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Cookie Management

GatherHub can use browser cookies to access authenticated content, particularly from YouTube. This enables the download of age-restricted videos, private videos you have access to, or other content that requires authentication.

Note: Cookie management is primarily used for YouTube downloads, but may help with other sites that require authentication.

Cookie Setup

To set up cookies for authenticated downloads:

  1. Go to Cookie Settings in the web interface
  2. Click "Upload Cookies" to upload a cookies.txt file
  3. Your cookies will be stored securely and used for downloads

Cookie Security

Security Note: Cookies contain authentication information. GatherHub stores them locally with restricted permissions for security.

Important security considerations:

  • Cookies are stored only on your local system
  • They are not transmitted to any third parties
  • You can delete them at any time from the Cookie Settings page
  • Cookies expire naturally after approximately 2 weeks
  • Secure permissions are applied to the cookie file

Obtaining YouTube Cookies

Using a Browser Extension (Recommended)

  1. Install the "Get cookies.txt" extension:
  2. Log in to YouTube in your browser
  3. Navigate to youtube.com
  4. Click the extension icon while on youtube.com
  5. Click "Export" to download your cookies.txt file
  6. Upload the cookies.txt file using the upload button in Cookie Settings

Manual Cookie Export

For advanced users who prefer manual cookie export:

  1. Log in to YouTube in your browser
  2. Open Developer Tools (F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I)
  3. Go to the Application tab
  4. Under Storage, select Cookies > youtube.com
  5. Export these cookies in Netscape format
  6. Save as cookies.txt and upload

Cookie Validation

GatherHub performs several validation checks on uploaded cookies:

  • Format validation to ensure they are proper Netscape-format cookies
  • Presence of YouTube domain cookies
  • Freshness check (cookies older than 14 days may be expired)
  • Size check (must be under 5MB)

You can test your cookies in the Cookie Settings page to verify they work correctly.

Cookie Management API

GatherHub provides API endpoints for cookie management:

Endpoint Method Description
/api/cookies/status GET Get current cookie status
/api/cookies/upload POST Upload a cookies.txt file
/api/cookies/delete DELETE Delete stored cookies
/api/cookies/validate GET Validate stored cookies
/api/cookies/guide GET Get cookie setup guide content

Troubleshooting

If you're having issues with cookie-based downloads:

  • Make sure you're logged in to YouTube when exporting cookies
  • Try clearing your browser cache and re-exporting cookies
  • Some videos may have additional restrictions that prevent downloading
  • Your cookies expire after about 2 weeks, so you may need to update them
  • Check the Cookie Settings page to verify your cookies are valid

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