Chrome Extensionv2.0.0Updated June 15, 2026
Restore Classic for YouTube™
Automatically restore classic view for YouTube™
Brings back historical YouTube™ layouts and UI customization on youtube.com using CSS, DOM adjustments, and page-context scripts.
YouTube™ is a trademark of Google LLC. This extension is not affiliated with Google or YouTube. Released under the MIT License.
Core capabilities
Everything the extension can do to bring back classic YouTube layouts and fine-tune each page.
19 historical layout presets
From 2008 Stargazer through 2022 Amsterdam - pick a full-site YouTube design.
Per-page customization
Tune Home, Subscriptions, Watch, Channel, Search, Guide, Topbar, and Appbar separately.
Live settings apply
Changes take effect on open YouTube tabs without reload.
Visual settings popup
Card-based previews for layouts, player sizes, grids, and thumbnail scales.
Restore Defaults
Reset all extension settings to factory defaults in one click.
Popup light/dark theme
Choose a popup appearance that is separate from YouTube itself.
Show All Settings
View every option on one scrollable page when you need full control.
54-language UI
Popup localized in English plus 53 translations via Chrome i18n.
Return YouTube Dislike compatibility
Optional integration setting for Return YouTube Dislike users.
YouTube-only guard
Popup shows a notice when YouTube is not open in the active tab.
Highlights
Live apply
Settings save instantly and re-apply on open YouTube tabs without reload.
Visual popup
Card-based previews for layouts, grids, player sizes, and thumbnail scales.
54 languages
Popup UI localized in English plus 53 translations via Chrome i18n.
YouTube-only
Works on youtube.com main pages. Does not affect embed players.
Layout presets
Choose a full-site historical YouTube design. Default: 2017 Hitchhiker layout.
Layouts marked with * are experimental or partially supported.
Modern / recent
- Disabled - use current YouTube layout
- Amsterdam 2022
- Polymer 2022
- Polymer 2021
- Polymer 2020
- Polymer 2019
Hitchhiker era (2013–2017)
- 2017 Layout [Default]
- 2016 Layout
- 2015 Layout
- 2014 Layout
- Late 2013 Layout*
- Mid 2013 Layout*
- Early 2013 Layout*
Classic era
- 2012 Layout* (Cosmic Panda)
- 2011 Layout* (Aozora)
- Late 2009 Layout* (Stargazer)
- Mid 2009 Layout* (Stargazer)
- Early 2009 Layout* (Stargazer)
- 2008 Layout* (Stargazer)
Settings popup
The popup is organized into 11 sections with visual card previews and tooltips.
Misc
General extension options
Layout
Historical YouTube layout presets
Tweaks
Player, buttons, search, and appearance tweaks
Guide
Left sidebar / guide panel customization
Topbar
Logo destination and search bar style
Appbar
Secondary navigation bar (2014–2017 layouts)
Home Page
Home feed grid layout
Subs Page
Subscriptions feed layout
Watch Page
Video player, related videos, channel links
Channel Page
Channel video grid and sort dropdown
Search Page
Search result thumbnail size
Technical scope
Permissions
- storage
- host access: *://*.youtube.com/*
Content injection
- 24+ CSS stylesheets for historical layouts and components
- Content scripts for setup, configuration, and DOM manipulation
- Page-context scripts for YouTube data integration
Known limitations
- Works only on youtube.com (not other Google sites or embed players)
- Historical layouts are recreations - not identical to original YouTube
- YouTube frequently updates its site; some presets may need maintenance
- Layouts marked * may have incomplete or experimental support
- Random sub counts are cosmetic, not real YouTube data
- Requires a modern Chromium-based browser (Manifest V3)