lgtv-youtube

name	lgtv-youtube
description	Remote YouTube control for LG webOS TVs — play/search/pause/skip ads/volume, without touching the remote. Bypasses the 'select account' interruption. Uses Netflix DIAL screenId leak for auto-pairing. Use when: (1) controlling YouTube on an LG TV, (2) playing music/videos remotely, (3) setting up ad-free YouTube via Developer Mode.

LG TV YouTube Remote Control

Overview

Control YouTube on LG webOS TVs entirely remotely. Core innovation: Netflix DIAL screenId leak to obtain YouTube Lounge tokens — no manual pairing needed.

Prerequisites

• LG webOS TV (tested on webOS 22 / OLED C2, should work on webOS 6+)
• TV and control machine on the same network (or SSH tunnel)
• Python 3.8+ with pyytlounge (pip install pyytlounge)

Quick Start

# 1. Get your TV's screenId (one-time, from same network as TV)
python3 scripts/get_lounge_token.py --tv-ip <TV_IP>

# 2. Play a video
python3 scripts/tv_youtube.py play <VIDEO_ID>

# 3. Search and play
python3 scripts/tv_youtube.py search "邓紫棋 光年之外"

Commands

Command	Description
play <video_id>	Play a specific YouTube video
search "query"	Search YouTube and play first result
playlist "q1,q2,q3"	Queue multiple videos (IDs or search queries, comma-separated)
next	Next track
prev	Previous track
pause	Pause playback
resume	Resume playback
skip	Skip current ad
volume <0-100>	Set volume
now	Show now playing info
renew	Renew Lounge token

How It Works

The Problem

LG webOS YouTube app interrupts playback every ~30 seconds with an "account selection" screen. YouTube's official Lounge pairing API (/api/lounge/pairing/get_screen) was globally shut down — no way to get tokens remotely.

The Solution: Netflix DIAL Leak

LG TVs expose a DIAL (Discovery and Launch) service on port 36866. While YouTube's DIAL endpoint returns 403, Netflix's DIAL endpoint returns 200 and leaks the TV's screenId in its XML response.

This screenId can be used directly with YouTube's get_lounge_token_batch endpoint (which is still alive) to obtain a Lounge token valid for 14 days with auto-renewal.

Flow:

GET http://<TV_IP>:36866/apps/Netflix
  → XML response contains <screenId>xxx</screenId>
POST https://www.youtube.com/api/lounge/pairing/get_lounge_token_batch
  body: screen_ids=xxx
  → JSON with loungeToken (14-day validity)

Token Lifecycle

• Token valid for ~14 days
• scripts/tv_youtube.py auto-renews on expiry
• screenId is persistent (doesn't change across reboots)

Optional: Ad-Free YouTube (Developer Mode)

For ad-free YouTube via youtube-webos, see references/developer-mode.md.

Troubleshooting

• "Not linked" error: Token expired. Run python3 scripts/tv_youtube.py renew
• No sound: TV screen may be off (energy saver). Video still plays — send any SSAP command to wake
• DIAL port 36866 not responding: TV may be in deep sleep. Wake via Wake-on-LAN or SSAP first