Build a YouTube Clone App
With Channels and Subscriptions
Describe a video-sharing app and Fastshot builds the Home feed, the watch page, channels, subscriptions, playlists and comments. Videos play from links with a native player, and every channel, like and playlist lives in your Supabase tables.
How do you make a YouTube clone app?
Describe channels, a watch page, a Subscribe button, playlists and comments. Fastshot (fastshot.ai) builds a React Native app for iOS and Android that plays videos from their file links with expo-video and saves channels, subscriptions, playlists and comments in Supabase. Thumbnails and channel art upload to image storage. For a smaller layout, compare the video streaming app builder.
Last updated: November 4, 2026
What Makes YouTube YouTube?
YouTube is built around channels. A person subscribes with the Subscribe button under any video or on a channel page, and new uploads show up in the Subscriptions feed. By default subscribers get highlight notifications, and they can switch to every upload.
Viewers shape their own Home feed. They mark videos as Not interested, clear their watch history and save videos into playlists, including a private Watch Later list. Creators upload up to 15 videos at a time with titles of up to 100 characters, and Shorts are vertical videos of up to 3 minutes.
For a clone, the spine is small: a video, a channel, a subscription and a playlist. Add comments, likes and a watch history and the app feels complete. Everything else YouTube does, from recommendations to ads, is a layer you can add one request at a time.
YouTube Features Mapped to Your App
Each part of YouTube becomes a screen in your app and a table behind it.
| YouTube feature | How it ships in your app | What it stores |
|---|---|---|
| Watch page | Watch screen with the expo-video player, title, description, channel row, Like and Subscribe buttons | videos: channel_id, video_url, thumbnail_path, title (100 characters), description, duration_seconds, view_count |
| Channels | Channel screen with banner, avatar, Subscribe button and a grid of uploads | channels: owner_id, name, handle, avatar_path, banner_path; image bucket channel-art |
| Subscribe and the Subscriptions feed | Subscribe button plus a Subscriptions tab of new videos from chosen channels | subscriptions: subscriber_id, channel_id, notify_all |
| Playlists and Watch Later | Save sheet on every video and a Library tab listing your playlists | playlists: owner_id, name, is_private; playlist_items: playlist_id, video_id, position |
| Comments | Threaded comments below the video, with replies | comments: video_id, user_id, parent_id, body |
| Upload videos | Upload screen with a title limited to 100 characters, a description, a video link and a thumbnail picker | videos row saved as draft until Publish is pressed |
| Shorts | Shorts tab that shows videos flagged short, up to 3 minutes, in a vertical feed | videos.is_short |
| Not interested and watch history | Menu on a video card; History screen with resume position | hidden_videos and watch_history: user_id, video_id, position_seconds, watched_at |
Screens in Your Video App
The plan Fastshot proposes from the prompt, which you approve before it builds.
Home
A scrolling list of video cards with thumbnail, title, channel and view count, and category chips on top.
Watch
The player, then title, description, Like, Save and Subscribe, and comments below.
Subscriptions
A row of channel avatars and the newest uploads from each.
Channel
Banner, avatar, handle, subscriber count and tabs for Videos and Playlists.
Library
History, Watch Later and your playlists, with private or public switches.
Upload
Video link, thumbnail picker, title, description and a Publish button.
Search
A search bar over titles and channel names with recent searches.
Paste This Prompt Into Fastshot
It describes an original video-sharing app named Reelhouse. Change the name and the topic before you publish.
Build a video-sharing app called Reelhouse for iOS and Android. Light theme, crimson accent, clean cards.
Bottom tabs: Home, Shorts, Subscriptions, Library.
Home: a list of video cards (thumbnail, title, channel name, view count, how long ago) with category chips on top. A menu on each card has Save to playlist and Not interested.
Watch screen: play the video with the expo-video player (fullscreen and picture in picture allowed), then title, description, Like, Save, Subscribe, and threaded comments with replies.
Channel screen: banner, avatar, handle, subscriber count, Subscribe button, tabs Videos and Playlists.
Subscriptions: avatars of subscribed channels and their newest uploads.
Library: Watch history, Watch Later, and my playlists with a private or public switch.
Upload: video link, thumbnail image picked from my photos, title (max 100 characters), description, Publish.
Shorts: vertical feed of videos flagged is_short with a maximum length of 3 minutes.
Videos are links to hosted video files. Thumbnails and channel art are images in storage buckets.
Supabase tables: profiles, channels, videos, subscriptions (subscriber_id, channel_id, notify_all), playlists, playlist_items, comments, likes, watch_history, hidden_videos.
Realtime on comments. Row level security so owners edit only their own channels and videos.
Add a Report Video action and a push notification for new uploads from channels where notify_all is true.How to Build Your Video App
Choose what your channels are about
Decide whether Reelhouse hosts classes, sermons, product demos or a creator community. Put the topic in the first line so category chips and empty states read right.
Paste the prompt and approve the plan
Fastshot asks one or two questions and shows the screen list. If you want a smaller first version, cut Shorts and keep Home, Watch, Channel and Upload.
Connect Supabase and add sample videos
Connect Supabase from the chat. Add a channel and three videos by hand, each with a link to a hosted video file and a thumbnail. The backend lesson shows how tables and storage fit together.
Watch, subscribe and save on a phone
Open the app in Expo Go, play a video, subscribe from a second account and add a video to a playlist. Check that a new upload shows in the Subscriptions tab of the second account.
Add notifications for new uploads
Ask for push notifications tied to the notify_all column, so only the subscribers who asked for every upload get a message.
Publish
Fastshot builds the Android and iOS files on its own machines. Publish with your Google Play and Apple accounts, using the Google Play lesson for the Android side.
Make It Your Own
A general video app loses to the one everybody already has. A video app for one audience does not. Try a course library for a school, a sermon archive for a church, a workout channel for a gym, a kids-safe viewer where a parent picks the channels, or a video diary for a team or a family.
Then add what the giant skips for your audience: a curated library with no recommendations, a per-video notes tab, chapters you write by hand, a downloads shelf, or a members-only channel. A paid channel can sit behind a subscription paywall, which the how to monetize an app guide describes.
Call the app something that fits the topic, ask Fastshot for your own icon and write a store description about your audience. That keeps you clear of the original brand and tells searchers what they get.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a YouTube clone without coding?
Yes. You list the screens and the data in plain language and Fastshot writes the React Native app. The first version arrives in about 5 to 7 minutes, and you change the details with follow-up messages in chat.
Is there a way to clone the YouTube app itself?
You cannot copy the real app or its code, and you should not. You can build a new app with the same ideas: a watch page, channels, subscriptions and playlists. Fastshot writes that code fresh from your description, under your own name.
How does the app play videos?
Each video row stores a link to a hosted video file, and the watch screen plays it with the expo-video player, including fullscreen and picture-in-picture options. Thumbnails and channel images upload to storage, which accepts images up to 10 MB each by default.
How do subscriptions work in the app?
The Subscribe button inserts a row linking a viewer to a channel. YouTube sends highlight notifications by default and lets people choose every upload, so add a notify column to the same row. The Subscriptions tab lists new videos from those channels, newest first.
What are alternative YouTube apps worth building?
Think smaller and more focused: a course library, a church sermon archive, a gym class channel, a kids-safe viewer curated by a parent or a video diary for a team. Each needs the same core screens with a tighter audience.
Is making a YouTube clone legal?
Copying features is fine, and copying brand and content is not. Use your own name, logo and design, and host only videos you have the right to show. A report button and a content policy help when users upload.
Can a video app earn money?
Yes. Add AdMob ads between videos, or lock a premium channel behind a subscription paywall with Adapty. The subscription app builder page explains how paywalls work in Fastshot apps.
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Build Your Video-Sharing App Today
Paste the prompt, add three videos to a channel and press play on your phone.