Chat Downloader

A simple tool used to retrieve chat messages from livestreams, videos, clips and past broadcasts. No authentication needed!

Installation

Install using pip

pip install chat-replay-downloader

To update to the latest version, add the --upgrade flag to the above command.

Install using git

git clone https://github.com/xenova/chat-replay-downloader.git
cd chat-replay-downloader
python setup.py install

Usage

Python:

from chat_replay_downloader import ChatDownloader

url = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qap5aO4i9A'
chat = ChatDownloader().get_chat(url)       # create a generator
for message in chat:                        # iterate over messages
    print(chat.format(message))             # print the formatted message

For advanced python use-cases and examples, consult the Python Wiki.

Command line:

chat_replay_downloader https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qap5aO4i9A

For advanced command line use-cases and examples, consult the Command Line Wiki.

Issues

Found a bug or have a suggestion? File an issue here. To assist the developers in fixing the issue, please follow the issue template (automatically generated when creating a new issue).

Contributing

Become a contributor

Run as a developer

To run the program as a developer, you do not need to build anything separately. Simply execute:

python -m chat_replay_downloader

[work in progress]

Add support for a new site:

1. Fork this repository.

2. Clone the source code with:

    git clone git@github.com:YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/chat-replay-downloader.git
   

3. Start a new branch with:

    cd youtube-dl
    git checkout -b site
   

4. Rest of guide in progress...

Test the program

If you are unable to write code but still wish to assist, we encourage users to run commands with the --testing flag included. This will print debugging messages and pause once something unexpected happens (e.g. when an unknown item is being parsed). If something happens, please raise an issue and we will fix it or add support for it as soon as possible! Note that this will not affect any output you write to files (using --output). For example:

chat_replay_downloader https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qap5aO4i9A --testing

Some extractors use undocumented endpoints and may and as a result, users may encounter items which will not be parsed correctly. Increased testing will improve functionality of the software for other users and is greatly appreciated.

Chat Items

Chat items are parsed into JSON objects (a.k.a. dictionaries) and follow this template:

[work in progress]

For a more in-depth output template, consult the Item Wiki.

Supported sites:

• YouTube.com - Livestreams, past broadcasts and premieres.
• Twitch.tv - Livestreams, past broadcasts and clips.
• Facebook.com (currently in development) - Livestreams and past broadcasts.

TODO list:

• Finalise unit testing
• Improve documentation
• Add progress bar when duration is known
• Add support for streams by username (i.e. currently live)
• Websites to add:
  • facebook.com (in progress)
  • vimeo.com
  • dlive.tv
  • instagib.tv
  • dailymotion.com
  • reddit live
  • younow.com

======= History

0.0.1 (2020-12-01)

• First release on PyPI.