OpenTube SEO — Complete VidIQ Alternative

100% offline · open source · zero tracking · unlimited use · Brave-ready

OpenTube SEO is a full-featured Chrome/Edge/Brave extension that gives you everything VidIQ offers — for free, with no account, no tracking, and no limits. Every analysis runs in your browser.

Built upon the philosophies of Ponytail (write only what's needed) and Graphify (knowledge graph architecture patterns).

Topics: youtube-seo, vidiq-alternative, chrome-extension, brave-extension, webgpu, webllm, seo-tool, youtube-tags, keyword-research, offline-ai, youtube-studio, open-source, ponytail, graphify, bizmapper

---

Features

Feature	Description
SEO Score	18-point heuristic checklist scoring your title, description, tags, and engagement
Keyword Extraction	AI-free keyword ranking from title, description, and tags
Keyword Research	Intent classification, volume estimation, long-tail suggestions
AI Title Generation	Local AI generates 5 optimized titles using WebGPU
AI Tag Generation	Generates 15-20 relevant tags with hashtags
AI Description Writing	Writes keyword-optimized descriptions with CTAs
Competitor Analysis	Tag comparison, content gap detection, tag strategy breakdown
YouTube Studio Integration	Real-time SEO scoring as you type in Studio
Content Scripts	Runs on watch pages, search results, channel pages, and feeds
Sidebar Panel	Always-on SEO insights alongside YouTube
SERP Analysis	Analyzes search result title patterns and keyword density
Readability Scoring	Flesch-Kincaid readability analysis for descriptions
Data Export/Import	Full JSON export of all settings and analysis data
Keyboard Shortcuts	Quick access to sidebar, analysis, and AI generation
Context Menu	Right-click SEO actions on any YouTube page

---

Installation

Option 1: Install from Chrome Web Store (recommended) - Not Active Yet

1. Visit the Chrome Web Store listing (search "OpenTube SEO")
2. Click Add to Chrome
3. The extension is ready to use — no account needed

Option 2: Install from source (developer mode)

1. Download the extension files:

   git clone https://github.com/BizMapper/Open-Tube-SEO.git
   cd Open-Tube-SEO

2. Open Chrome and navigate to the Extensions page:

   • Type chrome://extensions in the address bar
   • Or go to Menu → Extensions → Manage Extensions

3. Enable Developer Mode:

   • Toggle the Developer mode switch in the top-right corner

4. Load the extension:

   • Click Load unpacked
   • Select the Open-Tube-SEO folder (the one containing manifest.json)
   • The extension is now installed

5. Pin the extension (optional):

   • Click the puzzle piece icon in the toolbar
   • Find "OpenTube SEO" and click the pin icon

Option 3: Install from ZIP

1. Download the latest opentube-seo-extension.zip from the Releases page
2. Unzip the file to a folder on your computer
3. Follow Option 2 steps 2-5 above

---

Browser Support

Browser	Status	Notes
Chrome 116+	✅ Full support	WebGPU on by default
Edge 116+	✅ Full support	WebGPU on by default
Brave	✅ Full support	WebGPU needs one-time flag enable (see below)
Opera	✅ Likely works	Chromium-based, untested
Firefox	❌ Not supported	No WebGPU support for AI features

Enabling WebGPU in Brave

Brave disables WebGPU by default for privacy. To enable it:

1. Open brave://flags in the address bar
2. Search for "WebGPU"
3. Set "Unsafe WebGPU" to Enabled
4. Also set "WebGPU Developer Features" to Enabled (if available)
5. Relaunch Brave

Note: If you see a "WebGPU not available" message in the extension, this is the fix. The flag is named "unsafe" but refers to web API safety, not security — WebGPU runs in a sandbox just like WebGL.

Requirements

• Browser: Chrome 116+, Edge 116+, or Brave (any recent version)
• WebGPU: Required for AI generation features. SEO scoring and keyword analysis work without it.
• Screen width: 400px+ for full popup experience

---

Quick Start

1. Open any YouTube video page
2. Click the OpenTube SEO icon in the Chrome toolbar
3. The popup shows your SEO score, keywords, and analysis checklist
4. Switch between tabs:
   • SEO — Score breakdown, readability, video info
   • Keywords — Extracted keywords, research tool
   • Competitors — Tag comparison and content gaps
   • AI — Generate titles, tags, and descriptions locally
   • ⚙ — Settings and data management

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Alt+Shift+O	Open SEO sidebar
Alt+Shift+A	Analyze current video
Alt+Shift+G	Generate AI tags

You can customize these at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

---

How It Works

SEO Scoring

The extension uses 18 heuristic checks across four categories:

• Title (30% weight): Length, numbers, power words, questions, clickbait detection
• Description (25% weight): Length, word count, links, timestamps, CTA, hashtags
• Tags (20% weight): Count, title overlap, description overlap
• Engagement (15% weight): Views, subscribers (when available)

AI Generation

The AI runs entirely in your browser using WebLLM (WebGPU + MLC). No data ever leaves your machine.

1. The first time you use AI, a small model (~800MB) downloads and caches in your browser
2. Subsequent uses are instant — no downloads, no internet needed
3. Generation runs entirely offline

Keyword Research

Keywords are extracted using frequency analysis with boosted weights for title and tag matches. The keyword research tool estimates:

• Search intent (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational)
• Volume (heuristic estimate based on keyword structure)
• Opportunity score (relevancy + specificity - competition)
• Long-tail suggestions (30+ variations generated locally)

---

Project Structure

Open-Tube-SEO/
├── manifest.json          # Extension manifest (Chrome Extension Manifest V3)
├── background.js          # Service worker — lifecycle, alarms, messaging
├── popup.html             # Popup interface (tabbed: SEO, Keywords, Competitors, AI, Settings)
├── popup.js               # Popup logic — scoring, keywords, AI, settings
├── popup.css              # Popup styles (dark theme)
├── sidebar.html           # Studio sidebar panel
├── sidebar.js             # Sidebar logic
├── sidebar.css            # Sidebar styles
├── options.html           # Full options/configuration page
├── options.js             # Options logic
├── options.css            # Options styles
│
├── content/               # Content scripts (injected into YouTube pages)
│   ├── watch.js           # Video watch page — scrape metadata, inject badge
│   ├── watch.css          # Badge styles
│   ├── studio.js          # YouTube Studio — real-time scoring, optimize button
│   ├── studio.css         # Studio panel styles
│   ├── search.js          # Search results — SERP analysis
│   ├── search.css         # Search analysis styles
│   ├── channel.js         # Channel pages — channel metadata extraction
│   ├── channel.css        # Channel analysis styles
│   └── feed.js            # Feed page — trend data collection
│
├── lib/                   # Shared library modules
│   ├── engine.js          # WebLLM AI engine — model loading, generation
│   ├── seo.js             # SEO scoring engine — 18 checks, keyword extraction
│   ├── keywords.js        # Keyword research — intent, volume, long-tail
│   └── competitors.js     # Competitor analysis — tag comparison, content gaps
│
├── vendor/                # Vendor libraries
│   └── web-llm.js         # WebLLM fallback bundle (loaded from CDN first)
│
├── icons/                 # Extension icons
│   ├── icon-16.png
│   ├── icon-48.png
│   └── icon-128.png
│
├── assets/                # Static assets
├── models/                # Model cache directory
└── README.md              # This file

---

Privacy

OpenTube SEO is designed with privacy by default:

• 100% offline analysis — SEO scoring, keyword extraction, and competitor analysis run entirely in your browser
• Local AI — Model inference runs via WebGPU/WebLLM in your browser
• No accounts — No login, no registration, no tracking
• No telemetry — We collect nothing. No analytics, no usage data
• Data stays local — All settings, keywords, and history are stored in chrome.storage.local

---

Tech Stack

• Chrome Extension Manifest V3 — Modern extension platform
• WebLLM — Browser-based LLM inference via WebGPU
• WebGPU — GPU compute for AI model execution
• Ponytail — Minimalist coding philosophy
• Graphify — Knowledge graph architecture patterns

---

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/BizMapper/Open-Tube-SEO.git

# No build step needed — the extension is plain HTML/JS/CSS

# Load in Chrome
# chrome://extensions → Developer mode → Load unpacked → select this folder

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

---

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

---

Acknowledgments

• Ponytail by DietrichGebert — AI agent coding style
• Graphify by safishamsi — Knowledge graph for codebases
• WebLLM by MLC AI — Browser-based LLM inference
• VidIQ — Inspiration for the feature set

---

OpenTube SEO is not affiliated with VidIQ, YouTube, or Google. It is an independent, open-source project. Designed by Medo Hamdani.