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Guide · Open source

How to use DouyinLiveRecorder: setup, config and recording tips

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

DouyinLiveRecorder is an open-source tool that watches a list of live-stream room addresses and saves the video when those streams go live. It supports Douyin, TikTok, YouTube, Kuaishou, Huya, Douyu, Bilibili and many other platforms, and is built on FFmpeg. This guide shows you how to set it up, add rooms, choose quality, run it unattended and stop it cleanly.

DouyinLiveRecorderihmily/DouyinLiveRecorder · ★ 11.1k · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Download the zip. Go to the Releases page of the GitHub repository and download the latest zip archive. Extract it to a folder.
  2. 2Add room addresses. Open config/URL_config.ini and add one live-room address per line.
  3. 3Adjust config.ini. Optionally change the recording format to ts and set proxy options if you record overseas platforms.
  4. 4Start the recorder. Run DouyinLiveRecorder.exe. It loops through the listed rooms and records streams when they go live.
  5. 5Check the downloads folder. Find your recordings in the downloads folder next to the program.
  6. 6Stop when finished. Run StopRecording.vbs on Windows or press Ctrl+C in the recording window.

Choose between the Windows zip and running from source

The README says the simplest route for non-technical users is to go to the Releases page, download the latest zip archive and extract it. The archive contains a packaged recorder program.

If you are comfortable with Python, you can instead run the source code. This needs Python 3.10 or newer, and the README recommends uv, which can manage Python versions and virtual environments for you. Using uv is optional.

  • Non-technical or Windows users: download the zip from Releases and extract it.
  • Developers or users who want to customize the code: clone the repository and run the Python source.

Install from source code

Clone the repository, enter the project folder and install the dependencies with pip, as the README describes. The README also notes a domestic pip mirror can be specified with the -i option if installation is slow, and offers uv sync as an alternative.

git clone https://github.com/ihmily/DouyinLiveRecorder.git cd DouyinLiveRecorder pip3 install -U pip && pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Add live-room addresses to URL_config.ini

After extracting the zip, open the URL_config.ini file in the config folder and add the room addresses, one per line. The README gives examples for Douyin, TikTok, Kuaishou, Huya, Douyu, Bilibili, YouTube and many more in its room link section.

To pause monitoring of a room without deleting its link, put # at the start of that line. To set quality for a single room, put the quality name before the address, separated by a comma, for example 超清, followed by the URL. The default quality is 原画.

  • One room address per line in config/URL_config.ini.
  • Prefix a line with # to stop monitoring and recording that room.
  • Prefix with a quality name and a comma to override quality for one room.
超清，https://live.douyin.com/745964462470

Adjust settings in config.ini

To customize recording, edit config.ini. The README recommends changing the recording format to ts. Recordings are saved to the downloads folder in the same directory as the program.

For overseas platforms such as TikTok or AfreecaTV, the README says to enable the proxy option in the config file and set proxy_addr, for example 127.0.0.1:7890, adjusting it to your own proxy.

  • Set the recording format to ts (recommended in the README).
  • Enable the proxy and set proxy_addr for overseas platforms.
  • Set a longer loop interval if you run it for long periods, to reduce request frequency.

Run the recorder and stop it cleanly

Once the config is ready, run DouyinLiveRecorder.exe on Windows (or main.py from source). The tool monitors the listed rooms in a loop and records when a stream is live. Recordings appear in the downloads folder.

To stop everything on Windows, run the StopRecording.vbs script, or press Ctrl+C in the recording window. To stop one room only, add # in front of its address in URL_config.ini; the README says this stops that room and saves the video already recorded.

  • Windows: run StopRecording.vbs to stop recording.
  • Any platform: press Ctrl+C in the recording window.
  • Single room: add # before its URL in URL_config.ini.

What people use it for

  • Archiving streams from specific streamers on supported platforms.
  • Leaving the recorder running unattended and checking recordings later.
  • Recording overseas platforms such as TikTok through a configured proxy.
  • Running the Python source in Docker, since the project includes a Dockerfile and docker-compose.yaml.

Frequently asked questions

Is DouyinLiveRecorder free to use?

The project is released under the MIT licence, which the repository lists. Check the LICENSE file in the repository for the full terms before redistributing.

What do I need to run DouyinLiveRecorder?

For Windows, download the zip from Releases and extract it. To run from source, you need Python 3.10 or newer; the README recommends uv, which can manage Python for you.

Which platforms does DouyinLiveRecorder support?

The README lists a long set of platforms including Douyin, TikTok, YouTube, Kuaishou, Huya, Douyu and Bilibili. Some need extra setup: the README says Taobao needs cookies and overseas platforms such as TikTok need a proxy.

Why won't TikTok or other overseas streams record?

The README says overseas platforms need a proxy. Enable the proxy option in config.ini and set proxy_addr to your own proxy address, such as 127.0.0.1:7890 as an example.

How do I stop recording one streamer without removing the link?

Add # at the start of that room's line in URL_config.ini. The README says this stops monitoring and recording for that room and saves what was already recorded.

Can I get notifications when a streamer goes live?

The source says the tool can send live-status notifications, and the project includes msg_push.py for sending live status update messages. Check the code for the exact notification channels it supports.

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Our verdict

DouyinLiveRecorder suits people who want to archive streams from specific streamers on the listed platforms and leave the tool running unattended, especially Windows users who prefer a zip download. It is not for people who just want to watch live streams or who need a polished graphical app, since it is driven by text config files. Check the README for per-platform requirements such as cookies or proxies before relying on a platform.

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