README: retire torttube, point to pv.youtube + siku2/script.service.sponsorblock

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Kayos 2026-05-23 16:55:05 -07:00
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# torttube
# torttube — RETIRED 2026-05-23
Kodi addon for YouTube via [RustyPipe](https://codeberg.org/ThetaDev/rustypipe)
extraction + [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app/) segment skipping.
This addon has been retired. We reinvented an existing wheel.
Replaces the dead `plugin.video.youtube` on LibreELEC RPi TVs after Google
required account-linking for the upstream addon.
**Use these instead, both via official sources:**
## Architecture
- [`plugin.video.youtube`](https://github.com/anxdpanic/plugin.video.youtube) — playback. Has years of work on multi-Innertube-client fallback and proper DASH MPD construction.
- [`script.service.sponsorblock`](https://github.com/siku2/script.service.sponsorblock) — SponsorBlock skips for ALL YouTube playback in Kodi, including phone-cast. Polished settings UI, multi-backend support (pv.youtube, Invidious, Piped, sendtokodi), works silently in the background.
```
Kodi (LibreELEC, RPi)
└── plugin.video.torttube [Python addon — UI, browse, SponsorBlock]
├── torttube-sidecar [Rust binary — JSON-over-stdio]
│ ├── rustypipe [Native Rust Innertube for browse]
│ ├── yt-dlp subprocess [Fallback resolve]
│ └── sponsorblock [REST client, SHA-256 prefix lookup]
└── plugin.video.youtube [DEPENDENCY — handles HD playback]
└── inputstream.adaptive [DASH demux + decode]
```
## What torttube was
`plugin.video.youtube` is declared as a Kodi addon dependency in
[addon.xml](addon/plugin.video.torttube/addon.xml). When a user installs
torttube, Kodi auto-fetches pv.youtube from the official Kodi addon
repository — user only manages torttube; the dep is transparent.
A LibreELEC Kodi addon for the home TVs — Rust sidecar (`rustypipe` + `yt-dlp` + SponsorBlock client) + Python plugin UI for browse/search/channels/subscriptions/watch-later. Built across 2026-05-23 in response to YouTube blocking anonymous playback on Kodi via `plugin.video.youtube`.
torttube does what it's faster at: rustypipe-backed search/channel/playlist
browse, SponsorBlock auto-skip via a tight `xbmc.Player()` monitor loop,
JSON-RPC remote-control for share-to-TV. Playback hands off to
pv.youtube via `plugin://plugin.video.youtube/play/?video_id=<id>`
they've spent years getting the DASH-MPD + multi-client Innertube
fallback right. Our SponsorBlock monitor runs in parallel because
`xbmc.Player()` is a global accessor that works regardless of which
addon initiated playback.
The architecture peaked at v1.0.4:
- Bundled `plugin.video.youtube` 7.4.3 zip + auto-install on first run
- Service-level SponsorBlock for all YouTube playback (including phone cast)
- Rustypipe-backed browse UI (search / channels / subs / WL)
- Native DASH MPD path (parked — audio-sync drift on long videos)
- yt-dlp progressive 360p fallback
Kodi addons are Python — the engine layer (n-param sig decoding, Innertube,
SponsorBlock hashing) lives in a Rust sidecar so we get a single maintained
extraction surface and clean aarch64/armv7 cross-compiles.
By the time v1.0.4 shipped, every job we did had an existing addon doing it better:
- Playback: pv.youtube (we were already delegating to it 100% of the time)
- SponsorBlock-for-all-YT-playback: `script.service.sponsorblock` (we wrote essentially the same code as their `Monitor` + `PlayerCheckpointListener`)
- The only piece we built that wasn't a duplicate was the rustypipe browse UI — which we only used when navigating torttube on the TV remote, not when casting from the phone
**Three-tier resolve** because YouTube actively fights every extractor:
Lessons in the [v1.0.0 → v1.0.4 commits](/Sulkta-Coop/torttube/commits/branch/main) and [closed PRs](/Sulkta-Coop/torttube/pulls?state=closed).
1. **rustypipe (Rust)** — preferred. Fast, in-process, no Python dep on the RPi.
2. **yt-dlp subprocess** — fallback when rustypipe sig-decoding falls behind YouTube's deobfuscator changes. yt-dlp updates weekly; we shell out, parse `-j` JSON.
3. **Rip-to-temp** — last resort when stream URLs 403 mid-playback (poToken expiry, cookie session mismatch). yt-dlp downloads to `/storage/.kodi/temp/torttube/<id>.<ext>`, Kodi plays the local file. Temp dir has size cap + age cleanup.
## Repo state
## Status
- Latest tag: `v1.0.4`
- Build artifact: `plugin.video.torttube-1.0.4.zip` at `smb://lucy/downloads/torttube/`
- Sidecar Rust source: `sidecar/crates/torttube-sidecar/` (aarch64-musl cross-compile)
- Vendored: `plugin.video.youtube-7.4.3.zip`
M0 scaffold. Nothing playable yet — see [MILESTONES.md](MILESTONES.md).
## Upstream — we fight with the FOSS extractor ecosystem, not next to it
YouTube's anti-scraping changes hit every extractor: NewPipe, yt-dlp, Invidious,
rustypipe. Every fix we make in our sidecar gets evaluated for "is this
upstreamable?" — if yes, the fix lands at the upstream project, not just here.
Active lanes:
- **rustypipe** (Rust, codeberg.org/ThetaDev/rustypipe) — maintenance has slowed.
Open PR #77 "Some fixes" is unmerged as of 2026-05-23. We will either help land
it (review + ping maintainer) or fork to `Sulkta-Coop/rustypipe` if upstream
stays quiet. Forking is the worst case, not the first move.
- **NewPipeExtractor** (Java, github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor) — actively
maintained, 177 open issues. We use it as the reference implementation for
Innertube behaviour. PRs to NPE land in Rust here via rustypipe, and vice
versa.
- **yt-dlp** (Python, github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) — the gold standard. We're more
consumers than contributors here, but if our rip-to-temp tier surfaces a
specific extractor bug we file it.
Issues we're watching:
- [NPE #1339](https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor/issues/1339) — n-parameter deobfuscation
- [NPE #1444](https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor/issues/1444) — distinguish unavailable vs unextractable
- [NPE #1360](https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor/issues/1360) — refactor link handlers (help wanted)
- [NPE #1357](https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor/issues/1357) — JDoc checks in PR pipeline (good first issue)
- [rustypipe PR #77](https://codeberg.org/ThetaDev/rustypipe/pulls/77) — open as of 2026-05-23, unmerged
Contribution log lives at [docs/upstream.md](docs/upstream.md) — every PR we
file lands there with its outcome.
## License
GPL-3.0-or-later. Matches RustyPipe and NewPipeExtractor.
Repo archived on Gitea 2026-05-23.