SabLearning: Turning YouTube Videos into Trackable Learning Courses

The Real Problem with Learning from YouTube

You start a course on YouTube, full of enthusiasm. You take notes somewhere — maybe in a notebook or a scattered doc. But then, the algorithm hits you with shiny recommendations, pulling you down rabbit holes. A week later, you’ve forgotten half of what you learned, and your “course” feels like a distant memory.

That’s the frustration I experienced firsthand, and it’s why I built SabLearning — a free tool to transform YouTube videos into real, trackable courses. No more losing progress or getting sidetracked. SabLearning turns passive viewing into structured learning.

What SabLearning Offers

SabLearning is designed to make YouTube a serious learning platform. Here’s how it helps:

• ✅ Track Your Learning Journey: Monitor your progress across videos and playlists with visual dashboards.
• ✅ Take Timestamp Notes (Sync to Cloud): Jot down insights at exact moments in videos, with automatic cloud syncing so you never lose your thoughts.
• ✅ View Progress in a Dashboard: See your completion status at a glance, keeping you motivated and on track.
• ✅ Browse Courses with Advanced Filters: Filter by language, duration, category, or other criteria to find exactly what you need.
• ✅ Search YouTube Instantly: If the course you want isn’t already organized, search and import directly from YouTube.

These features address the core issues: distraction, forgetfulness, and lack of structure. Whether you’re studying for exams, upskilling, or exploring hobbies, SabLearning keeps you focused.

The Tech Stack Behind SabLearning

To make this vision a reality, I built SabLearning with modern, scalable technologies:

• Frontend: Next.js, React, and TypeScript for a fast, type-safe interface. Tailwind CSS and ShadCN ensure a clean, responsive design.
• Backend: Node.js with Hono.js for efficient API handling, enabling quick data syncing and YouTube integrations.
• Integrations: Seamless YouTube API integration for importing videos and playlists, with robust caching to handle large datasets.

This setup prioritizes performance and user experience, ensuring SabLearning feels smooth even with extensive playlists.

What’s Coming Next

SabLearning is just getting started. Here’s the roadmap for future enhancements:

Cloud Sync of Video + Timestamp Progress: Full synchronization across devices for uninterrupted learning.

Learning Timelines: Visualize your progress over days, weeks, months, or years.

Learning Tags: Organize and categorize your courses with custom tags.

Certificates & Course Reviews: Earn certificates and share reviews to build a community.

Beginner-Friendly Roadmaps: Curated paths for new learners in various fields.

Chrome Extension with Sync to Website: Integrate directly into your browser for seamless note-taking.

I’m excited about these updates — they’ll make SabLearning even more powerful for lifelong learners.

Open Source Plan

Once the roadmap is complete, tested, and fully documented, I’ll open source SabLearning. This will allow the community to contribute, customize, and extend the platform. Stay tuned for that milestone!