Open-VidIQ
September 17, 2026 · View on GitHub
Open source alternative to VidIQ and TubeBuddy for YouTube creators
Open-VidIQ gives creators YouTube keyword research, live SERP rank tracking, deep video SEO scorecards, timestamped transcript search, audience comment intelligence, and an AI growth copilot — with zero monthly subscriptions.
Powered directly by MuAPI's YouTube SERP and Generative Media APIs. Pay fractions of a cent (~$0.002 to $0.006) per query instead of $19–$99/month.
Why Open-VidIQ?
| Feature | Open-VidIQ (OSS) | VidIQ Pro / Boost | TubeBuddy Legend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Subscription | $0 / mo (Self-hosted) | $19 – $99 / mo | $29 – $49 / mo |
| Cost per Keyword Check | ~$0.002 (Pay-as-you-go) | Locked in monthly tier | Locked in monthly tier |
| Cost per Video Audit | ~$0.006 (Pay-as-you-go) | Locked in monthly tier | Locked in monthly tier |
| Video SEO Scorecard | ✓ Unlimited 0–100 Audit | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Competitor Tag Extractor | ✓ 1-Click Copy All | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Full Transcript Search | ✓ With SRT/TXT Exports | Limited | Limited |
| Viewer Question Mining | ✓ Automated Idea Extraction | Boost plan only | Not available |
| AI Title & Thumbnail Ideas | ✓ Unlimited via MuAPI | Daily limits | Limited credits |
| Data Integrity | 100% Real Live YouTube Data | Proprietary algorithms | Proprietary algorithms |
| Code Ownership | 100% Open Source (MIT) | Proprietary SaaS | Proprietary SaaS |
Core Features
1. YouTube Keyword Explorer & SERP (/keywords)
- Real-Time YouTube Rankings: Search any topic across global markets (
United States,United Kingdom,Germany,India, etc.) with adjustable depth (top 20, 50, 100). - Opportunity Metrics: Computes estimated search volume, competition score (0–100), and overall keyword opportunity rating.
- Competitor Tag Cloud: Aggregates high-frequency tags used by top-ranking competitors with a 1-click "Copy All Tags" button.
- Video Cards: Detailed SERP cards displaying view counts, publication age, duration, 4K/CC badges, and quick audit links.
2. Video SEO Inspector & Scorecard (/inspect)
- Universal Input: Paste any YouTube link (
watch?v=...,youtu.be/...,shorts/..., or raw 11-char ID). - VidIQ-Style 0–100 Score: Algorithmic assessment with letter grade (
A+,A,B,C, etc.) and executive recommendation. - Actionable Optimization Checklist:
- Title length optimization (sweet spot: 40–70 characters for desktop & mobile feeds).
- Title formatting hooks (brackets, numerals, separators).
- Description richness (500+ characters target for algorithmic indexing).
- Call-to-action & resource link detection.
- Video chapter timestamps detection (
00:00,01:30, etc.). - Tag volume (10–30 tags target).
- Title-to-tag keyword cross-pollination.
- Audience like-to-view ratio (> 3.5% benchmark).
- Hidden Tag Extractor: Displays all metadata tags used by the video with one-click copy.
- Description Viewer: Formatted view with expandable drawer.
3. Transcript & Subtitles Studio (/transcripts)
- Synchronized Closed Captions: Fetches complete timed transcripts across multiple languages (
en,es,fr,de,hi,ja). - In-Transcript Search: Filter spoken lines in real-time to find exact talking points.
- Clickable Timestamps: Click any line to highlight and jump to that specific moment.
- 1-Click Export: Export the full transcript as plain
.txtor formatted.srtsubtitle files.
4. Audience & Comment Intelligence (/comments)
- Sentiment Breakdown: Analyzes audience tone across retrieved comments (Positive %, Neutral %, Inquisitive %, Constructive/Negative %).
- Question Miner: Automatically mines questions asked by real viewers in the comments — providing creators with immediate inspiration for follow-up uploads.
- Reaction Ranking: Displays high-engagement comments ranked by likes and replies.
5. AI Creator Copilot (/copilot)
- High-CTR Title Generator: Generates 5 high-converting YouTube titles across proven psychological hooks:
- Curiosity Gap
- Master Guide
- Contrarian Warning
- Definitive Proof
- High Stakes
- SEO Description Generator: Ready-to-paste 3-paragraph descriptions with chapter and resource link placeholders.
- Tag Generator: 15 targeted search tags with 1-click copy.
- Thumbnail Visual Concepts: Generates creative visual directions, focal facial expressions, text overlays, and AI generation prompts ready for image models.
Architecture & MuAPI Endpoints
Open-VidIQ executes directly against MuAPI's production task runner. Requests poll continuously until completion or failure (no arbitrary timeout cuts, no fake fallback data):
| Capability | MuAPI Endpoint | Request Model | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Organic SERP | POST /seo-youtube-organic | SeoYoutubeOrganicRequest | $0.002 / query |
| Video Metadata & Tags | POST /seo-youtube-video-info | SeoYoutubeVideoInfoRequest | $0.006 / video |
| Subtitles & Transcripts | POST /seo-youtube-video-subtitles | SeoYoutubeVideoSubtitlesRequest | $0.006 / video |
| Comments & Sentiment | POST /seo-youtube-video-comments | SeoYoutubeVideoCommentsRequest | $0.002 / 20 comments |
| AI Copilot & Hooks | POST /gpt-5-nano | Prompt string | ~$0.0005 / generation |
| AI Thumbnail Generation | POST /nano-banana | Image prompt | ~$0.005 / image |
Tech Stack
- Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router)
- Runtime & UI: React 19 · TypeScript
- Styling: Tailwind CSS v4 (Obsidian & YouTube Studio dark aesthetic)
- Icons: Lucide React + custom YouTube & GitHub SVG components
- API Client: Pure Fetch with asynchronous task submission and polling (
src/lib/muapi.ts)
Quickstart
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+ (Node 20+ recommended)
- A MuAPI API key (free sandbox keys are available)
Installation
# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/SamurAIGPT/Open-VidIQ.git
cd Open-VidIQ
# 2. Configure your environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and set your MUAPI_API_KEY:
# MUAPI_API_KEY=your_key_here
# 3. Install dependencies
npm install
# 4. Start local development server
npm run dev
Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.
Production Build
# Compile and build production bundle
npm run build
# Start production server
npm start
Related Projects
- every-app/open-seo — Open source alternative to Semrush and Ahrefs (built on DataForSEO)
- Open-Pomelli — Open source alternative to Google Pomelli (brand campaigns & assets)
- Open-Poe-AI — Open source alternative to Poe AI
- muapiapp — Generative media & SEO API platform
- awesome-vibecoded-saas — broader catalog of open-source SaaS alternatives featuring this creator-research workflow.
- Muapi open-source alternatives — compare the creator-research workflow with the paid tools it targets.
Contributing
Contributions are always welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request:
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
License
Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.