YouTube Focus Filter

Filter YouTube recommendations using a local LLM. Keep videos aligned with your goals. Block distractions automatically.

Requirements: Ollama running locally

Install

1. Clone or download this repo
2. Open brave://extensions or chrome://extensions
3. Enable "Developer mode"
4. Click "Load unpacked" and select this folder

Setup Ollama

brew install ollama
OLLAMA_ORIGINS="*" ollama serve
ollama pull llama3.2:3b

The OLLAMA_ORIGINS="*" is required for the extension to communicate with Ollama.

How It Works

Step	What Happens
1	Extension detects video thumbnails on YouTube
2	Extracts title, channel, description
3	Sends to local Ollama for evaluation
4	LLM classifies as FOCUS, ALLOW, or BLOCK
5	Videos filtered based on classification

All processing happens locally. No data leaves your machine.

Configuration

Click the extension icon to open the popup with 4 tabs:

Home Tab

Setting	Description
Enable/Disable	Master toggle for filtering
Strict Mode	Only show FOCUS videos, hide ALLOW

Focus Tab

Setting	Description
Profiles	Save multiple goal configurations
Goals	Describe what you want to focus on
Templates	Quick-start presets for common use cases

Settings Tab

Setting	Description
Ollama URL	Default: http://localhost:11434
Model	Default: llama3.2:3b
Always Allow	Channels to whitelist
Always Block	Channels to blacklist

Writing Good Goals

Be specific. Include both what you want AND what distracts you.

Bad:

I want to learn and be productive

Good:

Learning TypeScript, React, system design. Working on a SaaS startup.
Block: gaming, celebrity drama, political rants, mukbangs, prank videos, reaction content.

Filtering Logic

The LLM classifies each video into three categories:

Classification	Meaning	Visibility
FOCUS	Directly relevant to your goals	Always shown (gold highlight)
ALLOW	Not distracting, but not directly relevant	Shown (hidden in Strict Mode)
BLOCK	Distracting content	Always hidden

Rules the LLM follows:

• FOCUS if directly relevant to what you want to learn/do
• ALLOW if educational, informative, or generally useful
• ALLOW if ambiguous — doesn't over-block
• BLOCK if clearly entertainment, drama, gossip, clickbait
• BLOCK if unrelated to focus AND not educational

Strict Mode: Enable to hide ALLOW videos and only show FOCUS content.

Where It Filters

Location	Selector	Status
Homepage	ytd-rich-item-renderer	✅
Search Results	ytd-video-renderer	✅
Watch Page Sidebar	yt-lockup-view-model	✅
Shorts Shelf	ytd-reel-item-renderer	✅

Troubleshooting

Extension shows "Ollama not running"

Start Ollama with CORS enabled:

OLLAMA_ORIGINS="*" ollama serve

Videos not being filtered

1. Check console for [YouTube Focus Filter] logs
2. Run ytffDebug.status() in console
3. Run ytffDebug.checkSelectors() to verify elements found

All videos showing (not filtering)

• Ensure you've set goals in the extension popup
• Check Ollama is running: curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags
• Clear cache and re-evaluate from popup

Wrong videos being blocked

• Refine your goals to be more specific
• Use whitelist for channels you always want
• Click "Clear Cache & Re-evaluate" after changing goals

Debug Commands

Open browser console on YouTube and run:

ytffDebug.status()        // Check extension state
ytffDebug.checkSelectors() // Verify video elements found
ytffDebug.listVideos()     // List all detected videos
ytffDebug.forceProcess()   // Manually trigger evaluation

Files

youtube-focus-filter/
├── manifest.json           # Extension manifest (MV3)
├── background.js           # Service worker
├── content-scripts/
│   ├── youtube.js          # DOM manipulation
│   └── youtube.css         # Loading/error states
├── popup/
│   ├── popup.html
│   ├── popup.js
│   └── popup.css
├── lib/
│   ├── ollama.js           # Ollama API client
│   └── cache.js            # IndexedDB cache
└── icons/

Privacy

• All processing happens locally via Ollama
• No data sent to external servers
• No analytics or tracking
• Video decisions cached locally for 24 hours

License

MIT