JioHotstar Downloader

if this saved you time drop a star, takes 1 second

---

gui app to download jiohotstar content. works on both plain and DRM encrypted streams. picks up all audio languages, drops them in one mkv, handles widevine keys automatically if you have a wvd file.

disclaimer: personal use only. do not redistribute downloaded content. use at your own risk.

---

demo

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/25178f99-6a74-41a1-ad13-865cdaf81ea7

---

features

• otp login with phone number, no password
• auto detects DRM vs plain, handles both
• widevine L3 key fetch using your own .wvd file
• shows all qualities with size before you download
• pick audio languages: hi, te, ta, en, whatever the content has
• auto removes Audio Description dub tracks (no duplicate hindi)
• subtitle download
• filenames like Dhurandhar_1080p_hi+te+ta_H264_135kbps.mkv
• status shows Downloading then Muxing then Done
• cancel anytime
• dark gui, no terminal after setup
• N_m3u8DL-RE as primary engine, yt-dlp and ffmpeg as fallback

---

how it works

flowchart TD
    A([Paste Hotstar URL]) --> B[Extract Content ID]
    B --> C["Hotstar BFF API\nHMAC Auth + Android Fingerprint"]
    C --> D["Parse MPD / HLS\ndiscover streams + audio tracks"]

    D --> E{DRM?}
    E -->|yes| F["Fetch Keys\nWVD file + pywidevine + license server"]
    E -->|no| G[skip key fetch]

    F & G --> H{Pick in GUI}
    H --> I["Video Quality"]
    H --> J["Audio Languages"]
    H --> K["Subtitles"]

    I & J & K --> L["Build Command\ndrop AD tracks, select langs, inject keys"]

    L --> M{Engine}
    M -->|primary| N["N_m3u8DL-RE"]
    M -->|fallback| O[yt-dlp]
    M -->|last resort| P[ffmpeg]

    N & O & P --> Q([MKV with video + all audio + subs])

    style A fill:#1f6feb,color:#fff,stroke:none
    style Q fill:#238636,color:#fff,stroke:none
    style N fill:#0d1117,stroke:#1f6feb,color:#79c0ff
    style F fill:#0d1117,stroke:#9c36b5,color:#d2a8ff
    style E fill:#0d1117,stroke:#d29922,color:#d29922
    style M fill:#0d1117,stroke:#d29922,color:#d29922

---

what you need

---

setup

1. python

python.org/downloads -- tick "Add Python to PATH" during install

python --version

2. clone

git clone https://github.com/arvind88765/hotstar-downloader.git
cd hotstar-downloader

3. install deps

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. ffmpeg

download from gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds, grab ffmpeg-release-full.7z, extract it, add the bin folder to PATH. or just paste the full path in Settings.

5. N_m3u8DL-RE

go to github.com/nilaoda/N_m3u8DL-RE/releases, grab N_m3u8DL-RE_Beta_win-x64.zip, pull out the exe, paste its path in Settings.

multi-audio only works with this. yt-dlp and ffmpeg are backups. on a 90 mbps connection a 1hr episode takes like 20 seconds with N_m3u8DL-RE vs 3+ minutes with ffmpeg alone.

6. WVD device file (mandatory for DRM content)

this is the most important part if you want to download DRM encrypted streams.

a .wvd file is a widevine L3 software CDM device. the app uses it to talk to hotstar's license server and get decryption keys. without it, DRM content downloads but stays encrypted and won't play.

set it up:

1. put your .wvd file somewhere (e.g. E:\device.wvd)
2. open the app, go to Settings
3. paste the path in the WVD Device File field
4. save

keys are fetched fresh every download using your login token. nothing is stored.

---

how to use

python hotstar_gui.py

Login tab -- enter phone (no +91), get OTP, login. token lasts about 20 hours.

Download tab

1. paste url or content id, hit Fetch Qualities
2. check the DRM status bar:
   • 🔓 plain stream -- download directly
   • 🔒 widevine encrypted -- click Fetch Keys first (needs wvd set up in Settings)
   • 🔑 keys ready -- good
3. pick quality, audio languages, subs
4. set output folder, hit Download

Settings tab -- paths for ffmpeg, N_m3u8DL-RE, WVD file, thread count, engine choice.

---

supported urls

https://www.hotstar.com/in/shows/mirzapur/1260022930/episode-name/1260025525/watch
https://www.hotstar.com/in/movies/dhurandhar/1271642559/watch
1271642559

---

filenames

Dhurandhar_1080p_hi+te+ta_H264_135kbps.mkv
Mirzapur_S02E04_720p_hi+te_H264_128kbps.mkv

format: Title_Quality_Langs_Codec_AudioBitrate.mkv

---

speed

---

troubleshooting

"no valid token" -- login again

only shows "Best available (auto)" -- MPD fetch failed, hit Fetch Qualities again

DRM content plays garbled -- key fetch failed or wrong wvd file

Fetch Keys greyed out -- content has no DRM, just download

"Key fetch failed" -- wvd might be revoked or path is wrong in Settings

only English audio on plain streams -- hit Fetch Qualities again, app parses both MPD and HLS playlist so all tracks should show up

really slow download -- N_m3u8DL-RE not configured. open Settings, paste the path, save.

OTP not arriving -- wait 60 seconds, click Resend OTP

---

files

hotstar_gui.py    run this
requirements.txt      pip install -r this

token and config auto-created on first run, gitignored so they never get committed.

---

made by Rvind