Klipt

Overview

Klipt is an Electron-based desktop utility for processing HLS streams and creating local archives. It wraps yt-dlp and ffmpeg, showcasing child-process management, binary orchestration, and cross-platform desktop architecture.

Key features

• • High-Speed Clipping: Prioritizes maximum download speed by snapping cuts to the nearest keyframe (approx. 5s chunks).
• Dynamic engine loading that installs the latest binaries on first run
• System resilience via wait-and-retry handling for Windows EBUSY locks
• Format interoperability by forcing MP4 containerization for universal playback

Technical implementation

Child process management

Klipt spawns dedicated processes for media handling so the main thread stays responsive. It uses node:child_process spawn to interface with the CLI backend and streams output to the renderer:

// Stream terminal data to the renderer process
proc.stdout.on('data', (d) => {
  const str = d.toString();
  sender.send('terminal-data', str);
});

Binary handling in production

To work around Electron ASAR packing limits (executables cannot run inside the archive), Klipt:

• Detects the OS environment
• Checks for external binaries in userData
• Downloads dependencies on demand when missing
• Points spawn to app.asar.unpacked for static assets like FFmpeg

Setup

• Prerequisite: Node.js v16+
• Install dependencies: npm install

Development

• Run locally: npm start
• Build for production (Windows/NSIS): npm run dist

Stack

• Core: Electron, Node.js
• UI: HTML5, TailwindCSS
• Engine: yt-dlp, FFmpeg-static

Disclaimer

Klipt is a graphical interface intended for personal archiving and offline analysis. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Terms of Service of the platforms they utilize.