Feature Request: Automatic instance selection parameter

[shanemd]

First, thank you all for maintaining such a fantastic project! I can focus so much more when using IV instead of having to click through and watch Ads on the main YT site. Keep up the good work!

Here's the feature idea/request: A URL parameter on invidio.us that auto-selects the first instance on the instance list and redirects the browser there.

For example: https://invidio.us/watch?v=yhu3s1ut3wM drops you on the instance selection page, where you have to pick an instance. Imagine having a parameter that you could add to the URL like 'first_instance=1', that would just auto-redirect you to the top instance on the current list. So https://invidio.us/watch?v=yhu3s1ut3wM&first_instance=1 would could land you directly on https://invidious.exonip.de/watch?v=yhu3s1ut3wM, or some other instance. I assume the instance list is somewhat randomized, so this shouldn't cause too much traffic on one instance (and might actually help spread the load better). I also expect that many people, myself included, just always click the first instance on the list anyway, so this should be strictly a user experience improvement.

Background: I use the main invidio.us site quite frequently, as I find that switching instances periodically leads to the best experience. This leads to a lot of clicking through on the first instance on the list. I've also been using a Request editor to automatically change YT urls to IV. Adding a feature like this would make the process seemless, as the Request editor could also add the URL parameter dynamically.

Thank you for considering. :)