I’m building OpenWatch, an open-source self-hosted video platform as an alternative to YouTube. It’s designed for content creators who want to back up their content on their own infrastructure (in case of strikes) or for anyone who wants a personal video hosting solution.
The project is in early stages, but I’ve built out some core features:
- Home feed
- Video player with adaptive streaming
- Playlists
- Interactions (likes, comments, subscriptions)
- Creator Studio (dashboard, content management, channel customization)
Tech stack:
- Next.js 16
- Tailwind CSS v4
- Drizzle ORM (PostgreSQL)
- FFmpeg
- HLS.js
- Zustand
- Docker
GitHub: https://github.com/openwatch-app/openwatch
Feedback would be helpful, especially around self-hosting considerations and features you’d find useful.
Not federated, seemingly vibecoded, MIT. Peertube exists, not sure this makes a ton of sense as an alternative but good luck otherwise.
Get a life bro
Good argument
Why would anyone use this non FOSS vibe coded thing instead of PeerTube? Copying YouTube’s UX is not a good enough reason when better FOSS alternatives already exist.
Wdym non FOSS? It’s MIT. That’s still FOSS even if it’s not the flavor of FOSS you prefer
They changed the licence to MIT after my post. So good on them. The original licence was non FOSS. You can see it in the git history if you’re interested.
put ActivityPub in it :)
But seriously, a PeerTube compatible software with a different approach than PeerTube could be good for the federated video ecosystem.
Thanks for the feedback :)
Okay, why this over peertube?
Update 02/07:
- Changed license to MIT
- Made first steps for implementing Federation, now you can search and view videos and channels from other platforms, more features in this direction coming in the future
Thank you for all the feedback received!
Mit license allows the use for commercial purposes without funding, which if it becomes popular and adopted you would have to support it without any kick backs. Please look into GPLv3
