pear-desktop README

The project's README from github.com/pear-devs/pear-desktop. As one markdown file: README.md.

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:pear: Pear Desktop

GitHub release GitHub license eslint code style Build status GitHub All Releases

Known Vulnerabilities

[!IMPORTANT] ⚠️ Disclaimer

No Affiliation

This project, and its contributors, are not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Google LLC, YouTube, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. This is an independent, non-profit, and unofficial extension developed by a team of volunteers with the goal of providing a desktop experience.

Trademarks

The names "Google" and "YouTube Music", as well as related names, marks, emblems, and images, are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Any use of these trademarks is for identification and reference purposes only and does not imply any association with the trademark holder. We have no intention of infringing upon these trademarks or causing harm to the trademark holders.

Limitation of Liability

This application (extension) is provided "AS IS", and you use it at your own risk. In no event shall the developers or contributors be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability, including any legal consequences, arising from, out of, or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software. The responsibility for any and all outcomes of using this software rests entirely with the user.

Content

Translation

You can help with translation on Hosted Weblate.

translation status translation status 2

Download

You can check out the latest release to quickly find the latest version.

Arch Linux

Install the pear-desktop package from the AUR. For AUR installation instructions, take a look at this wiki page.

Solus

sudo eopkg install pear-desktop

macOS

You can install the app using Homebrew (see the cask definition):

brew install pear-devs/pear/pear-desktop

If you install the app manually and get an error "is damaged and can’t be opened." when launching the app, run the following in the Terminal:

/usr/bin/xattr -cr /Applications/Pear\ Desktop.app

Windows

You can use the Scoop package manager to install the pear-desktop package from the extras bucket.

scoop bucket add extras
scoop install extras/pear-desktop

Alternately you can use Winget, Windows 11s official CLI package manager to install the pear-devs.pear-desktop package.

Note: Microsoft Defender SmartScreen might block the installation since it is from an "unknown publisher". This is also true for the manual installation when trying to run the executable(.exe) after a manual download here on github (same file).

winget install pear-devs.pear-desktop

How to install without a network connection? (in Windows)

Themes

You can load CSS files to change the look of the application (Options > Visual Tweaks > Themes).

Some predefined themes are available in https://github.com/kerichdev/themes-for-ytmdesktop-player.

Dev

git clone https://github.com/pear-devs/pear-desktop
cd pear-desktop
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm dev

Instead of installing pnpm on your system, you can also use devcontainers. You can use devcontainers either as a development environment in VS Code, or as a way to easily build the project without installing dependencies on your host system.

Note that this has it's own limitations (for example, GUI doesn't work on, at least some, Linux hosts).

Build your own plugins

Using plugins, you can:

Creating a plugin

Create a folder in src/plugins/YOUR-PLUGIN-NAME:

import style from './style.css?inline'; // import style as inline

import { createPlugin } from '@/utils';

export default createPlugin({
  name: 'Plugin Label',
  restartNeeded: true, // if value is true, ytmusic show restart dialog
  config: {
    enabled: false,
  }, // your custom config
  stylesheets: [style], // your custom style,
  menu: async ({ getConfig, setConfig }) => {
    // All *Config methods are wrapped Promise<T>
    const config = await getConfig();
    return [
      {
        label: 'menu',
        submenu: [1, 2, 3].map((value) => ({
          label: `value ${value}`,
          type: 'radio',
          checked: config.value === value,
          click() {
            setConfig({ value });
          },
        })),
      },
    ];
  },
  backend: {
    start({ window, ipc }) {
      window.maximize();

      // you can communicate with renderer plugin
      ipc.handle('some-event', () => {
        return 'hello';
      });
    },
    // it fired when config changed
    onConfigChange(newConfig) { /* ... */ },
    // it fired when plugin disabled
    stop(context) { /* ... */ },
  },
  renderer: {
    async start(context) {
      console.log(await context.ipc.invoke('some-event'));
    },
    // Only renderer available hook
    onPlayerApiReady(api, context) {
      // set plugin config easily
      context.setConfig({ myConfig: api.getVolume() });
    },
    onConfigChange(newConfig) { /* ... */ },
    stop(_context) { /* ... */ },
  },
  preload: {
    async start({ getConfig }) {
      const config = await getConfig();
    },
    onConfigChange(newConfig) {},
    stop(_context) {},
  },
});

Common use cases

// index.ts
import style from './style.css?inline'; // import style as inline

import { createPlugin } from '@/utils';

export default createPlugin({
  name: 'Plugin Label',
  restartNeeded: true, // if value is true, pear-desktop will show a restart dialog
  config: {
    enabled: false,
  }, // your custom config
  stylesheets: [style], // your custom style
  renderer() {} // define renderer hook
});
import { createPlugin } from '@/utils';

export default createPlugin({
  name: 'Plugin Label',
  restartNeeded: true, // if value is true, ytmusic will show the restart dialog
  config: {
    enabled: false,
  }, // your custom config
  renderer() {
    console.log('hello from renderer');
  } // define renderer hook
});

Build

  1. Clone the repo
  2. Follow this guide to install pnpm
  3. Run pnpm install --frozen-lockfile to install dependencies
  4. Run pnpm build:OS

Builds the app for macOS, Linux, and Windows, using electron-builder.

Building in devcontainer

  1. Clone the repo;
  2. Open the folder in VS Code;
  3. Reopen in container when prompted;
  4. Run pnpm build as above (choosing the desired target);
  5. Collect the built files from the dist folder.

Since devcontainer uses a mount for the workspace, the built files will be available on the host system as well.

Production Preview

pnpm start

Tests

pnpm test

Uses Playwright to test the app.

License

MIT © pear-devs

FAQ

Why apps menu isn't showing up?

If Hide Menu option is on - you can show the menu with the alt key (or ` [backtick] if using the in-app-menu plugin)

pear-desktop (pear-devs/pear-desktop)

mac
Searching Database…

What is this?Pear is an open-source Electron desktop app that wraps YouTube Music in a native-feeling interface. It is built independently by volunteers and has no official ties to Google or YouTube.
Is this a browser extension or a standalone app?It's a standalone native desktop application built with Electron, not a browser extension - it's built and distributed separately for macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Do I need pnpm or Node to use it?Not for the prebuilt releases - those just run. Building from source requires Node 22+ and pnpm 11+, then `pnpm install --frozen-lockfile` followed by `pnpm build:OS`.
Any install pitfalls I should know about?On Windows, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may flag the installer as coming from an 'unknown publisher'; on macOS, a manually installed app can show a 'damaged and can't be opened' error that needs a terminal command to fix.
Can I customize the look with themes or custom CSS?Yes - under Options > Visual Tweaks > Themes you can load custom CSS files, and the project ships with several predefined themes to get started.
Can I write my own plugins?Yes - create a folder in src/plugins/YOUR-PLUGIN-NAME with an index.ts file; plugins get the Electron BrowserWindow so you can inject CSS, tweak the HTML, or talk to the main process via ipcMain.
Can I install it on Windows without an internet connection?Yes - download the architecture-specific .nsis.7z file plus the matching -Setup.exe installer from the releases page, put them in the same folder, and run the installer offline.
Creator
pear-devs
Size
22.5 MB
Stars
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Age
7y
Commits · 90 Days