There’s no YouTube Music app for Mac. Here’s how to make one.
Google doesn’t make a YouTube Music app for the Mac. You can still give YouTube Music an app of its own: a window with only YouTube Music in it, its own Dock icon, and a hotkey. It stays signed in, and it takes about a minute.
With Tilemode: press ⌃⌥N, enter https://music.youtube.com, name it YT Music, pick a hotkey such as ⌃⌥⌘U, and click Add app.
Built in: open YouTube Music in Safari and choose File › Add to Dock (macOS Sonoma 14 or later).
Is there a YouTube Music app for Mac?
No. Google makes YouTube Music apps for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, but not for the Mac. On a Mac, YouTube Music is a website.
When it lives in a browser tab, tidying up your tabs can stop the music. As its own app it stays out of the way: its own window, its own Dock icon, and a hotkey to bring it up when you want to change a song.
How to make a YouTube Music app with Tilemode
- Open Tilemode (it needs macOS 14 or later) and press ⌃⌥N, or choose New web app… from the Tilemode menu.
- Address: type
https://music.youtube.com - Name: type YT Music. This is the name you’ll see in the Dock.
- Hotkey: pick keys such as ⌃⌥⌘U (type
ctrl+opt+cmd+u) and, if you like, a Tile such asright-thirdso it always opens in that part of the screen. - Click Add app, then sign in to YouTube Music once inside the new app.
Tilemode builds a small app for it in ~/Applications/Tilemode Apps, with a plain letter icon (no logo), its own Dock spot and its own storage. Prefer the command line? tilemode app add https://music.youtube.com --name "YT Music" --hotkey ctrl+opt+cmd+u --tile right-third does the same thing.
What works in your YouTube Music app
It’s YouTube Music’s own website, so it looks and works the way it does in a browser. On top of that:
- Its own window and Dock icon. ⌘⇥ finds it like any other app.
- It stays signed in. Each app keeps its own sign-in and storage, separate from your browser and from your other web apps.
- One key to bring it up. The hotkey opens the app, or brings it to the front if it’s already open.
- Notifications. When YouTube Music shows a notification while the app is open, it appears as a normal Mac notification.
- Downloads go to your Downloads folder, and links to other sites open in your usual browser.
- Mac keys: ⌘R reloads, ⌘[ and ⌘] go back and forward, ⌘L goes to an address, and ⌘⇧O opens the page in your browser.
Good for
- Playing music, signed in, with your library, playlists and mixes
- Searching and liking songs
- Closing browser tabs without stopping the music, because it’s a separate app
What it can’t do yet
- Uploading your own music files: Tilemode web apps can’t open the file picker yet.
Tips for YouTube Music as an app
- One key to the player: pick a hotkey like ⌃⌥⌘U, press it to change the song, then press ⌘⇥ to go back.
- Out of the way: hide it with ⌘H and it keeps its place, ready for the next time you press the hotkey.
The built-in way: Safari’s Add to Dock
On macOS Sonoma 14 or later, Safari can make a web app for free:
- Open YouTube Music in Safari:
https://music.youtube.com - Choose File › Add to Dock (or click the Share button and choose Add to Dock).
- Type a name and click Add.
The web app is saved to the Applications folder in your home folder and appears in the Dock and Spotlight. Safari usually carries your sign-in over when you make it. After that it keeps its own cookies and history, apart from Safari. It has a simple toolbar with back and forward, you can give it any name and icon, and for sites that send notifications it can show them with a count on its Dock icon. Because it’s Safari underneath, it also handles things Tilemode apps can’t yet, like choosing files to upload.
More on this, step by step: how to turn a website into a Mac app.
Why make it with Tilemode
Safari’s web app is a good start. Tilemode, our Mac app, adds the parts that make it fast to use every day:
- A hotkey for every app. Press it and YouTube Music comes up, whatever you’re doing. Press it again to go through its windows.
- It opens where you want it. Give the app a tile and it lands there every time, next to your other work.
- Tiling for everything else. ⌃⌥1 puts your windows side by side, and ⌃⌥F fills the screen.
- As many as you like. Each app has its own sign-in, so two accounts can be two apps with two keys.
Questions
Will I stay signed in?
Yes. The app keeps its sign-in and storage between launches, separate from your browser and from your other web apps.
Will the music stop if I close my browser?
No. The app is separate from your browser, so closing browser windows or tabs doesn’t touch it.
How do I remove the app?
In Tilemode, run tilemode app remove with the app’s name, or delete it from ~/Applications/Tilemode Apps. For a Safari web app, drag it from the Applications folder in your home folder to the Trash.