Bobine
Your saved videos become a local library, searchable and yours.
Free and open source. Mac + iPhone, or Linux / VPS.
How it works
You share a video from your iPhone. A few minutes later, Bobine has downloaded it, transcribed it, summarized it and filed it into a card. In the evening, you open your page: everything is there, with search. And everything stays at home.
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You share
In Instagram, TikTok or YouTube: Share → Send to Bobine. An iPhone shortcut, set up once (3 minutes).
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Bobine works
Every 15 minutes: download, local and free transcription (Whisper), then a summary with your API key if you have one.
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Your card is ready
Title, topics, key takeaways, full transcript: plain Markdown files, at home.
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You browse
Instant search, even inside transcripts, topic filters, a topic map, and questions you can ask your library.
Ask your library
Your library is not just browsable: it answers. Open Demander and ask in plain words: “Any post ideas in my Reels?”, “Summarize the video about editing”.
Bobine searches your cards and answers with links to the videos it used: check, don’t trust. No new key: your existing summary key is enough. Your question and the relevant excerpts go only to your own AI provider, with your key, and the conversation is never written to disk.
On Mac, Demander runs on your Mac. On iPhone, the same page is reached through your server’s protected address (Linux edition). Turn it on or off whenever you like, no reinstall.
What you need
- A Mac and an internet connection. Or a Linux / VPS server: a dedicated edition exists.
- Python 3.10 or later and ffmpeg: the installer walks you through it, command included.
- An iPhone (optional, recommended): to share in one gesture, the moment you come across the video.
- An API key (optional): for summaries. DeepSeek is the cheapest, a few cents for hundreds of videos.
The install is guided from start to finish: your vault’s name, its location, your key if you want one. Bobine takes care of the rest (environment, dependencies, automatic wake-up).
Free and open source
Bobine is free and open source (MIT license). No account, no server of ours, no telemetry: your library lives on your machine. The code is on GitHub.
On the cost side: video downloads, local transcription and YouTube subtitles, 0 €. Summaries, optional, go through your API key: a few cents for hundreds of videos.
Frequently asked questions
What if I don’t add an API key?
Everything works: each card is created with its transcript and description, marked “summary pending” on your page. Add a key whenever you like: summaries fill in on the next pass, automatically.
Where does my data go?
It stays at home: no account, no telemetry. Only video downloads, dependency updates and, if you turn on AI, the relevant texts sent to your provider with your key, leave your machine.
What about Linux? Windows?
Linux / VPS: yes, a complete server edition (installer, systemd wake-up, HTTPS page). Windows: not for now. Bobine is built for Mac, iPhone and Linux. See the Linux / VPS edition.
Does it replace Obsidian or Notion?
No, it feeds them: Bobine builds your library as Markdown files you can open with any tool, Obsidian included.
Does it speak English?
Bobine speaks French for now: the installer, the pages and the notifications. A fully English onboarding is on the way (issue #32).