Download audio from YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, SoundCloud, and hundreds of other sites — as MP3 files.

Runs entirely on your computer. No accounts, no third-party services, no rate limits.

Works as a browser extension (Chrome / Brave) or a web app at localhost:3000.

• Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, etc.)
• Node.js 18+ — install here
• Python 3 — usually pre-installed on Linux
• ffmpeg — install with sudo apt install ffmpeg

git clone https://github.com/sergiopesch/mp3.git
cd mp3
./setup.sh

This installs yt-dlp, builds the backend and extension, and starts the server.

1. Open your browser's extensions page:
   • Chrome: type chrome://extensions in the address bar
   • Brave: type brave://extensions in the address bar
2. Turn on Developer mode (toggle in the top-right corner)
3. Click Load unpacked
4. Select the folder: mp3/chrome-extension/dist/
5. Copy the extension ID shown under the extension name (looks like: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdef)

Go back to your terminal and run:

./setup.sh <paste-your-extension-id>

Click the MP3 Extractor icon in your browser toolbar, paste a video URL, and hit Extract Audio. The MP3 downloads automatically.

You can also right-click any link on a page and select Extract Audio.

The backend runs in the background — no terminal needed after setup.

1. You give it a video URL
2. The backend (running on your machine) uses yt-dlp to grab the audio
3. ffmpeg converts it to MP3
4. The file downloads to your computer

Everything stays local. The audio is extracted on your machine and saved to your Downloads folder.

Anything that yt-dlp supports — including:

• YouTube
• TikTok
• Vimeo
• SoundCloud
• Twitter/X
• Instagram
• Reddit
• and hundreds more

You can also use the web interface directly at http://localhost:3000 — paste a URL and download the MP3.

"Backend is offline" in the extension popup

The server isn't running. Click Start Backend in the popup, or run:

systemctl --user start mp3

"Extractor dependencies are missing"

yt-dlp or ffmpeg isn't installed. Re-run ./setup.sh to fix it.

Extension not showing in toolbar

Click the puzzle piece icon in the toolbar and pin MP3 Extractor.

Port 3000 already in use

Another app is using port 3000. Stop it, or edit ~/.config/systemd/user/mp3.service to change the port.

# Stop and remove the background service
systemctl --user stop mp3
systemctl --user disable mp3
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/mp3.service

# Remove native messaging
rm -f ~/.config/google-chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/com.mp3.extractor.json
rm -f ~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/NativeMessagingHosts/com.mp3.extractor.json
rm -f ~/.config/chromium/NativeMessagingHosts/com.mp3.extractor.json

# Remove yt-dlp
rm -rf ~/.local/share/mp3

# Remove the project
cd .. && rm -rf mp3

systemctl --user start mp3     # Start the backend
systemctl --user stop mp3      # Stop the backend
systemctl --user status mp3    # Check if it's running

npm install && npm run build                          # Backend
cd chrome-extension && npm install && npm run build   # Extension