Lodestar

media engine
Your fixed point for pulling video & audio from YouTube, Instagram reels, TikTok & 1,800+ sites.
source
login active
Enter = fetch / search · Ctrl/⌘+Enter = download · ⌘K for commands · works with any yt-dlp-supported site
This source needs your login
Instagram only serves reels to a signed-in session. Three ways to unlock it — all keep your login on this machine, nothing is uploaded to anyone but your own Lodestar server.
1Lodestar extension most reliable
While logged into Instagram, click the extension's Unlock button. It reads the live session cookies your browser already decrypted — the one path that works on Chrome/Edge for Windows.
2Paste cookies.txt
Export with a “Get cookies.txt” browser extension (on instagram.com) and paste below. Stored on your server for this site.
3Read from a browser
Firefox works best on Windows; Chrome/Edge encrypt cookies so they usually can't be read from disk.
Best video
1080p MP4
720p MP4
MP3 320
M4A 256

playlist · pick videos
presets
quality ladder
container
exact format — optional, overrides the ladder
format
bitrate (kbps)
extras
sponsorblock
off
mark
remove
subtitle langs · clip
Network · restricted / locked-down access
On a network that blocks YouTube or throws "failed to extract player response", try Force IPv4 first, then a player client like android,web,tv. Use a proxy if the site itself is blocked, and Insecure TLS only behind a corporate MITM firewall.
Force IPv4 — fixes most extraction errors
Insecure TLS — only behind a MITM proxy
Advanced output
Fine-grained control. Split chapters makes one file per chapter; Normalize loudness evens out volume (audio mode); Rate limit caps bandwidth; Filename uses yt-dlp field syntax.
Split by chapters — one file per chapter
Normalize loudness — audio mode only
Login & cookies · reels / private / age-gated
Borrow a login from a browser you're signed into — needed for Instagram reels, age-restricted YouTube, and private posts you can access. The server reads cookies locally at download time; nothing is uploaded. Or point to an exported cookies.txt.
use login from browser
queue · history
library · on this server
Lodestar · personal use. Download content you own, that is licensed (e.g. Creative Commons), or that you have permission to take. Respect each platform's Terms of Service and others' copyright.