help you create a multimedia archive by downloading videos and their metadata while you watch them.
+It does so by acting as an intermediary between you and YouTube, forwarding your requests while also saving them to a hard drive, hence the name.
+
+## Goals
+**Current goal of the project**: provide support for [Invidious](https://github.com/iv-org/invidious) API calls through the Invidious translation layer (ythdd_inv_tl.py).
+
+## Running ythdd:
+- First, download project files or clone the repository with git:
+```
+git clone https://gitea.7o7.cx/sherl/ythdd.git
+```
+
+- Navigate into the directory with project files:
+```
+cd ythdd
+```
+
+- Create a virtual enviroment:
+```
+python -m venv .venv
+```
+Above will create a hidden directory called *.venv*.
+
+- To activate the virtual enviroment use:
+    - on Linux:
+    ```
+    source .venv/bin/activate
+    ```
+    - on Windows (cmd):
+    ```
+    .venv\Scripts\activate
+    ```
+
+- Install required packages into the newly created virtual environment:
+```
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+```
+
+- Run the script:
+    - continuously without interrupts:
+    ```
+    python ythdd.py
+    ```
+    - with automatic reloading (code will be reloaded after a change to the codebase)
+    ```
+    flask --app ythdd run --debug
+    ```

config.default.toml

@@ -1,19 +1,27 @@
 [general]
-db_file_path = "/path/to/ythdd_db.sqlite"          # Preferably stored on an SSD.
+db_file_path = "ythdd_db.sqlite"                   # Path to the databse file, preferably stored on an SSD.
 video_storage_directory_path = "/path/to/videos/"  # Path to video vault.
 is_proxied = false                                 # Set to true if running behind reverse proxy.
-public_facing_url = "http://localhost:5000/"       # Used for URL rewriting. Note the trailing backslash /.
+public_facing_url = "http://127.0.0.1:5000/"       # Used for URL rewriting. Note the trailing backslash /.
+debug = false                                      # Whether to print verbose, debug info on API endpoints.
+cache = true                                       # Whether to cache requests for 3 hours (temporary solution to long load times).
 
 [api]
-api_key = "" # Leave empty API key for public access to non-sensitive backend
-api_key_admin = "CHANGEME" # Empty *admin* API key will autogenerate a random one every launch.
+api_key = ""                 # Leave empty API key for public access to non-sensitive backend
+api_key_admin = "CHANGEME"   # Empty *admin* API key will autogenerate a random one every launch.
+enable_debugger_halt = false # Whether to allow to trigger pdb using admin's API key.
 
 [extractor]
-user-agent = ""   # Leave empty for default (Firefox ESR).
-cookies_path = "" # Leave empty for none.
+user-agent = ""                  # Leave empty for default (Firefox ESR).
+cookies_path = ""                # Leave empty for none.
+age_restricted_cookies_path = "" # Cookies to use when bypassing age-gated videos only. Leave empty to disable.
+deno_path = ""                   # Required when using cookies.
+preferred_extractor = ""         # Leave empty for default (android_vr).
 
 [proxy]
-user-agent = ""   # Leave empty for default (Firefox ESR).
+user-agent = ""               # Leave empty for default (Firefox ESR).
+allow_proxying_videos = false # Whether to allow video proxying through the instance (traffic-intensive).
+match_initcwndbps = true      # Experimental: matches proxying speed to the one suggested by Innertube (may help avoid being ratelimited/banned).
 
 [admin]
 # List of users with admin priviledges.

requirements.txt

@@ -13,3 +13,5 @@ Flask-APScheduler>=1.13.1
 requests>=2.32.3
 yt_dlp
 brotli>=1.1.0
+dateparser>=1.2.2
+bbpb>=1.4.2

views.py

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/python3
-from flask import render_template, Response
+from flask import redirect, render_template, request, Response
 from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy
 from markupsafe import escape
-import requests, json
+import hashlib, json, re, requests
 import ythdd_globals
 
 def homepage():
@@ -26,18 +26,141 @@ def thumbnailProxy(received_request):
 			'error_msg': 'invalid request. pretend this is a thumbnail :D'
 			}), mimetype='application/json', status=400)
 
-	thumbnail = requests.get(prefix + "vi/" + received_request, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), stream=True)
+	quality_urls = ['maxresdefault', 'sddefault', 'hqdefault', 'mqdefault', 'default', '1', '2', '3']
+	video_id, requested_quality = received_request.split('/')
+	
+	thumbnail = requests.get(prefix + "vi/" + video_id + "/" + requested_quality, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), stream=True)
 	thumbnail.raw.decode_content = True
+
+	quality_id = 0
+	if requested_quality == "maxres.jpg":
+		# if requested quality is maxres,
+		# provide the best quality possible
+		while thumbnail.status_code != 200:
+			thumbnail = requests.get(prefix + "vi/" + video_id + "/" + quality_urls[quality_id] + ".jpg", headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), stream=True)
+			thumbnail.raw.decode_content = True
+			quality_id += 1
+
 	response = Response(thumbnail.raw, mimetype=thumbnail.headers['content-type'], status=thumbnail.status_code)
 
 	return response
 
+def storyboardProxy(received_request):
+
+	# will proxy storyboards
+	prefix = "https://i.ytimg.com/"
+	sqp = request.args.get("sqp")
+	sigh = request.args.get("sigh")
+
+	if sqp is None or sigh is None:
+		return Response(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": "Request lacks the sqp, sigh params (or both)."}), mimetype="application/json", status=400)
+
+	sb = requests.get(prefix + "sb/" + received_request, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), params={"sqp": sqp, "sigh": sigh}, stream=True)
+	sb.raw.decode_content = True
+	response = Response(sb.raw, mimetype=sb.headers['content-type'], status=sb.status_code)
+	return response
+
 def ggphtProxy(received_request):
 
 	prefix = "https://yt3.ggpht.com/"
 
+	# fix for how materialious fetches avatars
+	if received_request.startswith("guc/"):
+		return gucProxy(received_request.removeprefix("guc/"))
+
 	ggpht = requests.get(prefix + received_request, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), stream=True)
 	ggpht.raw.decode_content = True
 	response = Response(ggpht.raw, mimetype=ggpht.headers['content-type'], status=ggpht.status_code)
 
 	return response
+
+def gucProxy(received_request):
+
+	prefix = "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/"
+
+	guc = requests.get(prefix + received_request, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), stream=True)
+	guc.raw.decode_content = True
+	response = Response(guc.raw, mimetype=guc.headers['content-type'], status=guc.status_code)
+
+	return response
+
+def imgProxy(received_request):
+
+	# will proxy /img/no_thumbnail.jpg
+	prefix = "https://i.ytimg.com/"
+
+	thumbnail = requests.get(prefix + "img/" + received_request, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy'), stream=True)
+	thumbnail.raw.decode_content = True
+	response = Response(thumbnail.raw, mimetype=thumbnail.headers['content-type'], status=thumbnail.status_code)
+
+	return response
+
+def videoplaybackProxy():
+	# inspired by Yotter's video proxy
+	# https://github.com/ytorg/Yotter/blob/b43a72ab7bfa5a59916fa3259cbc39165717c6bb/app/routes.py#L527
+
+	if not ythdd_globals.config['proxy']['allow_proxying_videos']:
+		return Response(json.dumps({"error": "Administrator has disabled this endpoint"}), mimetype="application/json", status=403)
+
+	headers = dict(request.headers)
+	proxy_headers = ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='proxy')
+	if "Range" in headers:
+		proxy_headers["Range"] = headers["Range"]
+
+	params = dict(request.args)
+	# support md5 videoplayback url shortening
+	if "md5" in params:
+		if params["md5"] not in ythdd_globals.general_cache["hashed_videoplayback"]:
+			return Response(json.dumps({"error": "Videoplayback request not cached or expired."}), mimetype="application/json", status=404)
+		return redirect(ythdd_globals.general_cache["hashed_videoplayback"][params["md5"]]["original_url"])
+	else:
+		public_url = request.url
+		public_url = ythdd_globals.config["general"]["public_facing_url"] + public_url[public_url.rfind("videoplayback"):]
+		md5sum = hashlib.md5(public_url.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
+		ythdd_globals.general_cache["hashed_videoplayback"][md5sum] = {"original_url": request.url}
+
+	# reconstruct the url
+	# first attempt: from host param
+	host = params.get('host')
+	# failed? then try to get it from the rest of the params
+	if host is None:
+		# second attempt: reconstruct url from mn and mvi?
+		# the host schema seems to be as follows:
+		# rr{mvi[any]/fvip[any]?}---{mn[any]}.googlevideo.com
+		# regarding mvi/fvip, it seems that any value smaller than 5 passes
+		try:
+			mvi = params.get('mvi').split(',')[-1]
+			mn  = params.get('mn').split(',')[-1]
+			if int(mvi) > 5:
+				mvi = 3 # invidious uses this as fallback
+			host = f"rr{mvi}---{mn}.googlevideo.com"
+		except (AttributeError, ValueError):
+			return Response(json.dumps({"error": "Couldn't extract crucial parameters for hostname reconstruction"}, mimetype="application/json", status=400))
+	else:
+		# don't echo host "hint" back to the googlevideo server
+		del params['host']
+	# run a regex sanity check
+	if re.fullmatch(r"[\w-]+\.googlevideo\.com", host) is None:
+		# fallback behavior for unexpected hostnames
+		return Response(json.dumps({"error": "Please either pass a valid host, or don't pass any"}), mimetype="application/json", status=400)
+
+	try:
+		# request the proxied data
+		remote_response = requests.get(f"https://{host}/videoplayback", headers=proxy_headers, params=params, stream=True)
+	except:
+		return Response(json.dumps({"error": "Couldn't connect to googlevideo host"}), mimetype="application/json", status=500)
+
+	# determine the chunk size
+	chunk_size = 10 * 1024 # by default it's 10 MB (as this is the most youtube is willing to send without ratelimiting)
+	# or the one in initcwndbps (if user enabled the config flag to match chunk_size with initcwndbps)
+	if ythdd_globals.config['proxy']['match_initcwndbps']:
+		try:
+			chunk_size = int(params.get('initcwndbps') / 1024)
+		except:
+			pass
+	# return a chunked response
+	resp = Response(remote_response.iter_content(chunk_size=chunk_size), content_type=remote_response.headers['Content-Type'], status=remote_response.status_code, headers=remote_response.headers, direct_passthrough=True)
+	resp.cache_control.public = True
+	resp.cache_control.max_age = int(60_000)
+
+	return resp

ythdd.py

@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ def setup():
 		sanity_string += f"          If you're running a reverse proxy, set {colors.OKCYAN}is_proxied{colors.ENDC} to true to silence this message.\n"
 		print(sanity_string)
 
+	# Should work around disconnects: https://stackoverflow.com/a/61739721
+	app.config['SQLALCHEMY_ENGINE_OPTIONS'] = {"pool_pre_ping": True}
+
 	app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = f"sqlite:///{config['general']['db_file_path']}"
 	app.config['SQLALCHEMY_TRACK_MODIFICATIONS'] = False
 	app.add_url_rule('/', view_func=views.index)
@@ -61,7 +64,11 @@ def setup():
 	app.add_url_rule('/api/', view_func=ythdd_api.api_greeting)
 	app.add_url_rule('/api/<path:received_request>', view_func=ythdd_api.api_global_catchall)
 	app.add_url_rule('/vi/<path:received_request>', view_func=views.thumbnailProxy)
+	app.add_url_rule('/sb/<path:received_request>', view_func=views.storyboardProxy)
 	app.add_url_rule('/ggpht/<path:received_request>', view_func=views.ggphtProxy)
+	app.add_url_rule('/guc/<path:received_request>', view_func=views.gucProxy)
+	app.add_url_rule('/img/<path:received_request>', view_func=views.imgProxy)
+	app.add_url_rule('/videoplayback', view_func=views.videoplaybackProxy)
 	db = ythdd_db.initDB(app, config)
 
 	with app.app_context():
@@ -129,7 +136,7 @@ def main(args):
 	app_port = port
 
 	setup()
-	app.run(host=host, port=int(port))
+	app.run(host=host, port=int(port), threaded=True)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
 	#app.run(host="127.0.0.1", port=5000)

ythdd_api.py

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/python3
 from flask import Response, request
 from markupsafe import escape
+from ythdd_globals import colors as c
 import requests, time, json
 import ythdd_globals
 import ythdd_api_v1, ythdd_inv_tl
+import traceback
 
 def api_greeting():
 	string = {'status': 200, 'msg': f"ok (ythdd {ythdd_globals.version})", 'latest_api': f"v{ythdd_globals.apiVersion}"}
@@ -12,8 +14,8 @@ def api_greeting():
 
 def api_global_catchall(received_request):
 	ythdd_globals.apiRequests += 1
-	if request.environ['REMOTE_ADDR'] != "127.0.0.1" or (ythdd_globals.isProxied and request.environ['X-Forwarded-For'] != "127.0.0.1"):
-			ythdd_globals.outsideApiHits += 1
+	if request.environ['REMOTE_ADDR'] != "127.0.0.1" or (ythdd_globals.isProxied and request.environ['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'] != "127.0.0.1"):
+		ythdd_globals.outsideApiHits += 1
 
 	request_list = received_request.split('/')
 	api_version = request_list[0]
@@ -25,10 +27,15 @@ def api_global_catchall(received_request):
 			#return api_greeting()
 			resp = api_greeting()
 		try:
-			status, received, data = ythdd_api_v1.lookup(request_list)
+			status, received, data = ythdd_api_v1.lookup(request_list, request)
 		except Exception as e:
 			ythdd_globals.apiFailedRequests += 1
+			stripped_filename = __file__[max(__file__.rfind("/"), __file__.rfind("\\")) + 1:]
+			print(f"\n{c.FAIL}Error! /api/{received_request} -> {stripped_filename}:L{e.__traceback__.tb_lineno} -> {type(e).__name__}{c.ENDC}:\n"
+				+ f"{traceback.format_exc()}")
 			status, received, data = 500, f"internal server error: call ended in failure: {e}", []
+			if ythdd_globals.config["general"]["debug"]:
+				status, received, data = 500, f"internal server error: call ended in failure: {e} ({stripped_filename}:L{e.__traceback__.tb_lineno})", []
 		resp = Response(json.dumps({'status': status, 'msg': received, 'data': data}), mimetype='application/json', status=status)
 	elif request_list[0] == 'invidious':
 		# drop 'invidious' from the list
@@ -43,12 +50,17 @@ def api_global_catchall(received_request):
 		# if a path has been supplied try to get appropriate data
 		try:
 			# lookup and construct a response
-			resp = ythdd_inv_tl.lookup(request_list)
+			resp = ythdd_inv_tl.lookup(request_list, request)
 			#print(resp) # for debugging purposes
 		# unless an error occurs
 		except Exception as e:
 			ythdd_globals.apiFailedRequests += 1
+			stripped_filename = __file__[max(__file__.rfind("/"), __file__.rfind("\\")) + 1:]
+			print(f"\n{c.FAIL}Error! /api/{received_request} -> {stripped_filename}:L{e.__traceback__.tb_lineno} -> {type(e).__name__}{c.ENDC}:\n"
+				+ f"{traceback.format_exc()}")
 			status, received, data = 500, f"internal server error: invidious translation call ended in failure: {e}", []
+			if ythdd_globals.config["general"]["debug"]:
+				status, received, data = 500, f"internal server error: invidious translation call ended in failure: {e} ({stripped_filename}:L{e.__traceback__.tb_lineno})", []
 			resp = Response(json.dumps({'status': status, 'msg': received, 'data': data}), mimetype='application/json', status=status)
 	else:
 		ythdd_globals.apiFailedRequests += 1

ythdd_api_v1.py

@@ -8,6 +8,21 @@ import ythdd_globals, ythdd_extractor
 #from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy
 #import ythdd_api_v1_stats, ythdd_api_v1_user, ythdd_api_v1_info, ythdd_api_v1_query, ythdd_api_v1_meta, ythdd_api_v1_admin
 
+def requireAuthentication(admin: bool = True):
+	def functionWrapper(func):
+		def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+			token = kwargs["r"].args.get('token')
+			if token == ythdd_globals.config['api']['api_key' + admin * '_admin']:
+				try:
+					status, received, data = func(*args, **kwargs)
+					return status, received, data
+				except:
+					raise AssertionError(f"Function \"{func.__name__}\" does not return status, code, and data as it should!")
+			else:
+				return 401, "error", {'error_msg': "Unauthorized"}
+		return wrapper
+	return functionWrapper
+
 def incrementBadRequests():
 	ythdd_globals.apiFailedRequests += 1
 
@@ -29,7 +44,7 @@ def stats():
 		"outside_api_requests": ythdd_globals.outsideApiHits,
 		"local_api_requests": ythdd_globals.apiRequests - ythdd_globals.outsideApiHits
 	}
-	return 200, "OK", data_to_send
+	return 200, "ok", data_to_send
 
 def videoIdSanityCheck(videoId: str):
 	if len(videId) != 11:
@@ -91,7 +106,7 @@ def hot(data):
 			# try to get the data
 			try:
 				started = time.time()
-				extracted_dict = ythdd_extractor.extract(url_lookup[data[1]] + videoId, getcomments=getcomments, maxcomments=comment_count)
+				extracted_dict = ythdd_extractor.extract(url_lookup[data[1]] + videoId, getcomments=getcomments, maxcomments=comment_count, manifest_fix=True)
 				extracted_dict["took"] = time.time() - started
 				return 200, "OK", extracted_dict
 			except Exception as e:
@@ -129,7 +144,14 @@ def hot(data):
 			incrementBadRequests()
 			return notImplemented([data[1]]) # workaround before notImplemented is reworked
 
-def lookup(data):
+@requireAuthentication(admin=True)
+def debugger_halt(r):
+	if not ythdd_globals.config["api"]["enable_debugger_halt"]:
+		return 403, "Administrator has disabled access for this endpoint.", []
+	breakpoint()
+	return 200, "Pdb triggered and ended successfully.", []
+
+def lookup(data, request):
 	match data[0]:
 		case 'stats':
 			return stats()
@@ -149,6 +171,8 @@ def lookup(data):
 		case 'admin':
 			# REQUIRE CREDENTIALS!
 			return stub_hello()
+		case 'halt':
+			return debugger_halt(r=request)
 		case _:
 			incrementBadRequests()
 			return notImplemented(data)

ythdd_extractor.py

@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/python3
 import brotli, yt_dlp, requests, json, time
+from http.cookiejar import MozillaCookieJar
+from ythdd_globals import safeTraverse
+import ythdd_proto
 import ythdd_globals
 
 ytdl_opts = {
@@ -12,7 +15,16 @@ ytdl_opts = {
 		"default": "%(id)s.%(ext)s",
 		"chapter": "%(id)s.%(ext)s_%(section_number)03d_%(section_title)s.%(ext)s"
 	},
-	"simulate": True
+	"extractor_args": {
+		"youtube": {
+				# "formats": ["dashy"]
+			}
+	},
+	"simulate": True,
+	"js_runtimes": {
+		"deno": {}
+	},
+	'remote_components': ['ejs:github']
 }
 
 stage1_headers = {
@@ -60,7 +72,7 @@ stage1_body = {
 
 stage2_headers = {
 	"Connection": "keep-alive",
-	"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/91.0.4472.77 Safari/537.36",
+	"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:144.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/144.0",
 	"Accept": "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8",
 	"Accept-Language": "en-us,en;q=0.5",
 	"Sec-Fetch-Mode": "navigate",
@@ -69,13 +81,13 @@ stage2_headers = {
 
 stage3_headers = {
 	"Connection": "keep-alive",
-	"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/91.0.4472.77 Safari/537.36",
+	"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:144.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/144.0",
 	"Accept": "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8",
 	"Accept-Language": "en-us,en;q=0.5",
 	"Sec-Fetch-Mode": "navigate",
 	"Content-Type": "application/json",
 	"X-Youtube-Client-Name": "1",
-	"X-Youtube-Client-Version": "2.20241126.01.00",
+	"X-Youtube-Client-Version": "2.20251103.01.00",
 	"Origin": "https://www.youtube.com",
 	"Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate, br",
 	"Cookie": "PREF=hl=en&tz=UTC; SOCS=CAI"
@@ -87,7 +99,7 @@ stage3_body = {
 		"client":
 		{
 			"clientName": "WEB",
-			"clientVersion": "2.20241126.01.00",
+			"clientVersion": "2.20251103.01.00",
 			"hl": "en",
 			"timeZone": "UTC",
 			"utcOffsetMinutes": 0
@@ -98,23 +110,73 @@ stage3_body = {
 	"racyCheckOk": True
 }
 
-def extract(url: str, getcomments=False, maxcomments=""):
+web_context_dict = {
+    'context': {
+        'client': {
+            'hl': 'en',
+            'gl': 'US',
+            'deviceMake': '',
+            'deviceModel': '',
+            'userAgent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:144.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/144.0,gzip(gfe)',
+            'clientName': 'WEB',
+            'clientVersion': '2.20251103.01.00',
+            'osName': 'Windows',
+            'osVersion': '10.0',
+            'screenPixelDensity': 2,
+            'platform': 'DESKTOP',
+            'screenDensityFloat': 2,
+            'userInterfaceTheme': 'USER_INTERFACE_THEME_LIGHT',
+            'browserName': 'Firefox',
+            'browserVersion': '142.0',
+            'acceptHeader': 'text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8',
+            'utcOffsetMinutes': 0,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+def extract(url: str, getcomments=False, maxcomments="", manifest_fix=False, use_cookies=None):
 	# TODO: check user-agent and cookiefile
 
+	ytdl_context = ytdl_opts.copy()
+
 	if ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['user-agent']:
 		yt_dlp.utils.std_headers['User-Agent'] = ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['user-agent']
 
-	if ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['cookies_path']:
-		ytdl_opts['cookiefile'] = ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['cookies_path']
-
 	if len(url) == 11:
 		url = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=" + url
 	if getcomments:
-		ytdl_opts['getcomments'] = True
+		ytdl_context['getcomments'] = True
 	if maxcomments:
-		ytdl_opts['extractor_args'] = {'youtube': {'max_comments': [maxcomments, "all", "all", "all"]}}
-	with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ytdl_opts) as ytdl:
-		result = ytdl.extract_info(url, download=False)
+		ytdl_context['extractor_args']['youtube']['max_comments'] = [maxcomments, "all", "all", "all"]
+	if manifest_fix:
+		# https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/11952#issuecomment-2565802294
+		ytdl_context['extractor_args']['youtube']['player_client'] = ['default', 'web_safari']
+	elif ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['preferred_extractor']:
+		ytdl_context['extractor_args']['youtube']['player_client'] = [ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['preferred_extractor']]
+	else:
+		ytdl_context['extractor_args']['youtube']['player_client'] = ['android_vr']
+
+	if use_cookies is not None:
+		# can be either "global", "agegated" or None
+		deno_path = ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['deno_path']
+		match use_cookies:
+			case "global":
+				ytdl_context['cookiefile'] = ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['cookies_path']
+				ytdl_context['extractor_args']['youtube']['player_client'] = ['tv']
+				if not deno_path:
+					print("FATAL ERROR: deno path is required for playback using cookies!")
+				ytdl_context['js_runtimes']['deno']['path'] = deno_path if deno_path else ""
+			case "agegated":
+				ytdl_context['cookiefile'] = ythdd_globals.config['extractor']['age_restricted_cookies_path']
+				ytdl_context['extractor_args']['youtube']['player_client'] = ['tv']
+				if not deno_path:
+					print("FATAL ERROR: deno path is required for playback of age-restricted content!")
+				ytdl_context['js_runtimes']['deno']['path'] = deno_path if deno_path else ""
+			case None | _:
+				pass
+
+	with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ytdl_context) as ytdl:
+		result = ytdl.sanitize_info(ytdl.extract_info(url, download=False))
 	return result
 
 def WEBrelated(url: str):
@@ -137,7 +199,7 @@ def WEBrelated(url: str):
 
 	return extracted_json["contents"]['twoColumnWatchNextResults']["secondaryResults"]
 
-def WEBextractSinglePage(uri: str):
+def WEBextractSinglePage(uri: str, use_cookies=None):
 	# WARNING! HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL, DUE TO BREAK ANYTIME
 	
 	start_time = time.time()
@@ -145,11 +207,25 @@ def WEBextractSinglePage(uri: str):
 	if len(uri) != 11:
 		raise ValueError("WEBextractSinglePage expects a single, 11-character long argument")
 
-	response = requests.get("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=" + uri, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='extractor'))
+	cookies = None
+	if use_cookies is not None:
+		match use_cookies:
+			case "global":
+				ythdd_globals.print_debug("wdata: using global cookies")
+				cookies = MozillaCookieJar(ythdd_globals.config["extractor"]["cookies_path"])
+				cookies.load()
+			case "agegated":
+				ythdd_globals.print_debug("wdata: using agegated cookies")
+				cookies = MozillaCookieJar(ythdd_globals.config["extractor"]["age_restricted_cookies_path"])
+				cookies.load()
+			case None | _:
+				pass
+
+	response = requests.get("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=" + uri, headers=ythdd_globals.getHeaders(caller='extractor'), cookies=cookies)
 	extracted_string = str(response.content.decode('utf8', 'unicode_escape'))
-	start = extracted_string.find('{"responseContext":{"serviceTrackingParams":')
+	start = extracted_string.find('{"responseContext":')
 	end = extracted_string.find(';var ', start)
-	start2 = extracted_string.find('{"responseContext":{"serviceTrackingParams":', start + 1)
+	start2 = extracted_string.find('{"responseContext":', start + 1)
 	end2 = extracted_string.find(';</script>', start2)
 	extracted_json1 = json.loads(extracted_string[start:end])
 	extracted_json2 = json.loads(extracted_string[start2:end2])
@@ -158,6 +234,19 @@ def WEBextractSinglePage(uri: str):
 
 	return {'ec1': extracted_json1, 'ec2': extracted_json2, 'took': end_time - start_time}
 
+def paramsFromUrl(url: str) -> dict:
+	# Returns a dictionary of params from a given URL.
+	split_list = url.split("&")
+	params = {}
+	
+	for num, string in enumerate(split_list):
+		if num == 0:
+			string  = string[string.find("?") + 1:]
+		key, value  = string.split("=")
+		params[key] = value
+
+	return params
+
 def IOSextract(uri: str):
 
 	start = time.time()
@@ -180,3 +269,344 @@ def IOSextract(uri: str):
 
 	#return {'stage1': stage1, 'stage2': stage2, 'stage3': stage3, 'took': end - start}
 	return {'stage1': stage1, 'stage3': stage3, 'took': end - start}
+
+def makeWebContext(secondaryContextDict: dict):
+	# Uses web_context_dict to create a context, returns a dict.
+	# Essentially, expands the web_context_dict with a secondary one.
+
+	current_web_context_dict = web_context_dict.copy()
+
+	for key in secondaryContextDict:
+		current_web_context_dict[key] = secondaryContextDict[key]
+
+	return current_web_context_dict
+
+def getChannelAvatar(response_json: dict):
+	# Returns a dictionary: {url: <proxied url to remote server>, width: ..., height: ...}
+	# containing the best resolution in terms of pixel count.
+	# A great majority of the code has been influenced by https://github.com/iv-org/invidious/blob/master/src/invidious/channels/about.cr.
+
+	avatars = safeTraverse(response_json, ['metadata', 'channelMetadataRenderer', 'avatar', 'thumbnails'], default=None)
+
+	if avatars is None:
+		# fallback to lower resolution avatars
+		avatars = safeTraverse(response_json, ['header',
+			'pageHeaderRenderer',
+			'content',
+			'pageHeaderViewModel',
+			'image',
+			'decoratedAvatarViewModel',
+			'avatar',
+			'avatarViewModel',
+			'image',
+			'sources'], default=None)
+
+	# if avatars is None: # TODO: if avatars is still None, use a local avatar
+
+	best_avatar = avatars[-1] # usually, the best avatar is stored last
+	for avatar in avatars:
+		if avatar['width'] * avatar['height'] > best_avatar['width'] * best_avatar['height']:
+			best_avatar = avatar
+
+	# or use regex substitution and set the size to something like 512x512
+	# e.g.: =s128 -> =s512
+
+	best_avatar['url'] = ythdd_globals.translateLinks(best_avatar['url'])
+
+	return best_avatar
+
+def generateChannelAvatarsFromUrl(url: str, proxied: bool = True) -> list:
+	# Generates channel avatars at default sizes.
+
+	# avatar urls for channels in search results start with //yt3.ggpht.com/
+	if url.startswith("//"):
+		url = "https:" + url
+
+	avatars = []
+	if not url.startswith("https://yt3.ggpht.com/") and not url.startswith("https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/"):
+		return []
+
+	url = ythdd_globals.translateLinks(url)
+	url_size_start = url.rfind("=s") + 2
+	url_size_end   = url. find("-", url_size_start)
+
+	default_sizes = [32, 48, 76, 100, 176, 512]
+
+	for size in default_sizes:
+		avatars.append(
+			{
+				"url": url[:url_size_start] + str(size) + url[url_size_end:],
+				"width": size,
+				"height": size
+			}
+		)
+
+	return avatars
+
+def isVerified(response_json: dict) -> bool:
+	# Returns True if any user badge has been found (verified/artist).
+
+	if not isinstance(response_json, dict):
+		return False
+
+	match safeTraverse(list(response_json.keys()), [0], default=""):
+		case "metadataBadgeRenderer": # channels in search results
+			verified = safeTraverse(response_json, ["metadataBadgeRenderer", "tooltip"], default="") in ("Verified", "Official Artist Channel") # perhaps look for badge styles?
+			return verified
+
+	return False
+
+def isPremium(response_json: dict) -> bool:
+	# Returns True if content is paid (member-only).
+
+	if not isinstance(response_json, dict):
+		return False
+
+	match safeTraverse(list(response_json.keys()), [0], default=""):
+		case "metadataBadgeRenderer": # channels in search results
+			paid = safeTraverse(response_json, ["metadataBadgeRenderer", "style"], default="") in ("BADGE_STYLE_TYPE_MEMBERS_ONLY")
+			return paid
+
+	return False
+
+def browseChannel(ucid: str, params: str = None, ctoken: str = None):
+	# Returns the response from innertubes browse endpoint for channels (as a dict).
+
+	if len(ucid) != 24:
+		raise ValueError(f"Something is wrong with the UCID {ucid}. Expected a 24-character long channel ID, not {len(ucid)}.")
+
+	additional_context = {'browseId': ucid}
+	if params is not None:
+		additional_context['params'] = params
+	if ctoken is not None:
+		additional_context['continuation'] = ctoken
+
+	context = makeWebContext(additional_context)
+
+	response = requests.post(
+		'https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/browse?prettyPrint=false',
+		headers = ythdd_globals.getHeaders(),
+		json    = context,
+	)
+
+	response_json = json.loads(response.text)
+
+	return response_json
+
+def WEBextractSearchResults(search_query: str, page: int) -> list:
+	# Posts a search request to innertube API
+	# and processes only the relevant part (the actual results)
+
+	if search_query is None:
+		return []
+
+	additional_context = {"query": search_query}
+	if page is not None:
+		params = ythdd_proto.produceSearchParams(page)
+		additional_context["params"] = params
+
+	web_context = makeWebContext(additional_context)
+	response = requests.post('https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/search', 
+		params={"prettyPrint": False}, 
+		headers=stage2_headers, 
+		data=json.dumps(web_context)
+	)
+
+	results = []
+	try:
+		results = json.loads(response.text)
+	except:
+		pass
+	results = safeTraverse(results, ["contents", "twoColumnSearchResultsRenderer", "primaryContents", "sectionListRenderer", "contents", 0, "itemSectionRenderer", "contents"], default=[])
+
+	return results
+
+def WEBgetSearchSuggestions(query: str, previous_query: str = '') -> list:
+	# Takes in a search query and returns relevant suggestions.
+	# Can optionally take the previous query but that's rather novel and
+	# not supported across players nor invidious API itself.
+	
+	suggestions = []
+
+	if not isinstance(query, str):
+		print("WEBgetSearchSuggestions: query is not a string (as it should)")
+		return {}
+	if not isinstance(previous_query, str):
+		previous_query = ''
+
+	if ythdd_globals.config["general"]["cache"]:
+		# look for cached suggestions
+		for cached_search in ythdd_globals.general_cache["search"]:
+			if cached_search["q"] == query.lower() and cached_search["pq"] == previous_query.lower():
+				# found it? skip ahead
+				suggestions = cached_search["resp"]
+				break
+
+	# request wasn't cached? query the API
+	if suggestions == []:
+
+		params = {
+			'ds': 'yt',
+			'hl': 'en', # host language
+			'gl': 'us', # geolocation
+			'client': 'youtube',
+			'gs_ri': 'youtube',
+			'q': query, # query
+			'pq': previous_query # previous query
+		}
+
+		response = requests.get(
+			'https://suggestqueries-clients6.youtube.com/complete/search',
+			params=params,
+			headers=stage2_headers
+		)
+
+		# can break anytime but hopefully the tiny speed gain will make up for it
+		results = response.text[23 + len(query):]
+		results = results[:results.rfind("{") - 1]
+		results = json.loads(results)
+
+		for result in results:
+			suggestions.append(result[0])
+
+		# cache response
+		if ythdd_globals.config["general"]["cache"]:
+			ythdd_globals.general_cache["search"].append(
+				{
+					"q": query.lower(),
+					"pq": previous_query.lower(),
+					"resp": suggestions
+				}
+			)
+
+	return {
+		"query": query,
+		"suggestions": suggestions
+	}
+
+def WEBgetVideoComments(ctoken: str) -> tuple:
+
+	# ctoken needs to be passed explicitly.
+	# no guessing or retrieving it from globals.
+	if ctoken is None:
+		return [], ""
+
+	# build web context containing the relevant ctoken
+	web_context = makeWebContext({"continuation": ctoken})
+	response = requests.post('https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/next', 
+		params={"prettyPrint": False}, 
+		headers=stage2_headers, 
+		data=json.dumps(web_context)
+	)
+
+	results = []
+	try:
+		results = json.loads(response.text)
+	except:
+		pass
+
+	comments = safeTraverse(results, ["frameworkUpdates", "entityBatchUpdate", "mutations"], default=[])
+	comment_continuations = []
+	comment_continuations_re = safeTraverse(results, ["onResponseReceivedEndpoints"], default=[])
+	for received_endpoint in comment_continuations_re:
+
+		# this is horrible...
+
+		acia = safeTraverse(received_endpoint, ["appendContinuationItemsAction", "continuationItems"], default=[])
+		rcic = safeTraverse(received_endpoint, ["reloadContinuationItemsCommand", "continuationItems"], default=[])
+
+		for entry in acia:
+			if "commentThreadRenderer" in entry or "continuationItemRenderer" in entry:
+				comment_continuations = acia
+				break
+
+		for entry in rcic:
+			if "commentThreadRenderer" in entry or "continuationItemRenderer" in entry:
+				comment_continuations = rcic
+				break
+
+		if comment_continuations != []:
+			break
+
+	if comment_continuations == []:
+		print("error: received an unknown comment structure, unable to parse continuations (replies)")
+		# breakpoint()
+		# return [], ""
+
+	# extract new continuation
+	new_continuation = ""
+	if "continuationItemRenderer" in safeTraverse(comment_continuations, [-1], default=[]):
+		# first, look for ctoken inside of response for next page of comments
+		new_continuation = safeTraverse(comment_continuations, [-1, "continuationItemRenderer", "continuationEndpoint", "continuationCommand", "token"], default=None)
+		# or search elsewhere in case this is a reply thread
+		if new_continuation is None:
+			new_continuation = safeTraverse(comment_continuations, [-1, "continuationItemRenderer", "button", "buttonRenderer", "command", "continuationCommand", "token"], default="")
+
+	# perform a basic mutation check before parsing
+	# will ignore replies liked by video uploader ("hearts")
+	actual_comments = [x for x in comments if "properties" in safeTraverse(x, ["payload", "commentEntityPayload"], default=[], quiet=True)]
+	actual_comment_continuations = [x for x in comment_continuations if "replies" in safeTraverse(x, ["commentThreadRenderer"], default=[], quiet=True)]
+
+	# link reply data (reply count and ctoken) for comments with replies
+	for reply_renderer in actual_comment_continuations:
+
+		mutual_key   = safeTraverse(reply_renderer, ["commentThreadRenderer", "commentViewModel", "commentViewModel", "commentKey"], default="unknown-key")
+		reply_ctoken = safeTraverse(reply_renderer, ["commentThreadRenderer", "replies", "commentRepliesRenderer", "contents", 0, "continuationItemRenderer", "continuationEndpoint", "continuationCommand", "token"], default="")
+		reply_count  = safeTraverse(reply_renderer, ["commentThreadRenderer", "replies", "commentRepliesRenderer", "viewReplies", "buttonRenderer", "text", "runs", 0, "text"], default="0 replies").split(" ")[0]
+
+		# suspected a/b test. can be worked arount with on-demand ctoken creation.
+		# workaround for yt not showing replies when sorting for "top" comments
+		try:
+			int(reply_count) # can be just "Replies"
+		except:
+			reply_count = "0"
+
+		for comment in actual_comments:
+			found_key = safeTraverse(comment, ["entityKey"], default="unknown-key")
+			# try to link a relevant ctoken if a comment has response
+			if found_key == mutual_key:
+				if ythdd_globals.config["general"]["debug"]: print(f"found reply for {found_key}")
+				comment["replies"] = {
+					"replyCount": int(reply_count),
+					"continuation": reply_ctoken
+				}
+
+	return actual_comments, new_continuation
+
+def WEBextractPlaylist(plid: str = "", ctoken: str = ""):
+
+	# if ctoken has been provided, use it
+	if ctoken:
+		# playlist id can be omitted if ctoken is provided
+		additional_context = {'continuation': ctoken}
+	else:
+		# try to create ctoken which will allow for accessing the full playlist, including delisted/deleted videos
+		additional_context = {'continuation': ythdd_proto.producePlaylistContinuation(plid, offset=0)}
+
+	context = makeWebContext(additional_context)
+
+	response = requests.post(
+		'https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/browse?prettyPrint=false',
+		headers = ythdd_globals.getHeaders(),
+		json    = context
+	)
+
+	resp_json = json.loads(response.text)
+
+	# if this is a first-time fetch (no ctoken passed), extract metadata
+	metadata = None
+	if not ctoken:
+		metadata = {
+			"microformat": safeTraverse(resp_json, ["microformat"]),
+			"sidebar": safeTraverse(resp_json, ["sidebar"])
+		}
+
+	# extract continuation
+	new_continuation = safeTraverse(resp_json, ["onResponseReceivedActions", 0, "appendContinuationItemsAction", "continuationItems", -1, "continuationItemRenderer", "continuationEndpoint", "continuationCommand", "token"])
+
+	# "best-effort" playlist's videos extraction
+	# "best-effort" because None's (unsuccessful video extraction = None) are passed as they are
+	videos = safeTraverse(resp_json, ["onResponseReceivedActions", 0, "appendContinuationItemsAction", "continuationItems"]) # includes continuation as last element of list, which will be ignored
+
+	return metadata, new_continuation, videos
+

ythdd_globals.py

@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ configfile = "config.toml"
 version = "0.0.1"
 apiVersion = "1"
 randomly_generated_passcode = 0
+video_cache = {}
+general_cache = {"search": [], "continuations": {"channels": {}, "comments": {}}, "channels": {}, "playlists": {}, "storyboards": {}, "hashed_videoplayback": {}}
 
 def getConfig(configfile):
 	
@@ -30,7 +32,7 @@ def getConfig(configfile):
 	global randomly_generated_passcode
 
 	if not os.path.exists(configfile):
-		dummy_config = {'general': {'db_file_path': 'ythdd_db.sqlite', 'video_storage_directory_path': 'videos/', 'is_proxied': False, 'public_facing_url': 'http://localhost:5000/'}, 'api': {'api_key': 'CHANGEME'}, 'extractor': {'user-agent': '', 'cookies_path': ''}, 'admin': {'admins': ['admin']}, 'yt_dlp': {}, 'postprocessing': {'presets': [{'name': 'recommended: [N][<=720p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height<=720]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[N][1080p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height=1080]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[R][1080p] webm', 'format': 'bv[height=1080]+ba', 'reencode': 'webm'}, {'name': '[N][720p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height=720]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[R][720p] webm', 'format': 'bv[height=720]+ba', 'reencode': 'webm'}, {'name': '[N][480p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height=480]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[480p] VP9 webm/reencode', 'format': 'bv*[height=480][ext=webm]+ba/bv[height=480]+ba', 'reencode': 'webm'}, {'name': '[N][1080p] best video only', 'format': 'bv[height=1080]', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[N][opus] best audio only', 'format': 'ba', 'reencode': 'opus'}]}}
+		dummy_config = {'general': {'db_file_path': 'ythdd_db.sqlite', 'video_storage_directory_path': 'videos/', 'is_proxied': False, 'public_facing_url': 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/', 'debug': False, 'cache': True}, 'api': {'api_key': 'CHANGEME', 'enable_debugger_halt': False}, 'proxy': {'user-agent': '', 'allow_proxying_videos': True, 'match_initcwndbps': True}, 'extractor': {'user-agent': '', 'cookies_path': ''}, 'admin': {'admins': ['admin']}, 'yt_dlp': {}, 'postprocessing': {'presets': [{'name': 'recommended: [N][<=720p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height<=720]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[N][1080p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height=1080]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[R][1080p] webm', 'format': 'bv[height=1080]+ba', 'reencode': 'webm'}, {'name': '[N][720p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height=720]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[R][720p] webm', 'format': 'bv[height=720]+ba', 'reencode': 'webm'}, {'name': '[N][480p] best V+A', 'format': 'bv[height=480]+ba', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[480p] VP9 webm/reencode', 'format': 'bv*[height=480][ext=webm]+ba/bv[height=480]+ba', 'reencode': 'webm'}, {'name': '[N][1080p] best video only', 'format': 'bv[height=1080]', 'reencode': ''}, {'name': '[N][opus] best audio only', 'format': 'ba', 'reencode': 'opus'}]}}
 		# if a passcode has not been provided by the user (config file doesn't exist, and user didn't specify it using an argument)
 		print(f"{colors.WARNING}WARNING{colors.ENDC}: Using default, baked in config data. {colors.ENDL}"
 			  f"         Consider copying and editing the provided example file ({colors.OKCYAN}config.default.toml{colors.ENDC}).")
@@ -58,7 +60,7 @@ def getHeaders(caller="proxy"):
 
 	# NOTE: use ESR user-agent
 	# user_agent = 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; rv:130.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/130.0'
-	user_agent = 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0'
+	user_agent = 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:144.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/144.0'
 
 	if config[caller]['user-agent']:
 		user_agent = config[caller]['user-agent']
@@ -82,12 +84,74 @@ def getHeaders(caller="proxy"):
 
 	return headers
 
-def translateLinks(link):
+def translateLinks(link: str, remove_params: bool = True):
 
 	link = link.replace("https://i.ytimg.com/", config['general']['public_facing_url'])
 	link = link.replace("https://yt3.ggpht.com/", config['general']['public_facing_url'] + "ggpht/")
+	link = link.replace("https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/", config['general']['public_facing_url'] + "guc/")
+
+	# try to remove tracking params
+	if remove_params and "?" in link:
+		link = link[:link.find("?")]
 
 	return link
 
 def getUptime():
 	return int(time.time()) - starttime
+
+def safeTraverse(obj: dict, path: list, default=None, quiet: bool = False):
+	"""
+	Traverse dynamic objects with fallback to default values
+
+	This function can take an Ellipsis as part of traversal path,
+	meaning that it will return the object from the list
+	that contains the next key. This has been introduced
+	so that no matter which object in a list holds the relevant
+	model, it will find it (meaning no assumptions are necessary).
+	Kepp in mind that only one ellipsis at a time is supported,
+	thus ["some_key", ..., ..., "some_other_key"] won't work.
+
+	:param      obj:      Traversed object
+	:type       obj:      dict
+	:param      path:     Path which shall be traversed
+	:type       path:     list
+	:param      default:  Default value returned on failure
+	:type       default:  any, None by default
+	:param      quiet:    Quiet flag
+	:type       quiet:    bool
+	"""
+	result = obj
+	try:
+		# for every item in path and its position
+		for pos, iterable_key in enumerate(path):
+			# if the key is not an ellipsis, traverse it
+			if iterable_key is not Ellipsis:
+				result = result[iterable_key]
+			# if it is an ellipsis, and there is another key beside it
+			elif pos < len(path) - 1:
+				# then iterate through all of the list contents
+				for list_content in result:
+					# in search of the next traversal key
+					if path[pos + 1] in list_content:
+						result = list_content
+			# show an error message if ellipsis is used incorrectly
+			else:
+				print("error(safeTraverse): Traversal path can't end with an Ellipsis!")
+				raise TypeError()
+	# handle exceptions
+	except (KeyError, TypeError, IndexError):
+		result = default
+		if not quiet: print(f"error reading: {' -> '.join([str(x) for x in path])} - returning: {default}")
+	finally:
+		return result
+
+def getCommit() -> str | None:
+	try:
+		return Repo(search_parent_directories=True).head.object.hexsha
+	except Exception as e:
+		return None
+
+def print_debug(text: str) -> None:
+	# Will print a string only if debugging is enabled.
+	if config["general"]["debug"]:
+		print(text)

ythdd_proto.py

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+from ythdd_globals import safeTraverse
+import base64
+import blackboxprotobuf as bbpb
+import json
+import urllib.parse
+import ythdd_globals
+
+def bbpbToB64(msg_and_typedef: tuple, urlsafe: bool = False, padding: bool = False) -> str:
+	encoded_protobuf     = bbpb.encode_message(*msg_and_typedef)
+	if urlsafe:
+		b64_protobuf     = base64.urlsafe_b64encode(encoded_protobuf)
+	else:
+		b64_protobuf     = base64.b64encode(encoded_protobuf)
+	if padding:
+		url_encoded_b64  = urllib.parse.quote(b64_protobuf.decode())
+	else:
+		url_encoded_b64  = b64_protobuf.decode().rstrip('=')
+	return url_encoded_b64
+
+def fdictToBbpb(msg: dict) -> tuple:
+	# Requires Python 3.7+ or CPython 3.6+,
+	# as these versions preserve dictionary insertion order.
+	# Structural matching (match, case) requires Python 3.10+.
+	clean_msg = {}
+	clean_type = {}
+	for key in msg:
+		num, type = key.split(":")
+
+		match type:
+			case "message":
+				# if the type is an embedded message
+				internal_msg, internal_type = fdictToBbpb(msg[key])
+				# msg can just be appended as usual
+				clean_msg[num]  = internal_msg
+				# type contains more fields than normally
+				clean_type[num] = {
+					'field_order': list(internal_msg.keys()),
+					'message_typedef': internal_type,
+					'type': type
+				}
+
+			case "base64" | "base64u" | "base64p" | "base64up":
+				# if the type is a base64-embedded message
+				internal_msg, internal_type = fdictToBbpb(msg[key])
+				match type.removeprefix("base64"):
+					case "":
+						b64_encoded_msg = bbpbToB64((internal_msg, internal_type))
+					case "u":
+						b64_encoded_msg = bbpbToB64((internal_msg, internal_type), urlsafe=True)
+					case "p":
+						b64_encoded_msg = bbpbToB64((internal_msg, internal_type), padding=True)
+					case "up":
+						b64_encoded_msg = bbpbToB64((internal_msg, internal_type), urlsafe=True, padding=True)
+				clean_msg[num]  = b64_encoded_msg
+				clean_type[num] = {'type': 'string'}
+
+			case "int" | "string":
+				clean_msg[num]  = msg[key]
+				clean_type[num] = {'type': type}
+
+			case _:
+				raise KeyError(f'error(fmsgToBBPBTuple): invalid key "{type}"')
+
+
+	return (clean_msg, clean_type)
+
+def producePlaylistContinuation(plid: str, offset: int = 0) -> str:
+	msge = {
+		'80226972:message': {
+			'2:string': f'VL{plid}',
+			'3:base64': {
+				'1:int': int(offset / 100),
+				'15:string': f'PT:{bbpbToB64(fdictToBbpb({"1:int": offset}))}',
+				'104:message': {
+					'1:int': 0
+				}
+			},
+			'35:string': plid
+		}
+	}
+
+	bbpb_dicts = fdictToBbpb(msge)
+	b64_ctoken = bbpbToB64(bbpb_dicts, urlsafe=True, padding=True)
+
+	return b64_ctoken
+
+def produceSearchParams(page: int = 1) -> str:
+	msge = {
+		"9:int": 20 * (page - 1),  # pagination
+		"30:int": 1                # no self-harm censorship
+	}
+
+	bbpb_dicts = fdictToBbpb(msge)
+	b64_params = bbpbToB64(bbpb_dicts, urlsafe=True, padding=True)
+
+	return b64_params

ythdd_struct_builder.py

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+from ythdd_globals import safeTraverse
+import ythdd_globals
+
+def genThumbs(videoId: str):
+
+	result = []
+	thumbnails = [
+			{'height': 720, 'width': 1280, 'quality': "maxres",        'url': "maxres"}, # will always attempt to return the best quality available
+			{'height': 720, 'width': 1280, 'quality': "maxresdefault", 'url': "maxresdefault"},
+			{'height': 480, 'width': 640,  'quality': "sddefault",     'url': "sddefault"},
+			{'height': 360, 'width': 480,  'quality': "high",          'url': "hqdefault"},
+			{'height': 180, 'width': 320,  'quality': "medium",        'url': "mqdefault"},
+			{'height': 90,  'width': 120,  'quality': "default",       'url': "default"},
+			{'height': 90,  'width': 120,  'quality': "start",         'url': "1"},
+			{'height': 90,  'width': 120,  'quality': "middle",        'url': "2"},
+			{'height': 90,  'width': 120,  'quality': "end",           'url': "3"},
+	]
+
+	for x in thumbnails:
+		width = x['width']
+		height = x['height']
+		quality = x['quality']
+		url = ythdd_globals.config['general']['public_facing_url'] + 'vi/' + videoId + '/' + x['url'] + '.jpg'
+		result.append({'quality': quality, 'url': url, 'width': width, 'height': height})
+
+	return result
+
+def genStoryboards(video_id: str) -> list:
+	# generates storyboards inside of /api/v1/videos/:video_id
+	storyboards = []
+	cached_storyboards = safeTraverse(ythdd_globals.general_cache["storyboards"], [video_id], default=[])
+	for sb in cached_storyboards["formats"]:
+		built_storyboard = {
+			"url": f"/api/v1/storyboards/{video_id}?width={sb['width']}&height={sb['height']}",
+			"templateUrl": cached_storyboards['template_url'].replace("$L", str(sb['index'])).replace("$N", sb['name']) + f"&sigh={sb['sigh']}",
+			"width": sb['width'],
+			"height": sb['height'],
+			"count": sb['thumb_count'],
+			"interval": sb['interval'],
+			"storyboardWidth": sb['columns'],
+			"storyboardHeight": sb['rows'],
+			"storyboardCount": sb['images_count']
+		}
+		storyboards.append(built_storyboard)
+	
+	return storyboards
+
+def msToWebvttTimestamp(time: int):
+
+	ms = time % 1000
+	time //= 1000
+
+	hours = time // (60 * 60)
+	time -= hours * 60 * 60
+	minutes = time // 60
+	time -= minutes * 60
+	seconds = time
+	timestamp = f"{str(hours).zfill(2)}:{str(minutes).zfill(2)}:{str(seconds).zfill(2)}.{str(ms).zfill(3)}"
+
+	return timestamp
+
+def genWebvttStoryboard(video_id: str, width: int = None, height: int = None):
+	# generates WebVTT storyboards for /api/v1/storyboards/:video_id
+	webvtt = "WEBVTT\n\n"
+	cached_storyboards = safeTraverse(ythdd_globals.general_cache["storyboards"], [video_id])
+	if cached_storyboards is None:
+		return ""
+	found_storyboard = {}
+
+	for sb in cached_storyboards["formats"]:
+		if width is not None and width == sb['width']:
+				found_storyboard = sb
+		if height is not None and height == sb['height']:
+				found_storyboard = sb
+
+	# could be changed
+	if not found_storyboard:
+		found_storyboard = cached_storyboards["formats"][0]
+
+	start = 0
+	thumbs_per_sb = sb['columns'] * sb['rows']
+	xx = 0
+	yy = 0
+	for x in range(found_storyboard["thumb_count"]):
+		xx = x % sb['columns']
+		yy = (x // sb['rows']) % sb['rows']
+		xywh = f"#xywh={xx * sb['width']},{yy * sb['height']},{sb['width']},{sb['height']}"
+		webvtt += f"{msToWebvttTimestamp(start)} --> {msToWebvttTimestamp(start + found_storyboard['interval'])}\n"
+		webvtt += cached_storyboards['template_url'].replace("$L", str(sb['index'])).replace("$N", sb['name']).replace("$M", str(x // (thumbs_per_sb))) + f"&sigh={sb['sigh']}{xywh}\n"
+		webvtt += "\n"
+		start += found_storyboard['interval']
+
+	return webvtt

ythdd_struct_parser.py

@@ -0,0 +1,618 @@
+from html import escape
+from invidious_formats import FORMATS
+from ythdd_globals import safeTraverse
+import json
+import dateparser
+import ythdd_globals
+import ythdd_extractor
+import ythdd_struct_builder
+
+DEFAULT_AVATAR = "https://yt3.ggpht.com/a/default-user=s176-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj"
+
+def doesContainNumber(string: str, numeric_system: int = 10) -> bool:
+	try:
+		number = int(string, numeric_system)
+		return True
+	except ValueError:
+		return False
+	raise BaseException("doesContainNumber(): Unknown error while determining if a string contains a number")
+
+def parseLengthFromTimeBadge(time_str: str) -> int:
+	# Returns 0 if unsuccessful
+	length = 0
+	time_lookup_list = [1, 60, 3_600, 86_400]
+	time_list = time_str.split(":")
+	if False in map(doesContainNumber, time_list): # works around ['LIVE'] for livestreams or ['Upcoming'] for scheduled videos
+		pass
+	else:
+		for z in range(len(time_list)):
+			length += time_lookup_list[z] * int(time_list[len(time_list) - 1 - z])
+	return length
+
+def parseViewsFromViewText(viewcounttext: str) -> int:
+	# Returns 0 if unsuccessful
+	views = 0
+	magnitude = {'K': 1_000, 'M': 1_000_000, 'B': 1_000_000_000}
+	if viewcounttext:
+		if viewcounttext.lower() == "no":
+			viewcounttext = "0"
+		views = float("0" + "".join([z for z in viewcounttext if 48 <= ord(z) and ord(z) <= 57 or ord(z) == 46]))
+		viewcounttext = viewcounttext.split(" ")[0]
+		for x in magnitude.keys():
+			if x == viewcounttext[-1].upper():
+				views *= magnitude[x]
+	return int(views)
+
+def parseRenderers(entry: dict, context: dict = {}) -> dict:
+
+	if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+		raise ValueError("parsed entry is not of type dict")
+
+	match safeTraverse(list(entry.keys()), [0], default=""):
+
+		case "videoRenderer": # represents a video
+			# as of october 2025 slowly phased out in favor of lockupViewModel(?)
+
+			published_date = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "publishedTimeText", "simpleText"], default="now")
+			published_date = published_date.removeprefix("Streamed ")
+			description, description_html = parseDescriptionSnippet(safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "descriptionSnippet", "runs"], default=[]))
+			collaborative = False
+
+			if "author_name" in context:
+				author_name = context["author_name"]
+			else:
+				author_name = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "ownerText", "runs", 0, "text"], default="Unknown author")
+
+			if "author_ucid" in context:
+				author_ucid = context["author_ucid"]
+			else:
+				author_ucid = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "ownerText", "runs", 0, "navigationEndpoint", "browseEndpoint", "browseId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID")
+				if author_ucid == "UNKNOWNCHANNELID":
+					# this is a first indicator that a video is a collaborative (has multiple authors)
+					# if that's the case, let's take the first author's ucid as the ucid
+					collaborative = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "ownerText", "runs", 0, "navigationEndpoint", "showDialogCommand", "panelLoadingStrategy", "inlineContent", "dialogViewModel", "header", "dialogHeaderViewModel", "headline", "content"]) == "Collaborators"
+
+			if "verified" in context:
+				verified = context["verified"]
+			else:
+				verified = ythdd_extractor.isVerified(safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "ownerBadges", 0]))
+
+			if "avatar" in context:
+				avatar_url = context["avatar"]
+			else:
+				avatar_url = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "avatar", "decoratedAvatarViewModel", "avatar", "avatarViewModel", "image", "sources", 0, "url"], default=DEFAULT_AVATAR)
+
+			views_or_viewers_model = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "viewCountText"], default={})
+			if "simpleText" in views_or_viewers_model:
+				# means this is a video with X views
+				view_count      = parseViewsFromViewText(entry["videoRenderer"]["viewCountText"]["simpleText"])
+				view_count_text = entry["videoRenderer"]["viewCountText"]["simpleText"]
+			elif "runs" in views_or_viewers_model:
+				# means this is a livestream with X concurrent viewers
+				view_count      = parseViewsFromViewText(entry["videoRenderer"]["viewCountText"]["runs"][0]["text"] + " watching")
+				view_count_text = entry["videoRenderer"]["viewCountText"]["runs"][0]["text"] + " watching"
+			else:
+				# unknown model, assume no views
+				view_count      = 0
+				view_count_text = "Unknown amount of views"
+
+			if collaborative:
+				livm = safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "ownerText", "runs", 0, "navigationEndpoint", "showDialogCommand", "panelLoadingStrategy", "inlineContent", "dialogViewModel", "customContent", "listViewModel", "listItems"], default=[])
+				if "author_name" not in context:
+					# override the default "name1 and others" or "name1 and name2" text
+					# with full author info
+					all_authors = []
+					for collaborative_author in livm:
+						collaborative_author_name = safeTraverse(collaborative_author, ["listItemViewModel", "title", "content"])
+						if collaborative_author_name is not None:
+							all_authors.append(collaborative_author_name)
+					if all_authors != []: # check if custom extraction succeeded
+						author_name = ", ".join(all_authors)
+				if author_ucid == "UNKNOWNCHANNELID":
+					# retrieve main author's ucid
+					author_ucid = safeTraverse(livm, [0, "listItemViewModel", "title", "commandRuns", 0, "onTap", "innertubeCommand", "browseEndpoint", "browseId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID")
+				if safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "ownerBadges", 0]) is None:
+					# check if the main author is verified
+					verified = False
+					if safeTraverse(livm, [0, "listItemViewModel", "title", "attachmentRuns", 0, "element", "type", "imageType", "image", "sources", 0, "clientResource", "imageName"]) in ("AUDIO_BADGE", "CHECK_CIRCLE_FILLED"):
+						verified = True
+				if avatar_url == DEFAULT_AVATAR:
+					# retrieve the main channel's avatar
+					avatar_url = safeTraverse(livm, [0, "listItemViewModel", "leadingAccessory", "avatarViewModel", "image", "sources", 0, "url"], default=DEFAULT_AVATAR)
+
+			ythdd_globals.print_debug("videoRenderer fired")
+			return {
+				"type": "video",
+				"title": safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "title", "runs", 0, "text"]),
+				"videoId": safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "videoId"]),
+				"author": author_name,
+				"authorId": author_ucid,
+				"authorUrl": "/channel/" + author_ucid,
+				"authorVerified": verified, # TODO
+				"authorThumbnails": ythdd_extractor.generateChannelAvatarsFromUrl(avatar_url),
+				"videoThumbnails": ythdd_struct_builder.genThumbs(safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "videoId"], default="unknown")),
+				"description": description,
+				"descriptionHtml": description_html,
+				"viewCount": view_count,
+				"viewCountText": view_count_text,
+				"published": int(dateparser.parse(published_date).timestamp()), # sadly best we can do, invidious does this too
+				"publishedText": published_date,
+				"lengthSeconds": parseLengthFromTimeBadge(safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "lengthText", "simpleText"], default="0:0")),
+				"liveNow": False,
+				"premium": ythdd_extractor.isPremium(safeTraverse(entry, ["videoRenderer", "badges", 0])), # will fail if it's not the only badge
+				"isUpcoming": False,
+				"isNew": False,
+				"is4k": False,
+				"is8k": False,
+				"isVr180": False,
+				"isVr360": False,
+				"is3d": False,
+				"hasCaptions": False
+			}
+
+			# modify the premiere timestamp afterwards here?
+
+		case "lockupViewModel": # represents playlists/mixes (and videos since october 2025)
+			# related videos lvms are handled in ythdd_inv_tl.videos()
+
+			lvm = entry["lockupViewModel"]
+			playlist_type = safeTraverse(lvm, ["contentImage", "collectionThumbnailViewModel", "primaryThumbnail", "thumbnailViewModel", "overlays", 0, "thumbnailOverlayBadgeViewModel", "thumbnailBadges", 0, "thumbnailBadgeViewModel", "icon", "sources", 0, "clientResource", "imageName"], default="")
+
+			if playlist_type == "MIX":
+				# mixes aren't currently supported
+				return
+
+			if not playlist_type:
+				# struct represents a video
+				ythdd_globals.print_debug("lockupViewModel fired (not a playlist). this is an a/b test; any following errors stem from it.")
+
+				lmvm = safeTraverse(lvm, ['metadata', 'lockupMetadataViewModel'], default={})
+				video_id = safeTraverse(lvm, ['contentId'])
+
+				author_name = safeTraverse(context, ["author_name"], default="Unknown author")
+				author_ucid = safeTraverse(context, ["author_ucid"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID")
+				verified = safeTraverse(context, ["verified"], default=False) # TODO: check if this can be retrieved here
+				avatar_url = safeTraverse(context, ["avatar"], default=DEFAULT_AVATAR)
+
+				title = safeTraverse(lmvm, ["title", "content"], default="No title")
+				video_metadata = safeTraverse(lmvm, ["metadata", "contentMetadataViewModel", "metadataRows", 0, "metadataParts"], default=[])
+				view_count_text = safeTraverse(video_metadata, [0, "text", "content"], default="0 views")
+				published_date = safeTraverse(video_metadata, [1, "text", "content"], default="now")
+				length_text = safeTraverse(lvm, ["contentImage", "thumbnailViewModel", "overlays", ..., "thumbnailBottomOverlayViewModel", "badges", -1, "thumbnailBadgeViewModel", "text"], default="0:0")
+				view_count = parseViewsFromViewText(view_count_text)
+				length = parseLengthFromTimeBadge(length_text)
+
+				resp = {
+					"type": "video",
+					"title": title,
+					"videoId": video_id,
+					"author": author_name,
+					"authorId": author_ucid,
+					"authorUrl": "/channel/" + author_ucid,
+					"authorVerified": verified, # TODO
+					"authorThumbnails": ythdd_extractor.generateChannelAvatarsFromUrl(avatar_url),
+					"videoThumbnails": ythdd_struct_builder.genThumbs(video_id),
+					"description": "", # can't be retrieved from lockupViewModel
+					"descriptionHtml": "",
+					"viewCount": view_count,
+					"viewCountText": view_count_text,
+					"published": int(dateparser.parse(published_date).timestamp()), # sadly best we can do, invidious does this too
+					"publishedText": published_date,
+					"lengthSeconds": length,
+					"liveNow": False, # can't be live if it's in creator's video feed
+					"premium": False, # todo: check this
+					"isUpcoming": False,
+					"isNew": False,
+					"is4k": False,
+					"is8k": False,
+					"isVr180": False,
+					"isVr360": False,
+					"is3d": False,
+					"hasCaptions": False
+				}
+				return resp
+
+			# struct represents a playlist
+			meta        = safeTraverse(lvm,  ["metadata"], default=[])
+			lmvm        = safeTraverse(meta, ["lockupMetadataViewModel", "metadata", "contentMetadataViewModel", "metadataRows"], default=[])
+			thumbnail   = safeTraverse(lvm, ["contentImage", "collectionThumbnailViewModel", "primaryThumbnail", "thumbnailViewModel", "image", "sources", -1, "url"], default="no-url?")
+			thumbnail   = ythdd_globals.translateLinks(thumbnail[:thumbnail.rfind("?")])
+			verified    = safeTraverse(context, ["verified"], default=False)
+
+			playlist_id = safeTraverse(lvm,  ["contentId"], default="UNKNOWNPLAYLISTID")
+			length      = safeTraverse(lvm,  ["contentImage", "collectionThumbnailViewModel", "primaryThumbnail", "thumbnailViewModel", "overlays", 0, "thumbnailOverlayBadgeViewModel", "thumbnailBadges", 0, "thumbnailBadgeViewModel", "text"], default="0 videos")
+			length      = parseViewsFromViewText(length.split(" ")[0])
+
+			# Turns out for some responses we do have some data, while not on others.
+			# Data from context should be prioritized, thus even if something is found with safeTraverse,
+			# the parser will ignore it in favour of the context.
+			ucid      = safeTraverse(lmvm, [0, "metadataParts", 0, "text", "commandRuns", 0, "onTap", "innertubeCommand", "browseEndpoint", "browseId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID")
+			author    = safeTraverse(lmvm, [0, "metadataParts", 0, "text", "content"], default="ythdd: unknown author")
+			ucid      = safeTraverse(context, ["author_ucid"], default=ucid)
+			author    = safeTraverse(context, ["author_name"], default=author)
+
+			ythdd_globals.print_debug("lockupViewModel fired (playlist)")
+			return {
+				"type": "playlist",
+				"title": safeTraverse(meta, ["lockupMetadataViewModel", "title", "content"], default="ythdd: unknown title"),
+				"playlistId": playlist_id,
+				"playlistThumbnail": thumbnail,
+				"author": author,
+				"authorId": ucid,
+				"authorUrl": "/channel/" + ucid,
+				"authorVerified": verified,
+				"videoCount": length,
+				"videos": [] # provided for historical reasons i guess
+			}
+
+		case "shelfRenderer": # "people also watched"
+			return
+
+		case "gridShelfViewModel": # shorts?
+			return
+
+		case "shortsLockupViewModel": # shorts on channel pages
+
+			video_id   = safeTraverse(entry, ["shortsLockupViewModel", "onTap", "innertubeCommand", "reelWatchEndpoint", "videoId"],       default="UnknownVideoId")
+			title      = safeTraverse(entry, ["shortsLockupViewModel", "overlayMetadata",   "primaryText", "content"], default="ythdd: couldn't find title")
+			views_text = safeTraverse(entry, ["shortsLockupViewModel", "overlayMetadata", "secondaryText", "content"], default="No views")
+
+			published_date = "No data about published time" # the view model doesn't provide data about the date a short is published
+
+			if video_id == "UnknownVideoId": # failsafe
+				video_id = safeTraverse(entry, ["shortsLockupViewModel", "entityId"], default="-UnknownVideoId")
+				video_id = video_id[video_id.rfind("-") + 1:]
+
+			if "author_name" in context:
+				author_name = context["author_name"]
+			else:
+				author_name = "Unknown author"
+
+			if "author_ucid" in context:
+				author_ucid = context["author_ucid"]
+			else:
+				author_ucid = "UNKNOWNCHANNELID"
+
+			if "verified" in context:
+				verified = context["verified"]
+			else:
+				verified = False
+
+			if "avatar" in context:
+				avatar_url = context["avatar"]
+			else:
+				avatar_url = "unknown"
+
+			ythdd_globals.print_debug("shortsLockupViewModel fired")
+			return {
+				"type": "video",
+				"title": title,
+				"videoId": video_id,
+				"author": author_name,
+				"authorId": author_ucid,
+				"authorUrl": "/channel/" + author_ucid,
+				"authorVerified": False,
+				"videoThumbnails": ythdd_struct_builder.genThumbs(video_id),
+				"description": "",
+				"descriptionHtml": "",
+				"viewCount": parseViewsFromViewText(views_text),
+				"viewCountText": views_text,
+				"published": int(0),
+				"publishedText": published_date,
+				"lengthSeconds": int(60), # invidious locks this to 60s no matter what the actual duration is
+				"liveNow": False,
+				"premium": False,
+				"isUpcoming": False,
+				"premiereTimestamp": 0,
+				"isNew": False,
+				"is4k": False,
+				"is8k": False,
+				"isVr180": False,
+				"isVr360": False,
+				"is3d": False,
+				"hasCaptions": False
+			}
+
+		case "gridVideoRenderer": # videos on channel pages
+
+			# doesn't work on Yattee
+			# thumbnails = safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "thumbnail", "thumbnails"], default=[])
+			# for thumbnail in thumbnails:
+			# 	thumbnail["url"] = ythdd_globals.translateLinks(thumbnail["url"])
+
+			video_id = safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "videoId"], default="UnknownVideoId")
+			thumbnails = ythdd_struct_builder.genThumbs(video_id)
+
+			published_date = safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "publishedTimeText", "simpleText"], default="now")
+			published_date = published_date.removeprefix("Streamed ")
+
+			ythdd_globals.print_debug("gridVideoRenderer fired")
+			return {
+				"type": "video",
+				"title": safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "title", "simpleText"], default="unknown video title"),
+				"videoId": video_id,
+				"author": context["author_name"],
+				"authorId": context["author_ucid"],
+				"authorUrl": "/channel/" + context["author_ucid"],
+				"authorVerified": False, # TODO: handle badge related tasks here using context
+				"videoThumbnails": thumbnails,
+				"description": "", # won't work without using an RSS feed (?)
+				"descriptionHtml": "", # -||-
+				"viewCount": parseViewsFromViewText(safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "viewCountText", "simpleText"], default="0 views")),
+				"viewCountText": safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "shortViewCountText", "simpleText"], default="0 views"),
+				"published": int(dateparser.parse(published_date).timestamp()),
+				"publishedText": published_date,
+				"lengthSeconds": parseLengthFromTimeBadge(safeTraverse(entry, ["gridVideoRenderer", "thumbnailOverlays", 0, "thumbnailOverlayTimeStatusRenderer", "text", "simpleText"], default="0:0")),
+				"liveNow": True if published_date == "now" else False,
+				"premium": False,
+				"isUpcoming": False,
+				"isNew": False,
+				"is4k": False,
+				"is8k": False,
+				"isVr180": False,
+				"isVr360": False,
+				"is3d": False,
+				"hasCaptions": False
+			}
+
+		case "channelRenderer": # channels in search results
+
+			avatars = ythdd_extractor.generateChannelAvatarsFromUrl(safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "thumbnail", "thumbnails", 0, "url"], default=DEFAULT_AVATAR))
+			description, description_html = parseDescriptionSnippet(safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "descriptionSnippet", "runs"], default=[]))
+			isVerified = ythdd_extractor.isVerified(safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "ownerBadges", 0], default=[]))
+
+			ythdd_globals.print_debug("channelRenderer fired")
+			return {
+				"type": "channel",
+				"author": safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "title", "simpleText"], default="Unknown channel"),
+				"authorId": safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "channelId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID"),
+				"authorUrl": "/channel/" + safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "channelId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID"),
+				"authorVerified": isVerified,
+				"authorThumbnails": avatars,
+				"autoGenerated": False,
+				"subCount": parseViewsFromViewText(safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "videoCountText", "simpleText"], default="0 subscribers")),
+				"videoCount": 0,
+				"channelHandle": safeTraverse(entry, ["channelRenderer", "navigationEndpoint", "browseEndpoint", "canonicalBaseUrl"], default="/@ythdd_unknown_handle")[1:],
+				"description": description,
+				"descriptionHtml": description_html
+			}
+
+		case "playlistVideoRenderer":
+			# used by all content inside of playlists which have at least one non-shorts video/livestream
+
+			video_id       = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "videoId"], default="UnknownVideoId")
+			title          = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "title", "runs", 0, "text"], default="Unknown video title")
+			author_ucid    = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "shortBylineText", "runs", 0, "navigationEndpoint", "browseEndpoint", "browseId"])
+			author_name    = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "shortBylineText", "runs", 0, "text"], default="Unknown author")
+			video_index    = int(safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "index", "simpleText"], default="1")) - 1
+			length         = parseLengthFromTimeBadge(safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "lengthText", "simpleText"], default="0:0"))
+			published_date = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "videoInfo", "runs", -1, "text"], default="2000-01-01")
+			published_date = published_date.removeprefix("Streamed ").removeprefix(" watching")
+
+			# handle livestreams
+			if not published_date:
+				published_date = "now"
+
+			if author_ucid is None:
+				# likely a collaborative video, let's try
+				# to fetch the uploader's ucid with that in mind
+				livm = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "shortBylineText", "runs", 0, "navigationEndpoint", "showDialogCommand", "panelLoadingStrategy", "inlineContent", "dialogViewModel", "customContent", "listViewModel", "listItems"], default=[])
+				# name extraction logic the same as in videoRenderer
+				all_authors = []
+				for collaborative_author in livm:
+					collaborative_author_name = safeTraverse(collaborative_author, ["listItemViewModel", "title", "content"])
+					if collaborative_author_name is not None:
+						all_authors.append(collaborative_author_name)
+				if all_authors != []:
+					author_name = ", ".join(all_authors)
+				author_ucid = safeTraverse(livm, [0, "listItemViewModel", "title", "commandRuns", 0, "onTap", "innertubeCommand", "browseEndpoint", "browseId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID")
+
+			# surprisingly, innertube responds with the avatar of the user that added the video to the playlist
+			# we can extract that information, e.g. for yattee to display
+			avatar_url = safeTraverse(entry, ["playlistVideoRenderer", "thumbnailOverlays", ..., "thumbnailOverlayAvatarStackViewModel", "avatarStack", "avatarStackViewModel", "avatars", 0, "avatarViewModel", "image", "sources", 0, "url"])
+			avatars = None if avatar_url is None else ythdd_extractor.generateChannelAvatarsFromUrl(avatar_url)
+
+			ythdd_globals.print_debug("playlistVideoRenderer fired")
+			return {
+				"type": "video",
+				"title": title,
+				"videoId": video_id,
+				"author": author_name,
+				"authorId": author_ucid,
+				"authorUrl": "/channel/" + author_ucid,
+				"authorThumbnails": avatars,
+				"videoThumbnails": ythdd_struct_builder.genThumbs(video_id),
+				"index": video_index,
+				"lengthSeconds": length,
+				"liveNow": False, # todo: check this?
+				# these do not need to be returned, but some clients try to read it
+				# so we return an approximation here:
+				"published": int(dateparser.parse(published_date).timestamp()),
+				"publishedText": published_date
+			}
+
+		case _:
+			print("received an entry of unknown type (thus can't be parsed):")
+			print(entry)
+			print("")
+			# breakpoint()
+			return
+
+def customCommentRendererParser(comment: dict, context: dict = {}) -> dict:
+
+	cep            = safeTraverse(comment, ["payload", "commentEntityPayload"], default={})
+	content        = safeTraverse(cep, ["properties", "content", "content"], default="")
+	content_html   = escape(content).replace("\r\n", "<br>").replace("\n", "<br>")
+	author         = safeTraverse(cep, ["author"], default={})
+	verified       = safeTraverse(author, ["isVerified"], default=False) or safeTraverse(author, ["isArtist"], default=False)
+	ucid           = safeTraverse(author, ["channelId"], default="UNKNOWNCHANNELID")
+	published_date = safeTraverse(cep, ["properties", "publishedTime"], default="now")
+	edited         = False
+
+	if published_date.endswith(" (edited)"):
+		edited = True
+		published_date_unix = int(dateparser.parse(published_date.removesuffix(" (edited)")).timestamp())
+	else:
+		published_date_unix = int(dateparser.parse(published_date).timestamp())
+
+	inv_comment = {
+		"authorId": ucid,
+		"authorUrl": "/channel/" + ucid,
+		"author": safeTraverse(author, ["displayName"], default="@ythdd-unknown-user"),
+		"verified": verified,
+		"authorThumbnails": ythdd_extractor.generateChannelAvatarsFromUrl(safeTraverse(author, ["avatarThumbnailUrl"], default=DEFAULT_AVATAR)), # proxy them!
+		"authorIsChannelOwner": safeTraverse(author, ["isCreator"], default=False), # ???
+		"isSponsor": False, # not sure how to retrieve this
+		"likeCount": parseViewsFromViewText("0" + safeTraverse(cep, ["toolbar", "likeCountNotliked"], default="0") + " likes"),
+		"isPinned": False,
+		"commentId": safeTraverse(cep, ["properties", "commentId"], default="UNKNOWNCOMMENTID"),
+		"content": content,
+		"contentHtml": content_html,
+		"isEdited": edited,
+		"published": published_date_unix,
+		"publishedText": published_date if published_date != "now" else "unknown amount of time ago"
+	}
+
+	if "replies" in comment:
+		inv_comment["replies"] = comment["replies"]
+
+	return inv_comment
+
+def parseDescriptionSnippet(snippet: list):
+
+	text = ""
+	text_html = ""
+	for entry in snippet:
+		text += entry["text"]
+		if "bold" in entry: # is checking entry["bold"] == True necessary?
+			text_html += "<b>" + entry["text"] + "</b>"
+		else:
+			text_html += entry["text"]
+	text_html = escape(text_html).replace("\r\n", "<br>").replace("\n", "<br>")
+
+	return text, text_html
+
+def runsToText(runs: list, default: str = "") -> str:
+	# "default" will be returned when text extraction fails.
+	extracted_text = ""
+
+	for field in runs:
+		extracted_text += safeTraverse(field, ["text"], default="")
+
+	if extracted_text:
+		return extracted_text
+
+	return default
+
+def extractTextFromSimpleOrRuns(obj: dict, default: str = "") -> str:
+	# Extracts the text both from "runs" and "simpleText"
+	# with failsafe to default.
+	text = default
+	if not isinstance(obj, dict):
+		return default
+	if "runs" in obj:
+		text = runsToText(obj["runs"])
+	elif "simpleText" in obj:
+		text = obj["simpleText"]
+	else:
+		print(f"error(extractTextFromSimpleOrRuns): text extraction failed for {obj}")
+	return text
+
+
+def findNearestResolution(width: int, height: int) -> int:
+	# Finds the nearest standard resolution (one of 144p, 240p, ...)
+	# So far only used for Yattee, as it has trouble playing anything
+	# without one of the standard resolutions. Playback on other
+	# clients is unaffected.
+
+	# failsafe behaviour
+	try:
+		width  = int(width)
+		height = int(height)
+		res    = min(width, height)
+	except:
+		return 360
+
+	standard_resolutions = [144, 240, 360, 720, 1080, 2160, 4320]
+	if res in standard_resolutions:
+		return res
+
+	# calculate relative distance to one of the standard resolutions
+	res_normalized = [abs(1 - (x / res)) for x in standard_resolutions]
+	# pick the one where the distance is the smallest
+	target_index = res_normalized.index(min(res_normalized))
+	target_res = standard_resolutions[target_index]
+
+	return target_res
+
+def parseFormatStreams(wdata_fstream: dict, ydata_stream: dict) -> dict:
+
+	try:
+		stream_url = ydata_stream["url"]
+	except:
+		ythdd_globals.print_debug( "could not extract format stream URL from yt-dlp response:")
+		ythdd_globals.print_debug(f"wdata: {wdata_fstream}")
+		ythdd_globals.print_debug(f"ydata: {ydata_stream}")
+
+	fstream = {
+		"url": stream_url,
+		"itag": str(wdata_fstream["itag"]),
+		"type": wdata_fstream["mimeType"],
+		"quality": wdata_fstream["quality"],
+		"bitrate": str(wdata_fstream["bitrate"]),
+		"fps": wdata_fstream["fps"],
+		"size": f"{wdata_fstream['width']}x{wdata_fstream['height']}",
+		"resolution": f"{findNearestResolution(wdata_fstream['width'], wdata_fstream['height'])}p", # possibly not really needed here
+		"qualityLabel": wdata_fstream["qualityLabel"],
+		"container": safeTraverse(FORMATS.get(wdata_fstream["itag"]), [   "ext"], default="mp4"), # invidious_formats
+		"encoding":  safeTraverse(FORMATS.get(wdata_fstream["itag"]), ["vcodec"], default="mp4") # invidious_formats
+	}
+	
+	
+	return fstream
+
+def parseAdaptiveStreams(wdata_astream: dict, ydata_stream: dict) -> dict:
+
+	try:
+		stream_url = ydata_stream["url"]
+	except:
+		ythdd_globals.print_debug( "could not extract adaptive stream URL from yt-dlp response:")
+		ythdd_globals.print_debug(f"wdata: {wdata_fstream}")
+		ythdd_globals.print_debug(f"ydata: {ydata_stream}")
+
+	astream_common = {
+		"init":  f"{wdata_astream[ 'initRange']['start']}-{wdata_astream[ 'initRange']['end']}",
+		"index": f"{wdata_astream['indexRange']['start']}-{wdata_astream['indexRange']['end']}",
+		"bitrate": str(wdata_astream["bitrate"]),
+		"url": stream_url,
+		"itag": str(wdata_astream["itag"]),
+		"type": wdata_astream["mimeType"],
+		"clen": wdata_astream["contentLength"],
+		"lmt": wdata_astream["lastModified"],
+		"projectionType": wdata_astream["projectionType"],
+		"container": safeTraverse(FORMATS.get(wdata_astream["itag"]), [   "ext"], default="mp4"), # invidious_formats
+		"encoding":  safeTraverse(FORMATS.get(wdata_astream["itag"]), ["vcodec"], default="mp4")  # invidious_formats
+	}
+
+	isVideo = True
+	if "audioQuality" in wdata_astream:
+		isVideo = False
+
+	if isVideo:
+		astream = astream_common
+		# video-specific metadata
+		astream["fps"]          = wdata_astream["fps"]
+		astream["size"]         = f"{wdata_astream['width']}x{wdata_astream['height']}"
+		astream["resolution"]   = f"{findNearestResolution(wdata_astream['width'], wdata_astream['height'])}p"
+		astream["qualityLabel"] = wdata_astream["qualityLabel"]
+		astream["colorInfo"]    = safeTraverse(wdata_astream, ["colorInfo"])
+	else:
+		astream = astream_common
+		# audio-specific metadata
+		astream["encoding"]        = safeTraverse(FORMATS.get(wdata_astream["itag"]), ["acodec"], default="mp4")
+		astream["audioQuality"]    =     wdata_astream["audioQuality"],
+		astream["audioSampleRate"] = int(wdata_astream["audioSampleRate"]),
+		astream["audioChannels"]   =     wdata_astream["audioChannels"]
+
+	return astream
+