At a glance
- Plans: VIP and Lifetime (see plans).
- OS: macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows x64 with an NVIDIA RTX GPU. No Linux or Intel Mac.
- Get it: download it from your dashboard (Account → Desktop/CLI). It isn't on npm.
- Output: MP4, 1080p or 1440p, saved locally. There's no cloud rendering.
Interactive mode
Run TubeChefCLI with no arguments to open the menu:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Prepare assets | Downloads the scripts, voice and images for videos marked for processing |
| Render prepared assets | Renders videos that are already prepared |
| Full pipeline | Prepares and renders automatically, then checks for new work every 5 minutes |
| Clean Videos | Deletes downloaded video assets to free up disk space |
| Channel Ripper | Runs Channel Ripper jobs |
| Settings → Change API key | Replaces the stored API key |
The first run asks for your API key. For servers and scripts, set the TUBECHEF_API_KEY environment variable instead.
Commands
Use these for scripts, schedulers and automations. Syntax: TubeChefCLI <command> [options].
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
--version (or -v) |
Prints the installed version |
diagnose |
Checks the bundled tools (FFmpeg, Whisper, etc.) and reports problems |
prepare [--channel <id>] [--video <id>] |
Prepares assets for all pending videos, or for one channel or video |
channels |
Lists locally prepared channels and videos |
render <channelId> <videoId> |
Renders one prepared video |
srt |
Processes pending subtitle (SRT) jobs |
ripper-channels |
Lists your Channel Ripper channels |
ripper-worklist [--channel-id <id> …] |
Shows pending Ripper work per channel and language pair |
ripper-discover |
Scans your Ripper channels on YouTube for new videos to process |
ripper-rip |
Processes the pending Ripper worklist: downloads the audio and transcribes it with Whisper |
Flags
| Flag | Effect |
|---|---|
--json-output |
Machine-readable JSON output, for scripts and automations |
--output-dir <path> |
Folder for rendered videos |
--channel <id> / --video <id> |
Limit prepare to one channel or video |
--channel-id <id> |
Limit Ripper commands to a channel (repeatable) |
Example: prepare everything that's ready, every night
# macOS (cron): 02:00 every day
0 2 * * * TUBECHEF_API_KEY=xxxx /path/to/TubeChefCLI prepare --json-output && \
/path/to/TubeChefCLI channels --json-output
The channels JSON lists each channelId with its videos[].videoId. Call render <channelId> <videoId> for each one. If you want the CLI to handle the loop, use Full pipeline in interactive mode.
API key and devices
- Each API key is tied to one device. Using it on a second computer fails with
api_key_bound_to_different_device. If you change computers, contact support. No API key configured.means no key is set: runTubeChefCLIwith no arguments, or setTUBECHEF_API_KEY.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| macOS says the app "can't be opened" | System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway for TubeChefCLI. Don't turn Gatekeeper off system-wide. |
| Captions or Whisper fail on Windows | Check nvidia-smi and that PyTorch can see CUDA. Pre-RTX GPUs aren't supported. |
| A tool is missing | Run TubeChefCLI diagnose |
| Nothing to render | Mark videos for processing in the dashboard, then run prepare |
FAQ
Is there a Linux version?
No. macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows x64 only.
Can I install it with npm?
No. Download it from your dashboard. npm install tubechef-cli isn't a TubeChef package.
Does it render in the cloud?
No. Everything renders on your computer.
Can I call it from n8n, Make or a script?
Yes. Use the commands with --json-output. See the YouTube automation guide.
Which plans include it?
VIP and Lifetime. See plans.