14 KiB
LBRY Downloader
A Python tool that incrementally syncs downloadable file claims from configured LBRY/Odysee channels into a structured local archive.
Recommended Defaults
For most users:
- Files only:
lbry-downloader --non-video-only - Videos only:
lbry-downloader --video-only - Mixed per-channel behavior: set
content_modeinconfig.yamland runlbry-downloader - Optional local-node mode:
lbry-downloader --p2p
Features
- Incremental Sync: Only downloads new claims and updated versions
- Version Preservation: Keeps old versions instead of overwriting them
- Robust Identity: Uses stable LBRY claim IDs, not display names or titles
- Atomic State: Database writes are atomic to prevent corruption
- Direct Mode by Default: Uses Odysee's public proxy + CDN without requiring a local node
- Optional P2P Mode: Can use a local
lbrynetdaemon when explicitly requested - Streaming Fallback: Automatically uses daemon's streaming endpoint when P2P peers are unavailable
- Flexible Input: Accepts Odysee URLs, LBRY URIs, or claim IDs
- Audit Trail: Maintains run history in JSONL format
- Dry-Run Mode: Test what would happen without downloading
Installation
One-Line Install (Easiest)
Install with a single command:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PR0M3TH3AN/LBRY-Downloader/main/remote-install.sh -o install-lbry.sh && bash install-lbry.sh
Requirements: Git and Python 3.8+ must be installed.
Easy Install (Recommended)
Run the interactive setup script that handles everything:
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/LBRY-Downloader.git
cd LBRY-Downloader
# Run the interactive installer
./setup.py
The setup script will:
- ✅ Check and install system dependencies
- ✅ Set up a Python virtual environment
- ✅ Install Python packages
- ✅ Ask for your download location
- ✅ Configure channels to download from
- ✅ Set download limits
- ✅ Create launcher scripts
- ✅ Prepare a direct-first downloader setup that works without a local node
- ✅ Leave
lbrynetas an optional install only for users who want--p2p
Important: Direct mode is now the default and does not require lbrynet.
If you choose to use --p2p, then lbrynet requires syncing blockchain headers (not full blocks) on first use:
- Downloads ~1.7 million block headers (takes 5-10 minutes)
- Uses minimal storage (headers only, not full blockchain)
- Subsequent starts are much faster
- This is only needed for the optional node-backed mode
Manual Install
See LINUX_SETUP.md for detailed manual installation instructions.
Uninstall
To remove LBRY Downloader:
./uninstall.py
Prerequisites
Direct mode is the default, so a local LBRY daemon is not required for normal use.
If you want to use P2P mode explicitly with --p2p, then you need to have the LBRY SDK daemon (lbrynet) installed and running:
# The daemon should be accessible at http://127.0.0.1:5279
# Check if it's running:
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5279 \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"status","params":{},"id":1}'
To install lbrynet, see: https://lbry.com/get
Configuration
Copy the example config and edit it:
cp config.yaml.example ~/Documents/lbry-downloads/config.yaml
# Edit the file to add your channels
Example configuration:
lbrynet:
api_url: "http://127.0.0.1:5279"
timeout_seconds: 60
general:
base_dir: "~/Documents/lbry-downloads"
max_workers: 2
dry_run: false
include_reposts: false
direct_base_urls:
- "https://odysee.com"
direct_max_retries_per_url: 2
direct_retry_backoff_seconds: 2.0
direct_auto_fallback_to_p2p: false
channels:
- input: "https://odysee.com/@SomeChannel:1"
enabled: true
content_mode: "all"
- input: "lbry://@AnotherChannel#5"
enabled: true
content_mode: "non_video_only"
Finding Channel URLs
Yes, you can get channel info from Odysee! Here's how:
Method 1: From Odysee Website (Easiest)
- Go to https://odysee.com
- Search for the channel you want to download from
- Click on the channel name to go to the channel page
- Copy the URL from your browser's address bar
- Example:
https://odysee.com/@TechChannel:1 - Example:
https://odysee.com/@DocumentaryFilms:2
- Example:
- Paste this URL into your config.yaml
Method 2: From Any Video Page
- Find a video from the channel you want
- Click on the channel name below the video
- Copy the URL from the address bar
Method 3: Using LBRY Desktop App
- Open the LBRY desktop app
- Navigate to the channel
- Right-click on the channel name
- Select "Copy Link" or look at the URL bar
URL Formats Supported
The tool accepts multiple URL formats:
channels:
# Odysee URL (most common)
- input: "https://odysee.com/@ChannelName:1"
enabled: true
# LBRY URI format
- input: "lbry://@ChannelName#1"
enabled: true
# Short form
- input: "@ChannelName:1"
enabled: true
# Channel claim ID (most stable)
- input: "f3b9b2b7c1c3d8e9a1234567890abcdef123456"
enabled: true
Tip: The Odysee URL is the easiest to find and use. Just copy-paste from your browser!
Per-Channel Download Locations
You can specify a custom download location for each channel:
channels:
- input: "https://odysee.com/@TechVideos:1"
enabled: true
download_path: "/mnt/media/tech" # Downloads go here instead of base_dir
- input: "https://odysee.com/@Music:1"
enabled: true
download_path: "~/Music/LBRY"
- input: "https://odysee.com/@DefaultLocation:1"
enabled: true
# No download_path - uses general.base_dir/channels/
Per-Channel Content Mode
You can control the download type for each channel independently.
channels:
- input: "https://odysee.com/@VideoChannel:1"
enabled: true
content_mode: "video_only"
- input: "https://odysee.com/@FileArchive:1"
enabled: true
content_mode: "non_video_only"
- input: "https://odysee.com/@MixedChannel:1"
enabled: true
content_mode: "all"
Available values:
all: Download both video and non-video files for that channel.video_only: Download only video files such as.mp4,.webm, and.mkv.non_video_only: Download only non-video files such as.zip, PDFs, and similar file claims.
Precedence:
- Per-channel
content_modeis the normal default for that channel. - CLI flags
--video-onlyand--non-video-onlyoverride all channels for a single run.
Download Limit
Limit how many new downloads per channel (downloads most recent first):
general:
# Download only 10 most recent items per channel (default)
download_limit: 10
# Or set to 0 to download everything
# download_limit: 0
This is useful for:
- Testing: Download just a few files to verify everything works
- Large channels: Gradually sync channels with thousands of videos
- Bandwidth: Control how much data is downloaded per run
Direct-Mode Rate Limit Fallbacks
If Odysee starts returning 429 Too Many Requests, you can tune the direct downloader instead of hardcoding random public mirrors.
general:
direct_base_urls:
- "https://odysee.com"
# - "https://your-mirror.example"
direct_max_retries_per_url: 2
direct_retry_backoff_seconds: 2.0
direct_auto_fallback_to_p2p: false
What these do:
direct_base_urls: direct download bases to try in order. Odysee should normally stay first.direct_max_retries_per_url: how many retries to allow after HTTP429for the same direct URL.direct_retry_backoff_seconds: base delay for exponential backoff after HTTP429.direct_auto_fallback_to_p2p: iftrue, a direct-mode run will try the locallbrynetdaemon after repeated rate-limit failures.
Recommended pattern:
- Keep
https://odysee.comfirst. - Add your own mirror only if you actually control or trust it.
- Turn on
direct_auto_fallback_to_p2p: trueonly if you also maintain a working local node.
Launching the Application
After installation, you can launch LBRY Downloader in several ways:
Method 1: Using the Launcher Script (Recommended)
# Run from install directory
cd ~/Documents/LBRY-Downloader
./bin/lbry-downloader
# Or if you added it to your PATH (see below)
lbry-downloader
Method 2: Using the Virtual Environment
cd ~/Documents/LBRY-Downloader
source venv/bin/activate
python main.py
Method 3: Quick Test Script
cd ~/Documents/LBRY-Downloader
./bin/lbry-test # Automatically runs with --dry-run
Add to PATH (Run from Anywhere)
Add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
export PATH="$HOME/Documents/LBRY-Downloader/bin:$PATH"
Then reload your shell:
source ~/.bashrc # or source ~/.zshrc
Now you can run lbry-downloader from any directory!
Prerequisites Before Running
Important: If you are using --p2p, make sure the LBRY daemon is running first:
# Start the daemon
lbrynet start
# Check if it's running
lbrynet status
Usage
Recommended Default: Direct + Non-Video Downloads Only
If your main goal is to archive file attachments such as .zip bundles and skip video files such as .mp4, this should be the primary command you use:
python3 main.py --non-video-only
This mode keeps non-video claim downloads and skips video claims before the per-channel download limit is applied.
Common Commands
# Recommended default: download only non-video files such as zip archives
python3 main.py --non-video-only
# Download only video files such as mp4/webm/mkv
python3 main.py --video-only
# Download everything supported by the tool
python3 main.py
# Preview what would be downloaded without downloading anything
python3 main.py --dry-run
# Preview only non-video downloads
python3 main.py --dry-run --non-video-only
# Use a custom config file
python3 main.py --config ./my-config.yaml
# Run explicitly in direct mode (normally unnecessary because this is the default)
python3 main.py --direct
# Use the local LBRY daemon and P2P network instead of direct mode
python3 main.py --p2p
# Use P2P mode but keep only non-video files
python3 main.py --p2p --non-video-only
# Use P2P mode but keep only video files
python3 main.py --p2p --video-only
Flag Reference
--non-video-only: Download only non-video claims such as.zip, PDFs, and other non-video files.--video-only: Download only video claims such as.mp4,.webm, and.mkv.--dry-run: Show what would be downloaded without changing anything.--direct: Use direct mode explicitly. This is already the default.--p2p: Use the local LBRY daemon and peer-to-peer network instead of the default direct mode.--config PATH: Use a config file other than~/Documents/lbry-downloads/config.yaml.
If you configure content_mode per channel, you usually only need the CLI content flags when you want a temporary run-wide override.
Running Through the Launcher
If you installed the launcher script, the same commands work there too:
lbry-downloader --non-video-only
lbry-downloader --video-only
lbry-downloader --dry-run --non-video-only
lbry-downloader --p2p --non-video-only
Directory Structure
Downloads are organized as:
~/Documents/lbry-downloads/
config.yaml
state/
database.json
run-history.jsonl
channels/
<channel_name>__<channel_claim_id>/
channel.json
claims/
<claim_name>__<claim_id>/
claim.json
versions/
<version_token>/
<downloaded_file>
metadata.json
download.json
checksums.txt
How It Works
- Channel Resolution: Converts URLs/URIs to stable channel claim IDs
- Claim Enumeration: Paginates through all claims in each channel
- Version Detection: Uses
sd_hashto detect updated content - Smart Skipping: Only downloads new claims or changed versions
- Metadata Preservation: Stores normalized metadata beside each file
State Management
The tool maintains state in state/database.json:
- Tracks which channels have been scanned
- Records claim metadata and version history
- Prevents duplicate downloads
- Detects missing files for re-download
Troubleshooting
"Could not connect to LBRY daemon"
Make sure lbrynet is running:
lbrynet start
This only applies when you are using --p2p. Direct mode does not require a local daemon.
"Config file not found"
Create a config at the default location or specify a path:
python3 main.py --config ./config.yaml
Dry run shows no downloads
Check that your channels are enabled and have downloadable content (streams, not just reposts).
HTTP 429 / Too Many Requests
If direct mode is being rate-limited:
- Reduce how aggressively you rerun the downloader.
- Increase
direct_retry_backoff_seconds. - Keep
direct_max_retries_per_urlmodest, such as2or3. - Add a trusted mirror to
direct_base_urlsif you actually have one. - Enable
direct_auto_fallback_to_p2p: trueif you want automatic fallback to the local node when direct mode keeps hitting429.
Architecture
main.py- Entry point and orchestrationlbry_client.py- JSON-RPC daemon communicationconfig_loader.py- Configuration parsingstate_db.py- Persistent state managementplanner.py- Download decision logicdownloader.py- Download execution with P2P + streaming fallbackmodels.py- Data structuresutils.py- Helper functions
How Downloads Work
The downloader supports two transport modes:
- Direct mode (default): Uses Odysee's public proxy for metadata and Odysee CDN for the actual download
- P2P mode (
--p2p): Uses the local LBRY daemon and peer-to-peer network, with daemon streaming fallback when peers are unavailable
Direct mode is the intended default for most users. P2P mode remains available when you specifically want node-backed downloading.
License
MIT License