Getting started

To do this properly, you need to understand how those websites work.

For the shake of simplicity fellow "pirates", they utilize m3u wiki link

m3u8 99% of the time.

You will also need yt-dlp install it if you don't have already

Example on utilizing this knowledge

Go to your favorite streaming site
Simple press F12
Go to Network
Select XHR (XMLHttpRequest)
Filter URLs for m3u8
- If you find more than one, just test them out, you will soon find the trick on your own :)
Copy the URL
Open a terminal and type yt-dlp <your-copied-link>

Do it Ethically

Some may call us pirates, which I find really cool

But the true evil Pirates/criminals are the ones that keep the power to themselves and don't share it with others

Information is the only true power, and it should be free(free as in free speech) for all.

Share your own tips & tricks in the comments if you want!

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[+] dark@lemmy.one 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

[deleted]

[-] Holzkohlen@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago

It is, I've been using it for years now.

[-] ondoyant@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago

you can download it from all linux package managers i've tried. not sure if linux counts as malware or not.

[-] Protowalker@beehaw.org -2 points 1 year ago

Linux is definitely malware. I installed it and I haven't been able to use my computer since

[-] ruffletuss@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

yt-dlp is legit. It's a fork of the yt-dl project, adding in a few extra features. yt-dl itself is used in a number of open-source projects like NewPipe.

yt-dlp is also an open-source project, with its source code available on GitHub for everyone to scrutinise. If it had malware bundled in it, it would have been easily identified by users.

You can try a GUI for yt-dlp here. I only use the command-line version so I won't be of much help with it, but lmk if you run into any trouble.

You could alternatively use Jdownloader2. It's an amazing all-in-one downloader. Just copy the link of the YouTube video, and it'll automatically pick up the video you'd like to download. You can change the quality of the video to download and even download the subtitles, thumbnail and description too. For music, you can choose to only keep the audio track in the m4a, opus or ogg format. Here's a video guide to get it installed and running.