YouTube Cookie Retriever

A robust Node.js application that uses Puppeteer to retrieve YouTube cookies from your Chrome browser, validate login status, and store cookies in a temporary file. Runs on a configurable cron schedule.

Features

• 🔐 Retrieves YouTube cookies from your Chrome browser
• ✅ Validates if you're logged in to YouTube
• 🚪 Gracefully logs out if not logged in
• ⏰ Runs on a configurable cron schedule
• 🔄 Built-in retry mechanism for robustness
• 💾 Stores cookies in a temporary file
• ☁️ Optional AWS S3 upload for cloud storage
• 🛡️ Error handling and graceful shutdown

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• Google Chrome installed
• YouTube account (optional, for logged-in state)

Installation

Option 1: Local Installation

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

Option 2: Docker Installation

1. Build the Docker image:

   docker build -t youtube-cookie-retriever .

2. Run with Docker:

   docker run -d \
     --name youtube-cookie-retriever \
     --env-file .env \
     -e INTERVALS=20 \
     youtube-cookie-retriever

3. Or use Docker Compose:

   docker-compose up -d

   Make sure your .env file is configured with all necessary variables.

Note: In Docker, the application uses Chromium instead of Chrome. The Chrome path detection automatically handles this.

Option 3: Running with PM2 (Recommended for Production)

PM2 is a process manager that keeps your application running continuously, automatically restarts on crashes, and provides monitoring capabilities.

1. Install dependencies (includes PM2):

   npm install

2. Start with PM2:

   npm run pm2:start

3. Useful PM2 commands:

   # View status
   npm run pm2:status
   
   # View logs
   npm run pm2:logs
   
   # Restart the application
   npm run pm2:restart
   
   # Stop the application
   npm run pm2:stop
   
   # Delete from PM2
   npm run pm2:delete
   
   # Monitor (real-time monitoring)
   npm run pm2:monit

4. Save PM2 process list (for auto-start on reboot):

   pm2 save
   pm2 startup

Benefits of PM2:

• ✅ Auto-restart on crashes
• ✅ Auto-restart on system reboot (with pm2 startup)
• ✅ Log management
• ✅ Process monitoring
• ✅ Memory limit protection (auto-restart if memory exceeds 1GB)

Configuration

Using Your Chrome Browser with Login

The application tries multiple methods to use your Chrome browser with your existing login:

Priority Order:

1. Connect to existing Chrome (via remote debugging) - Uses your actual logged-in session
2. Use your Chrome profile - Uses your profile if Chrome is not running
3. Temporary profile - Fallback (requires manual login)

Option 1: Use Existing Chrome Session (Recommended)

This method connects to your already-running Chrome browser with your login:

1. Close Chrome completely (if it's running)
2. Launch Chrome with remote debugging:

   # Easy way - use the helper script:
   ./launch-chrome.sh
   
   # Or manually:
   /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222

3. Log in to YouTube in that Chrome window (if not already logged in)
4. Run the application:

   npm start

The app will connect to your Chrome and retrieve cookies from your logged-in YouTube account.

Option 2: Use Your Chrome Profile (If Chrome is Closed)

If Chrome is not running, the app will automatically use your Chrome profile (which has your login):

1. Make sure Chrome is completely closed
2. Run the application:

   npm start

The app will launch Chrome with your profile and use your existing YouTube login.

Option 3: Temporary Profile (Fallback)

If Chrome is already running and you don't use remote debugging, the app will use a temporary profile. You'll need to log in to YouTube manually in the browser window that opens.

Disable connection to existing Chrome:

CONNECT_TO_EXISTING=false npm start

Custom debug port:

CHROME_DEBUG_PORT=9223 npm start

Cron Schedule

The default cron schedule runs every 6 hours. You can customize it in two ways:

Option 1: Using INTERVALS (Recommended - Easy) Set the interval in minutes using the INTERVALS environment variable:

# Every 20 minutes
INTERVALS=20 npm start

# Every 30 minutes
INTERVALS=30 npm start

# Every 60 minutes (1 hour)
INTERVALS=60 npm start

# In .env file:
INTERVALS=20

Option 2: Using CRON_SCHEDULE (Advanced) For more complex schedules, set the CRON_SCHEDULE environment variable directly:

# Every 30 minutes (for testing)
CRON_SCHEDULE="*/30 * * * *" npm start

# Every 6 hours (default)
CRON_SCHEDULE="0 */6 * * *" npm start

# Every day at midnight
CRON_SCHEDULE="0 0 * * *" npm start

Note: If both INTERVALS and CRON_SCHEDULE are set, INTERVALS takes precedence.

Chrome Path

The application automatically detects Chrome based on your OS:

• macOS: /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome
• Linux: /usr/bin/google-chrome
• Windows: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

If Chrome is installed in a different location, modify the getChromePath() function in index.js.

Usage

Start the application:

npm start

The application will:

1. Run immediately on startup
2. Continue running and execute on the configured cron schedule
3. Store cookies in: /tmp/youtube-cookies.json (or your OS temp directory)

Cookie File Format

Cookies are stored in Netscape HTTP Cookie File format (compatible with curl and other tools).

The file is saved to: /tmp/youtube-cookies.txt (or your OS temp directory)

Format example:

# Netscape HTTP Cookie File
# https://curl.haxx.se/rfc/cookie_spec.html
# This is a generated file! Do not edit.

.youtube.com	TRUE	/	FALSE	0	wide	1
.youtube.com	TRUE	/	TRUE	1797282419	LOGIN_INFO	AFmmF2swRQIhA...

AWS S3 Upload (Optional)

The application can automatically upload cookies to AWS S3 if configured. Set the following environment variables:

export AWS_S3_BUCKET=your-bucket-name
export AWS_S3_KEY=path/to/cookies.txt
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
export AWS_REGION=us-east-1  # Optional, defaults to us-east-1

When these environment variables are set, the application will:

1. Save cookies to the local temp file
2. Automatically upload to S3 at the specified key
3. Replace any existing file at that S3 key

Note: If AWS credentials are not configured, the application will only save locally (no error).

Example format:

YouTube Cookies - Retrieved: 2024-01-01T12:00:00.000Z
================================================================================

Total cookies: 15

Domain: .youtube.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cookie 1:
  Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
  Value: abc123...
  Domain: .youtube.com
  Path: /
  Secure: Yes
  HttpOnly: No
  Expires: 2025-01-01T12:00:00.000Z
  ...

How It Works

1. Launch Chrome: Connects to Chrome using Puppeteer
2. Navigate to YouTube: Opens YouTube in a new tab
3. Check Login Status: Validates if you're logged in by checking for:
   • User avatar/account button (logged in)
   • Sign-in button (not logged in)
4. Retrieve Cookies: If logged in, extracts all YouTube/Google cookies
5. Logout if Needed: If not logged in, attempts to log out gracefully
6. Save Cookies: Stores cookies in a temporary file
7. Retry Logic: Automatically retries up to 3 times on failure

Error Handling

• Automatic retry mechanism (3 attempts with 5-second delays)
• Graceful error handling and logging
• Continues running even if individual executions fail
• Graceful shutdown on SIGINT/SIGTERM

Troubleshooting

Chrome not found

• Verify Chrome is installed
• Check the Chrome path in index.js matches your installation

Cookies not retrieved

• Ensure you're logged in to YouTube in Chrome
• Check browser console for errors
• Verify Chrome profile permissions

Cron not running

• Check the cron schedule format
• Verify the application is still running
• Check logs for errors

Development

The application exports several functions for programmatic use:

const { retrieveCookies, loadCookies, executeWithRetry } = require('./index.js');

// Retrieve cookies manually
const result = await retrieveCookies();

// Load saved cookies
const cookieData = await loadCookies();

License

ISC