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u/Fun_Catch8741

▲ 3 r/Rural_Internet

I built a Chrome extension called ForgePlay mainly for people dealing with unstable or slow internet connections.

Instead of constantly streaming directly from YouTube, ForgePlay locally caches the video while it plays. Once playback starts, rewinding/replaying is much smoother, and videos can often continue playing even if your connection drops afterward.

I originally made it because I was getting tired of:

  • buffering
  • random quality drops
  • unstable mobile/rural internet

It has been especially useful on weaker WiFi and LTE where normal YouTube playback struggles.

Current features:

  • local video caching
  • smoother replay/seeking
  • Chrome extension integration
  • lightweight background helper
  • open source
  • automatic startup support
  • Windows installer

A couple things to know:

  • initial playback speed depends on your internet because the video needs time to cache locally
  • please be patient after clicking a video
  • avoid repeatedly clicking while waiting or multiple tabs/downloads may open

Still early, but it’s working surprisingly well so far.

GitHub:
https://github.com/us74k5/forgeplay/releases/

Chrome Extension:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/blajipppfpmpaihhhkjmigapehckddie

u/Fun_Catch8741 — 4 days ago
▲ 1 r/chrome_extensions

I made a local-first YouTube playback extension for Chrome

Hey everyone, I built a Chrome extension called ForgePlay that routes YouTube playback through a lightweight local helper app instead of normal browser streaming. I have very poor internet access and this allows me to watch youtube videos once they have been cached locally to my machine. This is my first program / app / extension I have ever made and would appreciate feedback!

Architecture is:

Chrome Extension
→ local helper on 127.0.0.1
→ yt-dlp backend
→ local playback tab

Features currently working:

  • one-click Windows installer
  • Chrome Web Store extension
  • local video playback
  • automatic caching
  • autoplay support
  • background helper/tray app
  • automatic startup with Windows
  • localhost API architecture
  • open source

The helper is built with:

  • FastAPI
  • yt-dlp
  • PyInstaller
  • Inno Setup

My main goal was to create a more local first playback experience that feels integrated directly into Chrome rather than manually downloading videos.

It’s still early, but the Windows build/install flow is now stable enough for outside testing. Download the ForgePlaySetup.exe all in one installer.

Would appreciate feedback from people who use:

  • yt-dlp
  • local-first tooling
  • media helpers
  • Chrome playback extensions

GitHub:
https://github.com/us74k5/forgeplay/releases/

Chrome Web Store:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/blajipppfpmpaihhhkjmigapehckddie

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u/Fun_Catch8741 — 4 days ago