Skip to main content
OpenTogetherTube supports a wide variety of video platforms and media formats, allowing you to watch synchronized content from multiple sources.

​
Video Platforms

YouTube

Most popular video platform with full playlist and channel support

Vimeo

Professional video hosting with high-quality content

Direct Media

MP4, WebM, and other direct video file URLs

Google Drive

Videos hosted on Google Drive (requires API key)

PeerTube

Decentralized video platform support

HLS Streams

HTTP Live Streaming (m3u8 playlists)

DASH Streams

Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (mpd manifests)

​
Platform Capabilities

Each platform has different capabilities and requirements:
PlatformCollectionsSearchAPI KeyCache Safe
YouTubeYes (Playlists, Channels)YesRequiredYes
VimeoNoNoNoNo
Direct MediaNoNoNoNo
HLSNoNoNoNo
DASHNoNoNoNo
Google DriveYes (Folders)NoRequiredNo
PeerTubeNoNoNoNo
Cache Safe indicates whether video metadata can be safely cached long-term without becoming stale.

​
How Platform Detection Works

When you add a video URL to a room, OpenTogetherTube automatically detects which platform to use based on the URL pattern. Each service adapter checks if it can handle the URL:
  1. URL is parsed and validated
  2. Each service adapter’s canHandleURL() method is checked
  3. First matching adapter is used to fetch video metadata
  4. Video is added to the room queue

​
Supported URL Patterns

​
YouTube

  • https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  • https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
  • https://youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
  • https://youtube.com/live/VIDEO_ID
  • https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID
  • https://youtube.com/@HANDLE
  • https://youtube.com/channel/CHANNEL_ID
  • https://youtube.com/c/CUSTOM_URL
  • https://youtube.com/user/USERNAME

​
Vimeo

  • https://vimeo.com/VIDEO_ID

​
Direct Media

  • Any URL ending in: .mp4, .webm, .mkv, .avi, .mov, .flv, .ogv, .m4v, .mp3, .ogg
  • HLS: .m3u8, .m3u
  • DASH: .mpd

​
Google Drive

  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID/view
  • https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/FOLDER_ID

​
PeerTube

  • Configurable instance URLs: https://INSTANCE_HOST/w/VIDEO_ID

​
Adding New Videos

To add a video to your room:
  1. Copy the video URL from the platform
  2. Paste it into the “Add video” input
  3. OpenTogetherTube will automatically fetch metadata
  4. The video is added to the queue
For playlists and channels, a preview of multiple videos will be shown before adding them to the queue.

​
Limitations

Some platforms have specific limitations:
  • YouTube: Livestreams are not supported
  • Vimeo: Videos with embedding disabled cannot be played
  • Direct Media: Local file URLs are blocked for security
  • PeerTube: Only configured instances are allowed

​
Configuration

Some platforms require API keys or additional configuration. See the Configuration Guide for details on:
  • Setting up YouTube API keys
  • Configuring Google Drive access
  • Enabling PeerTube instances
  • Adjusting ffprobe strategies for direct media

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us