I wanted to build something small, practical, and useful for everyday media downloads — something that could rip YouTube videos and audio without the usual bloated software or confusing setup.
So I made a simple desktop app called Ripper.
It lets me:
download YouTube videos as MP4
download audio as MP3
extract MP3 from local MP4 files
track progress while the download is happening
choose where files are saved
open the output folder directly from the app
This project is still in progress, but it already works well for a simple use case: getting content off YouTube in a format I actually want.
Why I built it
A lot of download tools feel messy, too heavy, or filled with ads and extra junk. I wanted something lightweight and straightforward.
I also wanted to learn more about:
building a desktop GUI in Python
working with media conversion tools
using a real download engine like yt-dlp
packaging an app for Windows so people can use it without installing a bunch of dependencies
Tech stack
Python
CustomTkinter for the UI
yt-dlp for downloading
The app is intentionally simple:
Paste a YouTube URL
Choose video or audio mode
Click Rip
Save it to your preferred folder
It’s not a huge all-in-one media suite but It’s a focused tool for a common need.
Lessons so far
This project reminded me that building useful tools is often more valuable than over-engineering. A clean interface, a clear workflow, and a real problem to solve matter more than adding too many features too early. This helps me not hit a wall to early.
I also learned how important it is to handle:
download paths cleanly
ffmpeg setup across systems
UI state while jobs are running
making the tool feel reliable instead of fragile
I want to keep improving it by:
adding more site support
improving error handling
making the UI more polished
expanding format options
making the experience smoother for non-technical users
PLZ Try it
If you want to download the zip and try it for yourself, you can grab it here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vy7hFiVNt1nYNkU1Mm83DB8XB9Eqz89O?usp=sharing
i made a quick download video and a full tutorial coming soon
I want to make this absolutely clear: there’s no malicious code in this app. It’s 100% safe. The only reason I’m hosting the ZIP on Google Drive right now is because I’m still figuring out why GitHub won’t let me push it — the project folder is too large, and every time I try to commit changes it fails. I’m working on getting that sorted out, but until then, Google Drive is just the temporary solution.
Please leave any comments and critics, I'm still learning so its nice to know what's wrong before i make it a habit
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