oiTubeBot: video search in any chat

A friend in a chat asks, "What was that song called?" or "Send me that repair video." You open a browser, search, copy a link, switch back. oiTubeBot cuts out the shuffle: the search happens where you are already typing. 🎬

It is an inline bot. You do not add it to a group, a channel or a private chat. It works anywhere there is a message box.

Search that lives in the message box

The idea is simple. In any chat you start a message with the bot's name, add a space and type your query. You never press send.

A panel of suggestions opens above the keyboard, showing video previews with titles. Tap the one you want and it goes straight to the other person. The whole trip takes a few seconds. 👀

1. Open a private chat or a group.
2. Start the message with the bot's name and add your query.
3. Wait for the panel of results.
4. Tap the video you want.

What the bot's own chat offers

If you open the bot itself, you will find a few service commands:

• /start checks that the bot is online.
• /help explains briefly how to use it.
• /settings shows bot statistics.
• /allbots points to other projects from the same developers.

There are no settings in the usual sense, which is a plus. The bot does one thing and does not make you dig through menus.

A few tips for better queries

Inline search answers short, clear queries best. A video title, an author's name or a topic in two or three words usually works better than a long sentence.

If no suggestions appear, wait a second: the panel loads with a small delay. Also check that nothing stands in front of the bot's name in the message box. If it is still empty, reword the query. 🔎

One more detail: in group chats some admins restrict inline bots. In that case run the search in a private chat with yourself and forward the result.

Searching for the picture

Bot directories also describe it as a way to find video thumbnails: high quality previews you can look up and use in a conversation. That helps when you want a cover for a discussion or a reminder of which video you meant.

Where it earns its place

• Group discussions. Show an example without hunting for links.
• Private chats. Share a clip or a lecture fast.
• Study and work. Send a colleague a tutorial on a shared topic.
• Music debates. Find a track and drop it in before the topic goes cold.

What to expect from downloading

The bot's title mentions downloads, but the main mechanic is described as searching and sending a video into a chat. If you plan to save a file to your device, check what actually arrives in the reply.

Downloading other people's videos can break the hosting platform's rules and copyright law. Personal viewing is usually tolerated, but posting someone else's work under your own name is not. ⚖️

Caution with an unknown owner

Independent directories list the bot's owner as unknown. That is common for small projects, but the usual safety habits still apply:

• Never send passwords or payment details to a bot.
• Do not follow suspicious links in the results.
• If something breaks or looks odd, write to the developers using the contact in the bot profile.

The bot is small, yet directories show an audience of several thousand people a month, so the project is alive.