I built a cleaner YouTube – no ads, sponsors, or doomscrolling
Hi HN! I built SkipCut it’s like an ad-free, distraction-free YouTube with useful extras: background play, SponsorBlock, dark mode, playlist support, local history, download/share buttons… and it works on any device. No install. No login. Here’s the best part: It works just by replacing "youtube" with "skipcut" in the video link. You skip all the boring stuff — ads, sponsors, intros, silence, filler and just watch what matters. Why it’s different: No comments. No suggested videos. No clickbait. I made this for my kid, I create a playlist and just send a SkipCut link like:…
In plain words
SkipCut is a distraction-free YouTube alternative that removes ads, sponsors, and recommended videos. Users access it by replacing "youtube" with "skipcut" in any video URL, requiring no installation or login. It includes background playback, sponsor-skipping via SponsorBlock, dark mode, playlist support, local history, and download options. The service eliminates comments and suggested videos to prevent endless scrolling, making it suitable for viewers seeking focused watching experiences on any device.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN! I built SkipCut it’s like an ad-free, distraction-free YouTube with useful extras: background play, SponsorBlock, dark mode, playlist support, local history, download/share buttons… and it works on any device. No install. No login. Here’s the best part: It works just by replacing "youtube" with "skipcut" in the video link. You skip all the boring stuff — ads, sponsors, intros, silence, filler and just watch what matters. Why it’s different: No comments. No suggested videos. No clickbait. I made this for my kid, I create a playlist and just send a SkipCut link like: https://skipcut.com?list=xyz123 It plays only those videos and stops the doomscrolling. Just replace youtube with skipcut in the URL of any video Example: https://www.skipcut.com/watch?v=abc123 No signup required Would love your feedback, ideas, and bug reports! Try it: https://skipcut.com
Does the same job
all alternatives →- SSSponsorBlock – Skip sponsorship segments of YouTube videos2019 · sponsor.ajay.app · ▲139
- SCSkipvid.com – Easily create and share auto skipping video links2018 · skipvid.com · ▲6
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I built FocusStream because I was tired of going to YouTube to learn one thing, then getting lost in recommendations and distractions. With FocusStream, just enter your topic and get only the relevant YouTube videos—no unrelated suggestions or autoplay. It’s free, minimal. Would love your feedback! Try it: https://focusstream.media Demo video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fCvOJ6kRs9jn7O_hIGgP6wBuq4f...
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I built Yourabbit.com — a site that curates hand-picked YouTube rabbit holes grouped by themes like quirky psychology, obscure tech, weird facts, and binge-worthy oddities. It’s not driven by the YouTube algorithm — every collection is themed and curated manually (for now), with a backend I’m automating to fetch and organize new rabbit holes daily. Built as a hybrid Astro + Next.js project, optimized for static generation and speed. I’m also pairing videos with custom summaries and commentary (using AI), and would love feedback from the HN crowd on: Content model (too wide? not specific…
More growth this month
the category →
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I was the main contributor to workout.lol, an open-source fitness app to easily build a workout routine. The project had traction (1.4k GitHub stars, 95 forks, ~20K visits/month), but was eventually sold due to video licensing hurdles. The new owner stopped maintaining it, and the repo went abandoned. Over the next 9 months, I sent 15 emails to try to save it : no replies. Feature requests & issues were ignored. The community was left with a "broken" tool let's say. I couldn't just let it die So I built the new version from scratch with the same open-source spirit, but a better…
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