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Some YouTube videos require sign-in — age-restricted content, members-only videos, or private videos shared with your account. notewise supports these via a Netscape-format cookies file.

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Export cookies from your browser

You need a browser extension that exports cookies in Netscape format:
1

Sign in to YouTube

Open your browser and sign in to your YouTube account.
2

Navigate to the target video

Go to the private or age-gated video you want to process.
3

Export cookies

Click the extension icon and export cookies for youtube.com. Save the file as youtube-cookies.txt.

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Pass the cookie file

notewise process "URL" --cookie-file ./youtube-cookies.txt

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Set permanently in config

# ~/.notewise/config.env
YOUTUBE_COOKIE_FILE=/home/user/youtube-cookies.txt
Or via environment variable: 
export YOUTUBE_COOKIE_FILE=/home/user/youtube-cookies.txt
notewise process "URL"

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Docker usage

Mount the cookie file as a read-only volume: 
docker run --rm \
  -e GEMINI_API_KEY="your_key" \
  -e YOUTUBE_COOKIE_FILE="/cookies/youtube.txt" \
  -v "$(pwd)/cookies:/cookies:ro" \
  -v "$(pwd)/output:/output" \
  ghcr.io/whoisjayd/notewise:latest \
  process "URL" --no-ui

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Cookie file format

The file must be in Netscape HTTP Cookie File format: 
# Netscape HTTP Cookie File
.youtube.com	TRUE	/	FALSE	1999999999	cookie_name	cookie_value
Most browser extensions export in this format automatically.

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Security

Cookie files contain session tokens — treat them like passwords.
  • Do not commit cookie files to version control
  • Add youtube-cookies.txt to your .gitignore
  • Cookies expire; re-export from your browser if authentication fails