Own your music. soundcli downloads your YouTube, SoundCloud, and Spotify libraries to your computer and plays them offline, straight from your terminal. Every song lands on your own drive as a real file, yours to keep and ready the moment you want it.

You only have to do this once. soundcli handles the rest itself.

1. Install Node.js.
   Visit nodejs.org, download the installer, and click Next until it finishes. It's the one piece of software soundcli runs on.

2. Open your terminal.
   On Windows, press the Windows key, type terminal, and press Enter. On a Mac, press Cmd + Space, type terminal, and press Enter. A plain window will open. That's the terminal, and it's all you need to get going.

3. Start soundcli.
   Copy the line below, paste it into the terminal, and press Enter:

   npx sndcli

From there soundcli takes over, downloading the few tools it needs and setting everything up on its own.

The first time it opens, soundcli shows you where your music will be saved: a dedicated folder inside your computer's Music folder, so you always know where your files are.

Then it asks where your music comes from. Pick YouTube, SoundCloud, or Spotify, then type your username or paste a link to a playlist, an album, or a single track. Downloading starts right away, and you can begin listening while the rest of your library finishes.

Every track downloads in its original quality, with album artwork and artist details included, and gets sorted into folders automatically so your collection stays organized. Almost any link works: playlists, albums, artist profiles, your likes, or a single song. Public Spotify playlists and albums work without signing in.

It never downloads the same song twice, and if you close it mid-download, it picks up where it left off next time. Once a track is saved, it's there for good.

Everything runs from the keyboard, with controls that are quick to pick up. Press ? anytime for the full list of keys. The bar along the bottom of the screen only shows the few that matter right now, so there's nothing to memorize.

If you want to run or develop soundcli locally:

1. Clone the repository and navigate into the directory.
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the development version:

   npm run dev

   Or build the project and run it:

   npm run build
   npx sndcli

soundcli runs on your computer and nowhere else. There are no accounts, no logins, and nothing tracking what you play. It connects to the internet for three reasons only: to download the music you ask for, to set itself up the first time, and to keep its own tools current so downloads keep working. Everything else stays with you.