Add cookies to yt-dlp config and docker env

[vinybrun]

Description

Hello,

This PR addresses YouTube imports failing due to bot detection.

Specifically:

• Adds a wrapper to pass a cookies file to yt-dlp/youtube-dl using the --cookies argument
• Adds import/yt-dlp config to the Docker .env

For context, I work for a company that hosts PeerTube (and other software) for content creators, and we sync their content from YouTube to PeerTube for redundancy.

I found several related issues here (#5688, #6864, #6522, #6494) and on yt-dlp’s repository (yt-dlp/yt-dlp#16212, yt-dlp/yt-dlp#10128, yt-dlp/yt-dlp#16147).

After reviewing them, I tested a few approaches:

• It seems YouTube changed their bot detection logic about two weeks ago. My IPs were quickly flagged, and reports of failures increased. I tried using a proxy on a VPS from another provider; it worked for about a day before being blocked as well.
• In the following week, yt-dlp updated its challenge-solving dependency, which reportedly helped. However, by then all my IPs were blocked, and I didn’t want to keep rotating VPS proxies without knowing how long they would last.
• PeerTube already pulls the latest yt-dlp version, which is great, but with blocked IPs, imports still failed.

I tried the approach suggested on this comment: #6522 (comment)

The wrapper worked, but since PeerTube overwrites the yt-dlp binary, it was only a temporary fix.

Then I created a patch in one of my instances to add the --cookies argument to the compiled PeerTube JS files, and it worked.

Since that approach was also temporary, and this may help others, I turned it into this PR.

Disclaimer: this PR was created with AI (ChatGPT Codex). I reviewed all files manually and made adjustments for maintainability and consistency. I also ran unit tests and tested imports with cookies in both a local dev environment and Docker; all succeeded.

Functionality: when cookies are enabled in the config, imports use yt-dlp with the --cookies argument pointing to the configured file.

---

I chose to create the cookies file at server startup, but I’m not sure if that’s the best approach.

I initially exposed the cookies file path, but ended up using a fixed path and creating the file automatically, so users only need to populate it.

I'm unsure about the paths and config names I chose (especially import in the storage folder). Those can be altered for better clarity if needed. Suggestions are welcome.

Known limitations:

• Cookies expire, so they must be refreshed periodically (or synced via a script from a browser).
• Cookies are applied instance-wide. This suits instances with disabled registration and tighter control over imports. This trade-off was discussed in yt-dlp rate limit #5688, but I think an instance-wide option is still useful given its low complexity compared to per-user solutions.
• YouTube may take action against the account associated with the cookies (e.g., bans).
• Cookies improve reliability but may not always guarantee successful imports.

This topic has been discussed for a while, so I expect others may have input. Happy to adjust anything if needed. Thanks.

Related issues

#5688, #6864, #6522, #6494

Has this been tested?

• 👍 yes, I added tests to the test suite
• 💭 no, because this PR is a draft and still needs work
• 🙅 no, because this PR does not update server code
• 🙋 no, because I need help

[Chocobozzz]

Thank you! From our experience using many ISP/residential for import.videos.http.proxies option helps a lot, but this method can also help to bypass blocked videos.

[vinybrun]

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, I'll implement the changes soon.

[vinybrun]

Hi @Chocobozzz

I implemented the changes you pointed in your review, and they really improved the code quality. It looks much cleaner now. I tested again in a local install and docker and all looks good.

Also created a Merge Request for the docs on Framagit: https://framagit.org/framasoft/peertube/documentation/-/merge_requests/165

If I missed anything or if you have any other suggestions, just let me know and I'll be happy to adjust it.