ClipBucket is a free, open-source PHP video-sharing script for self-hosting a YouTube-style platform with uploads, playlists, groups, and social features.
Researched and fact-checked by Bartu Cavusoglu · Updated July 18, 2026
ClipBucket is a free, open-source PHP script for self-hosting a video-sharing website, often described as a YouTube-clone script. It lets operators run their own branded video (and optionally photo) sharing platform on their own server.
The original project (arslancb/clipbucket) was archived in December 2022 after slowing following its 4.1 release, but the codebase continues under community forks, most notably ClipBucket V5, which ships ongoing stability and security releases.
ClipBucket includes core video hosting (upload, transcode via FFmpeg, playback) alongside social features such as playlists, collections, user groups, friend requests, and private messaging, enabling both video-sharing and lightweight social-network functionality.
Because it is self-hosted, operators have full control of data, moderation, and monetization, but must also manage their own server infrastructure, security patching, and scaling.
ClipBucket itself is free and open-source with no licensing fee. The only costs are for self-managed server hosting, storage, and bandwidth, which scale with the size of the video library and audience.
Yes, ClipBucket is free and open-source. The only costs are for self-managed server hosting, storage, and bandwidth.
It requires PHP 8.0+ with specific extensions, MySQL 5.6+ or MariaDB 10.3+, FFmpeg 3+ for transcoding, and mediainfo, plus a working sendmail configuration.
The original arslancb/clipbucket repository was archived in December 2022, but community forks such as ClipBucket V5 continue to ship stability and security releases.
It's generally not well suited to typical shared hosting because it needs shell/exec access and FFmpeg for video transcoding, which most shared hosts restrict.