if [ ! -z "$2" ]; then OUTPUT_NAME="$2" fi
If the M3U8 file is a standard HLS master playlist containing relative paths, aria2c will download the playlist, parse the segment URLs, download all segments into a temporary folder, and merge them into a single output file.
To understand the limitation, you need to look at how HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) works:
Look for a file named master.m3u8 or index files like index_1080.m3u8 . Right-click the request and select . Step 2: Convert M3U8 Links into a Download List aria2c m3u8
Streaming video platforms widely use HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) to deliver content smoothly. This technology splits videos into hundreds of tiny segments, tracked by a playlist file with an .m3u8 extension. While standard download managers fail when given an M3U8 link, —a ultra-lightweight, multi-protocol command-line download utility—can handle them efficiently if you know the right techniques.
yt-dlp --downloader aria2c --downloader-args "aria2c:-x 16 -s 16 -k 1M" "https://example.com/video.m3u8"
echo "[2/3] Downloading video segments with aria2c..." Right-click the request and select
If you want to fine-tune this setup for a specific website, let me know:
The true power of this method lies in automation. You can combine all these steps into a simple shell script (for Linux/macOS) or batch file (for Windows). This script can be a huge time-saver if you regularly download videos.
curl -s "https://example.com" | grep -v '^#' | sed 's|^|https://example.com|' > urls.txt Use code with caution. On Windows (Using PowerShell): powershell While standard download managers fail when given an
yt-dlp is a powerful command-line video downloader that natively supports m3u8 playlists and can delegate the download work to aria2c for a significant speed boost. To use yt-dlp with aria2c for an m3u8 URL, you would typically run a command similar to the following (note the protocol-specific syntax for the --downloader option):
Downloading m3u8 video streams with aria2c offers a powerful, flexible, and fast alternative to online tools and less capable command-line utilities. By combining aria2c 's parallel downloading prowess with ffmpeg 's ability to merge the pieces, you have a complete solution that is fully under your control.