Install Streamlink CLI on Ubuntu and macOS

Streamlink lets you watch any stream inside your favorite media players such as VLC, MPlayer, and QuickTime. You can watch YouTube, Twitch, or DailyMotion video streams on your desktop instead of in your browser. Aside from a cleaner experience, streaming via any desktop player has far less impact on your PC’s resources leading to smoother playback.

In this guide, you learn how to install and configure Streamlink on the macOS, Ubuntu, and Debian distributions. For a list of all available streaming resources, see Streamlink’s Plugins documentation.

Streamlink connects your stream to any media player, so make sure you have a compatible player installed on your computer. Streamlink supports MPlayer, MPV, VLC, and QuickTime (on macOS).

Start with the basic requirements to get Streamlink installed.

1. Update the packages on your Debian or Linux system.

    sudo apt update
   

2. If you’re using an Ubuntu distribution, add the following software repository to APT.

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
   

3. Use APT to install Streamlink on your system.

    sudo apt install streamlink
   

4. Confirm the installation with Y and wait for the download and package installation to complete. You’re now ready to start streaming on your Ubuntu or Debian desktop computer. The steps in the following section covers those details.

   Note

   If you receive a No playable streams found on this URL error, install Streamlink using the Python Package Installer (pip):

   Check the version of your system’s pip installation by running the command below:

   pip --version
   

   Depending on your version of pip, use one of the commands below:

   pip3 install --user --upgrade streamlink
   

   Or:

   pip install --user --upgrade streamlink
   

1. If you do not have Homebrew installed on your macOS, install it using the following command:

    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
   

2. Install Streamlink.

    brew install streamlink
   

You’re now ready to start streaming on your macOS desktop computer.

1. To watch a stream using the Streamlink CLI, issue the command below. Replace the URL with your own stream’s URL.

    streamlink https://www.twitch.tv/linode
   

   You see a list of available streaming options.

   Note

   When using Ubuntu or Debian, you may have to specify the video player to open the stream in. For example, to open your stream using VLC, issue the following command:

   streamlink -p vlc twitch.tv/linode
   

   This selects VLC as the desired media player. This works across most supported streaming platforms.

2. Select the desired resolution by using the following command:

    streamlink twitch.tv/linode 900p60
   

   Alternatively, you can select the best available streaming resolution with the following command:

    streamlink twitch.tv/linode best
   

To learn more about the available Streamlink CLI configuration options, see Streamlink’s Player Options documentation.

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

• Streamlink’s Plugins documentation
• Streamlink’s Player Options