---

Install

pip install tiktok-live-recorder

ffmpeg must be on PATH:

• Windows: download from https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/ and add bin to PATH.
• macOS: brew install ffmpeg
• Linux: sudo apt install ffmpeg (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install ffmpeg (Fedora).

---

CLI

tiktok-live-recorder streamer_username

No key. No config. Just run it.

tiktok-live-recorder <username> [options]

Options:
  -o, --out <file>         Output file (default: <username>-<timestamp>.mp4)
  -q, --quality <q>        origin | FULL_HD1 | HD1 | SD1 | SD2  (default: origin)
  -c, --container <ext>    mp4 | flv | ts | mkv  (default: mp4)
      --max <seconds>      Stop after N seconds
  -v, --verbose            Print ffmpeg output

Examples:

# Record at best quality
tiktok-live-recorder streamer

# Cap at 2 hours, save to a named file
tiktok-live-recorder streamer --out 2026-06-07.mp4 --max 7200

# Save as FLV (no remux)
tiktok-live-recorder streamer -q origin -c flv

# Run as a module
python -m tiktok_live_recorder streamer

The CLI exits with code 2 when the user is offline so you can chain it in a watcher script:

while ! tiktok-live-recorder streamer; do sleep 30; done

---

SDK

Quick start

from tiktok_live_recorder import TikTokLiveRecorder

rec = TikTokLiveRecorder("streamer")
out_file, duration = rec.record(quality="origin")
print(f"Wrote {out_file} ({duration}s)")

Constructor

TikTokLiveRecorder(unique_id, *, endpoint=STREAM_URL_ENDPOINT, api_key="")

Argument	Type	Default	Description
unique_id	str	-	TikTok username (with or without @).
endpoint	str	https://api.tik.tools/webcast/stream_url	Override the URL resolver.
api_key	str	""	Optional API key for higher-quality endpoints.

rec.resolve() -> StreamSources

Return the available HLS / FLV URLs for the user without starting a recording.

sources = rec.resolve()
if not sources.live:
    print("offline")
else:
    print("HLS origin:", sources.hls.get("origin"))

rec.record(...) -> tuple[str, int]

Capture to disk. Returns (out_file, duration_sec). Resolves when the stream goes offline, max_duration_sec hits, or the user hits Ctrl+C.

Argument	Type	Default	Description
out_file	`str	None`	<uniqueId>-<timestamp>.mp4
quality	str	"origin"	Preferred quality. Falls back to next available.
container	str	"mp4"	mp4 / flv / ts / mkv.
ffmpeg_path	str	"ffmpeg"	Override the ffmpeg binary location.
max_duration_sec	`int	None`	-
verbose	bool	False	Print ffmpeg stderr.
on_segment_start	Callable[[str], None]	-	Callback when a new segment file starts.
on_segment_end	Callable[[str], None]	-	Callback when a segment file closes.

Errors

from tiktok_live_recorder import (
    TikTokLiveRecorder,
    StreamOfflineError,
    FfmpegMissingError,
)

rec = TikTokLiveRecorder("streamer")
try:
    rec.record()
except StreamOfflineError:
    print("not live")
except FfmpegMissingError:
    print("install ffmpeg")

---

Recipes

Watch + record

import time
from tiktok_live_recorder import TikTokLiveRecorder, StreamOfflineError

rec = TikTokLiveRecorder("streamer")

while True:
    try:
        out_file, duration = rec.record()
        print(f"captured {out_file} ({duration}s)")
    except StreamOfflineError:
        print("offline, retry in 30s")
    time.sleep(30)

Batch record multiple creators concurrently

import concurrent.futures
from tiktok_live_recorder import TikTokLiveRecorder, StreamOfflineError

USERNAMES = ["a", "b", "c"]

def record_one(u: str) -> str:
    try:
        out_file, _ = TikTokLiveRecorder(u).record(out_file=f"{u}.mp4")
        return f"{u} -> {out_file}"
    except StreamOfflineError:
        return f"{u} offline"

with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=4) as ex:
    for r in ex.map(record_one, USERNAMES):
        print(r)

Time-capped clip

from tiktok_live_recorder import TikTokLiveRecorder

rec = TikTokLiveRecorder("streamer")
out_file, _ = rec.record(max_duration_sec=60, out_file="clip.mp4")

Custom ffmpeg pipeline (split into 10-min segments)

import subprocess
from tiktok_live_recorder import TikTokLiveRecorder

sources = TikTokLiveRecorder("streamer").resolve()
input_url = sources.hls.get("origin")
if not input_url:
    raise SystemExit("no hls available")

subprocess.run([
    "ffmpeg", "-i", input_url,
    "-c", "copy",
    "-f", "segment",
    "-segment_time", "600",
    "-reset_timestamps", "1",
    "streamer-%03d.mp4",
])

More ready-to-run recipes in examples/.

---

How it works

1. The recorder asks https://api.tik.tools/webcast/stream_url?uniqueId=X for the user's current HLS / FLV URLs.
2. The server checks live status + returns the URLs as JSON.
3. The recorder spawns local ffmpeg, passes the URL as input, copies the bytes to disk. No re-encoding.

All bandwidth flows directly from TikTok's CDN to your disk - none of it touches our servers. We only handle the lightweight URL resolution.

---

Compatibility

• Python >= 3.9.
• Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker.
• Requires ffmpeg on PATH.

---

License

MIT

This is an independent third-party project. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected to TikTok or ByteDance Ltd. "TikTok" is a trademark of ByteDance Ltd; the name appears here for search discoverability.