FanslyRecorder

Record Fansly live streams by intercepting m3u8 playlist URLs via Playwright and piping them through streamlink.

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

Opens a browser window for you to log in to Fansly:

fansly-recorder --login

Saves the session to ~/.config/fansly-recorder/auth.json. All subsequent runs use this file headless.

2. Record a stream

fansly-recorder --url https://fansly.com/.../stream -o output.ts

The output filename defaults to {streamer}_{timestamp}.ts. Use --format to change the container (e.g. --format mkv). Adding -o output sets the filename base; the extension comes from --format.

When the stream URL refreshes mid-recording (token rotation), the file is split into numbered parts (e.g. output_part0001.ts, output_part0002.ts). These are automatically concatenated into one final file when the stream ends. Use --no-concat to keep the raw .ts parts.

3. Watch mode (poll for stream)

fansly-recorder --url https://fansly.com/.../stream --watch

Keeps the browser open and polls for a stream every 300 seconds (configurable with --interval). The page is assumed to auto-refresh when the streamer goes live. Once a stream ends, it returns to polling automatically.

CLI Options

Flag	Default	Description
--url	—	Stream page URL to record
-o / --output	auto	Output file path template
--format	ts	Output container format (ts, mkv, mp4, etc.)
--no-concat	—	Skip concatenation, keep raw .ts part files
--login	—	Interactive login to save auth state
--storage-state	~/.config/fansly-recorder/auth.json	Path to saved auth state file
--cdp-url	http://127.0.0.1:9222	CDP URL for existing browser (fallback when no auth file)
--monitor-time	15	Seconds to wait for stream playlist on page load
--watch	—	Stay running, check for stream every N seconds
--interval	300	Check interval in seconds (only used with --watch)

Note: --format controls the final output container extension, overriding any extension from -o. Part files are always .ts and written alongside the final output. Concatenation uses cat for .ts output and ffmpeg -c copy for other formats (no re-encoding).

Packages

Nix

A flake.nix is provided for reproducible development and deployment.

Dev shell

nix develop

Provides Python 3.14, Playwright, streamlink, ffmpeg, and the Chromium browser with PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH preconfigured.

Run directly

nix run . -- --url https://fansly.com/.../stream -o output.ts

Build Docker image

nix build .#dockerImage
docker load < result
docker run fansly-recorder --help

Binary Releases

Pre-built binaries are attached to GitHub Releases and Forgejo Releases.

• Linux: fansly-recorder-linux
• Windows: fansly-recorder-windows.exe
• macOS: fansly-recorder-macos

The binary is a PyInstaller bundle of the Python code only. On first run you need Playwright's Chromium browser installed:

# Download Chromium to ~/.cache/ms-playwright/
python -m playwright install chromium

Set PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH to point elsewhere if needed.

Arch Linux

An AUR-ready PKGBUILD is provided in the arch/ directory.

Install from AUR (when published)

# Using an AUR helper like yay or paru
yay -S fansly-recorder

Build and install manually

cd arch/
makepkg -si

This will install the fansly-recorder command and its dependencies. Chromium is pulled in automatically as a system dependency.

Docker

Images are published to:

• GitHub: ghcr.io/sakulflee/fansly-recorder
• Forgejo: forgejo.sakul-flee.de/sakulflee/fansly-recorder

Tags follow git tags (v0.1.0, etc.). The latest tag is updated on manual dispatches.

docker pull ghcr.io/sakulflee/fansly-recorder:latest
docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/data" ghcr.io/sakulflee/fansly-recorder \
  fansly-recorder --url https://fansly.com/.../stream -o /data/output.ts

How It Works

1. Authentication: --login saves Playwright's browser storage state (cookies + localStorage) to a JSON file. Normal recording loads this state headless, avoiding repeated logins.

2. m3u8 Capture: A request handler on the Playwright page intercepts URLs containing .m3u8. The first detected playlist URL is used for recording.

3. Recording: The m3u8 URL is passed to streamlink as hlsvariant://.... Streamlink handles HLS segment downloading and reassembly.

4. Stream Transitions: The browser stays alive. If a new m3u8 URL appears (token refresh / stream restart), the old streamlink process is killed and a new one launched with the updated URL. Each segment is written as a numbered .ts part file.

5. Graceful Exit: When streamlink exits and no new m3u8 is seen for 60 seconds, all part files are concatenated into the final output and the parts are cleaned up. Pressing Ctrl+C during recording also triggers concatenation before exiting. Watch mode returns to polling after each stream.

6. Watch Mode: With --watch, the detection and recording phases are wrapped in a retry loop. If no stream is found (or a previous recording ends), the script sleeps for --interval seconds and checks again. The browser stays open and the request handler stays registered throughout.

7. Interactive Prompt: If no auth file exists and running in a terminal, you're prompted to login, use CDP, or quit. Non-TTY (e.g., Docker) falls back to CDP automatically.

CI/CD

Pipeline	Trigger	Provider	Platforms
Lint (ruff check)	push + PR	GitHub Actions + Woodpecker	Linux
Docker build + push	tags v* + manual	GitHub Actions (ghcr.io) + Woodpecker (Forgejo)	Linux
Binary release	tags v*	GitHub Actions	Linux, Windows, macOS
Binary release	tags v*	Woodpecker	Linux (Forgejo)