aria2c -i ts_urls.txt -j 16 -x 16 -s 16 -d ./ts_segments
Create a text file listing all downloaded segments formatted like this: file 'segment1.ts' . You can automate this via command line: printf "file '%s'\n" *.ts > merge_list.txt Use code with caution. Windows (PowerShell): powershell
aria2c is a ultra-fast, lightweight, command-line download utility that supports multi-connection downloading. However, because aria2c treats inputs as raw files rather than streaming playlists, downloading an .m3u8 file directly requires a specific workflow to parse the playlist and merge the video segments. Understanding the M3U8 and aria2c Challenge
yt-dlp --external-downloader aria2c --external-downloader-args "-j 16 -x 16" "URL_TO_M3U8" Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard
Create a new text file, paste the code below, and save it as download.bat . aria2c m3u8
Conclusion Using aria2c with M3U8 playlists is a practical approach to grab HLS content when encryption and legal constraints allow. aria2c’s parallel download model and scripting friendliness make it especially useful for accelerating the download of many small segments and integrating downloads into automated workflows. Careful handling of live playlists, encryption, server politeness, and legal constraints ensures reliable and responsible use.
Some advanced users pipe through a custom script, but the cleanest "single command" approach uses ffmpeg with aria2c as its downloader via a script:
: Tells aria2c to read the input file and download every URL listed inside it.
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i concat_list.txt -c copy final_output.mp4 Use code with caution. Method B: Binary Copy Concatenation (Quick & Dirty) aria2c -i ts_urls
PARALLEL_JOBS=16 CONNECTIONS_PER_SERVER=16 HEADER_COOKIE="Cookie: your_session_here" HEADER_REFERER="Referer: https://example.com"
Imagine you have a 1-hour video hosted as an M3U8 playlist. A standard downloader might take 10 minutes because it processes segments sequentially. By using aria2c as an "accelerator," you can saturate your bandwidth and finish in under a minute.
Create a file named urls.txt where every line is a direct link to a .ts segment. Step 3: Batch Download with aria2c
First, you must find these values:
-i urls.txt : Tells aria2c to read the input file and download every URL sequentially.
An M3U8 file contains metadata tags starting with #EXT . You need to filter these out to isolate the raw video links.
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i merge.txt -c copy output.mp4