Temporary installation guide for Invidious companion

After installation take a look at the Post-install steps.

Note: Any PaaS or SaaS provider/software (Heroku, YunoHost, Repli...) are unsupported. Use them at your own risk. They WILL cause problems with Invidious and might even suspend your account for "abuse" since Invidious is heavy, bandwidth intensive and technically a proxy (and most providers don't like them). If you use one and want to report an issue, please mention which one you use.

WARNING about this doc

This documentation is temporary and will explain you how to test Invidious companion. Make sure to subscribe to the issue 4734 where you will be alerted once Invidious companion is available in a stable release of Invidious!

Because once it is in stable release the special docker tag ":companion" WON'T be updated anymore!

And if you are using a reverse proxy then make sure to read again the post install because you have new routes to add!

Hardware requirements

Running Invidious requires at least 20GB disk space, 512MB of free RAM (so ~2G installed on the system), as long as it is restarted regularly, as recommended in the post-install configuration. Public instances should ideally have at least 60G disk space, 4GB of RAM, 2vCPU, a 200 mbps link and 20TB of traffic (no data cap/unlimited traffic is preferred).

Compiling Invidious requires at least 2.5GB of free RAM (We recommend to have at least 4GB installed). If you have less (e.g on a cheap VPS) you can setup a SWAP file or partition, so the combined amount is >= 4GB.

You need at least 1GB of RAM for the machine that will run the tool youtube-trusted-session-generator in the 1st step. Doesn't need to be the same machine as the one running Invidious, just a machine running on the same public IP address.

Docker

The Invidious docker image is only available on Quay because, unlike Docker Hub, Quay is Free and Open Source Software. This is reflected in the docker-compose.yml file used in this walk-through.

Ensure Docker Engine and Docker Compose are installed before beginning.

Docker-compose method (production)

This method uses the pre-built Docker image from quay

Note: Currently the repository has to be cloned, this is because the init-invidious-db.sh file and the config/sql directory have to be mounted to the postgres container (See the volumes section in the docker-compose file below). This "problem" will be solved in the future.

Make sure to run the newer Docker Compose V2: https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/linux/. It should already be installed if you can successfully run the command docker compose (with a space between the two words).

Execute these commands:

git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious.git
cd invidious

Assign the correct permissions to Invidious companion for the cache directory:

mkdir -p /var/tmp/youtubei.js
chown 10001:10001 -R /var/tmp/youtubei.js

Edit the docker-compose.yml with this content:

version: "3"
services:

  invidious:
    image: quay.io/invidious/invidious:companion
    # image: quay.io/invidious/invidious:companion-arm64 # ARM64/AArch64 devices
    restart: unless-stopped
    # Remove "127.0.0.1:" if used from an external IP
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"
    environment:
      # Please read the following file for a comprehensive list of all available
      # configuration options and their associated syntax:
      # https://github.com/iv-org/invidious/blob/master/config/config.example.yml
      INVIDIOUS_CONFIG: |
        db:
          dbname: invidious
          user: kemal
          password: kemal
          host: invidious-db
          port: 5432
        check_tables: true
        invidious_companion:
        # URL used for the internal communication between invidious and invidious companion
        - private_url: "http://companion:8282/"
        # (public) URL used for the communication between your browser and invidious companion
        # IF you are using a reverse proxy OR accessing invidious from an external IP then you NEED to change this value
        # Please consult for more doc: https://github.com/unixfox/invidious/blob/invidious-companion/config/config.example.yml#L57-L88
          public_url: "http://localhost:8282/"
        # IT is NOT recommended to use the same key as HMAC KEY. Generate a new key!
        invidious_companion_key: "CHANGE_ME!!"
        # external_port:
        # domain:
        # https_only: false
        # statistics_enabled: false
        hmac_key: "CHANGE_ME!!"
    healthcheck:
      test: wget -nv --tries=1 --spider http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/v1/trending || exit 1
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 2
    logging:
      options:
        max-size: "1G"
        max-file: "4"
    depends_on:
      - invidious-db

  companion:
    image: quay.io/invidious/invidious-companion:latest
    environment:
      - SERVER_SECRET_KEY=CHANGE_ME!!SAME_AS_INVIDIOUS_COMPANION_SECRET_KEY_FROM_INVIDIOUS_CONFIG 
    # SET this value IF you are using a reverse proxy OR accessing invidious from an external IP.
    # Please consult for more doc: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion/wiki/Environment-variables
    #  - SERVER_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8282
    restart: unless-stopped
    # Remove "127.0.0.1:" if used from an external IP
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8282:8282"
    logging:
      options:
        max-size: "1G"
        max-file: "4"
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    read_only: true
    user: 10001:10001
    # cache for youtube library
    volumes:
      - /var/tmp/youtubei.js:/var/tmp/youtubei.js:rw
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true

  invidious-db:
    image: docker.io/library/postgres:14
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - postgresdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./config/sql:/config/sql
      - ./docker/init-invidious-db.sh:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init-invidious-db.sh
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: invidious
      POSTGRES_USER: kemal
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: kemal
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U $$POSTGRES_USER -d $$POSTGRES_DB"]

volumes:
  postgresdata:

Note: This compose is made for a true "production" setup, where Invidious is behind a reverse proxy. If you prefer to directly access Invidious, replace 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 with 3000:3000 under the ports: section.

Run the docker composition:

docker compose up -d

Docker-compose method (development)

This method builds a Docker image from source

git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious.git
cd invidious
docker-compose up

Manual Installation

Linux

Install Crystal

Follow the instructions for your distribution here: https://crystal-lang.org/install/

Note: Invidious currently supports the following Crystal versions: 1.10.x / 1.11.x / 1.12.x. \ Versions 1.9.x and older are incompatible because we use features only present in the newer versions. \ Versions 1.13.x should be compatible, however we did not test it.

Install the dependencies

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S base-devel librsvg postgresql ttf-opensans

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install libssl-dev libxml2-dev libyaml-dev libgmp-dev libreadline-dev postgresql librsvg2-bin libsqlite3-dev zlib1g-dev libpcre3-dev libevent-dev fonts-open-sans

RHEL based and RHEL-like systems (RHEL, Fedora, AlmaLinux, RockyLinux...)

sudo dnf install -y openssl-devel libevent-devel libxml2-devel libyaml-devel gmp-devel readline-devel postgresql librsvg2-devel sqlite-devel zlib-devel gcc  open-sans-fonts

Add an Invidious user and clone the repository

useradd -m invidious
su - invidious
git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
exit

Set up PostgreSQL

systemctl enable --now postgresql
sudo -i -u postgres
psql -c "CREATE USER kemal WITH PASSWORD 'kemal';" # Change 'kemal' here to a stronger password, and update `password` in config/config.yml
createdb -O kemal invidious
exit

Set up Invidious

su - invidious
cd invidious
make

# Configure config/config.yml as you like
cp config/config.example.yml config/config.yml 

# edit config.yaml to include invidious companion

edit config/config.yaml

add:
invidious_companion:
  # URL used for the internal communication between invidious and invidious companion
  - private_url: "http://companion:8282/"
  # (public) URL used for the communication between your browser and invidious companion
  # IF you are using a reverse proxy OR accessing invidious from an external IP then you NEED to change this value
  # Please consult for more doc: https://github.com/unixfox/invidious/blob/invidious-companion/config/config.example.yml#L57-L88
    public_url: "http://localhost:8282/"
# IT is NOT recommended to use the same key as HMAC KEY. Generate a new key!
invidious_companion_key: "CHANGE_ME!!"

# Deploy the database
./invidious --migrate

exit

Systemd service for Invidious

cp /home/invidious/invidious/invidious.service /etc/systemd/system/invidious.service
systemctl enable --now invidious.service

Set up Invidious companion

wget https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion???

# or compile it using https://docs.deno.com/runtime/
git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion.git
deno compile

# launch it manually
SERVER_SECRET_KEY=CHANGE_ME!!SAME_AS_INVIDIOUS_COMPANION_SECRET_KEY_FROM_INVIDIOUS_CONFIG ./invidious-companion

You can optionally launch it using SERVER_BASE_URL if you are using a reverse proxy or an external IP.

See more docs about the environment variables: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion/wiki/Environment-variables

# OR create a new systemd service for running it in background
# TODO systemd service not yet available
# https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion/issues/3
sudo wget https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion/raw/refs/heads/master/systemd.service -O /etc/systemd/systemd/invidious-companion.service
sudo systemctl enable --now invidious.service

MacOS

Install the dependencies

brew update
brew install crystal postgresql imagemagick librsvg

Clone the Invidious repository

git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious
cd invidious

Set up PostgreSQL

brew services start postgresql
createdb
psql -c "CREATE ROLE kemal WITH LOGIN PASSWORD 'kemal';" # Change 'kemal' here to a stronger password, and update `password` in config/config.yml
createdb -O kemal invidious
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/channels.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/videos.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/channel_videos.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/users.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/session_ids.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/nonces.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/annotations.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/playlists.sql
psql invidious kemal < config/sql/playlist_videos.sql

Set up Invidious

make

# Configure config/config.yml as you like
cp config/config.example.yml config/config.yml

# edit config.yaml to include invidious companion

edit config/config.yaml

add:
invidious_companion:
  # URL used for the internal communication between invidious and invidious companion
  - private_url: "http://companion:8282/"
  # (public) URL used for the communication between your browser and invidious companion
  # IF you are using a reverse proxy OR accessing invidious from an external IP then you NEED to change this value
  # Please consult for more doc: https://github.com/unixfox/invidious/blob/invidious-companion/config/config.example.yml#L57-L88
    public_url: "http://localhost:8282/"
invidious_companion_key: "CHANGE_ME!!"

# launch invidious
./invidious

Set up Invidious companion

wget https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion???

# or compile it using https://docs.deno.com/runtime/
git clone https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion.git
deno compile

# launch it
SERVER_SECRET_KEY=CHANGE_ME!!SAME_AS_INVIDIOUS_COMPANION_SECRET_KEY_FROM_INVIDIOUS_CONFIG ./invidious-companion

You can optionally launch it using SERVER_BASE_URL if you are using a reverse proxy or an external IP.

See more docs about the environment variables: https://github.com/iv-org/invidious-companion/wiki/Environment-variables

Windows

Crystal, the programming language used by Invidious, doesn't officially support Windows yet but you can still install Invidious:

By installing Docker desktop and then following our guide about Docker.
By installing Windows Subsystem for Linux and then following our guide about Linux.
By installing Windows-specific builds of Crystal. Be wary, as we don't currently have records of Invidious being tested on those "unsupported" builds yet.

Post-install configuration:

Detailed configuration available in the configuration guide.

You must set a random generated value for the parameter hmac_key:! On Linux you can generate it using the command pwgen 20 1.

Because of various issues, Invidious must be restarted often, at least once a day, ideally every hour.

If you use a reverse proxy, you must configure Invidious to properly serve request through it:

https_only: true : if you are serving your instance via https, set it to true

domain: domain.ext: if you are serving your instance via a domain name, set it here

external_port: 443: if you are serving your instance via https, set it to 443

use_pubsub_feeds: true: if you are serving your instance on the internet, allow for faster notification of new videos (detailed explanation).

use_innertube_for_captions: true: if you are serving a public instance or you are hosting Invidious in a datacenter, allow to unblock captions (detailed explanation).

AND make sure to add these new routes into your reverse proxy, example in various reverse proxy:

Update Invidious

Updating a Docker install

docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d
docker image prune -f

Update a manual install

su - invidious
cd invidious
git pull
make
exit
systemctl restart invidious.service

Usage:

./invidious

Logrotate configuration

echo "/home/invidious/invidious/invidious.log {
rotate 4
weekly
notifempty
missingok
compress
minsize 1048576
}" | tee /etc/logrotate.d/invidious.logrotate
chmod 0644 /etc/logrotate.d/invidious.logrotate