This is a collection of scripts I've compiled to fix stupid UI problems in YouTube.
Some I've edited myself, some I've just copied from the community. I use these on Safari and Firefox so no promises for other browsers.
I have no commercial interest. Feel free to copy and use as you see fit.
This fixes the problem where clicking the volume slider or timeline bar forces the browser focus away from the actual video player breaking your keyboard shortcuts, especially the spacebar and arrow keys. (WTF how did they allow this?)
Safari's vanilla YT spacebar function seems more resiliant than Firefox's (Nov 2023), but arrow keys not so.
Limitation: On Firefox this script does not fix the spacebar function when you use any of the buttons (e.g. settings cog). It only works on the volume and timeline sliders. Note however you can also pause/play with the K key and it is more reliable. I would love to see this limitation fixed though because spacebar is just so much easier to use than K.
This makes it so whenever you visit a channel page it selects the Videos tab instead of the Home tab. The Home tab is an annoying default because the VAST majority of the time I'm visiting a channel I'm trying to browse their VIDEOS, and sorry but I probably don't care about your intro video. jeezless crust the Home tab sucks.
I recommend installing TamperMonkey https://www.tampermonkey.net/ browser extension. Then upload these files from Settings or copy/paste.