loosetube

Loosetube is a free and open-source video hosting and streaming platform designed for self-hosting and privacy-conscious sharing. It provides a web-based front end and a backend capable of storing, encoding, and delivering video content over standard HTTP streaming protocols such as HLS and DASH. The project emphasizes user ownership of data, optional telemetry, and the ability to run on commodity hardware or in containerized environments.

History and development of Loosetube began with a volunteer developer collective in 2018. The first public release appeared later that year, followed by major updates in 2020 and 2022 that added pluggable authentication, modular storage backends, and improved streaming performance. Governance for the project was moved to a community council in 2023, with contributed documentation, bug bounty programs, and clearer contribution guidelines.

Architecture and features include a modular server that can be extended with plug-ins for storage backends (local disk, network file system, or object storage), authentication, and content moderation workflows. It ships with a responsive admin panel, a user-facing gallery, transcoding pipelines, captions support, and an API for external applications. The platform provides access controls, search indexing, and basic analytics while prioritizing data ownership for the host system.

Licensing and availability: Loosetube is released under an open-source license with permissive terms (such as MIT or Apache 2.0). It offers Docker images and deployment templates, along with documentation and community forums to assist installation and customization.

Reception and use: Loosetube appeals to schools, hobbyists, and small media organizations seeking a self-hosted solution. Critics note potential fragmentation, the need for technical expertise, and moderation challenges for larger communities. It is often preferred by users prioritizing local control and privacy over turnkey scalability.