# Patreon Downloader

Lightweight helpers for using `yt-dlp` to download media from Patreon posts you have access to.

## Contents
- `with_ui.py` + `frontend.html` — browser-based UI for inspecting post metadata and streaming downloads.
- `batch.py` — command-line batch downloader (supports `urls.json`).
- `urls.sample.json` — example JSON input file.

## Features
- Inspect available formats and metadata before downloading.
- Stream `yt-dlp` output to the browser with live progress.
- Batch-mode support for many posts via a JSON file or inline list.

## Requirements
- Python 3.8+ and `pip`.
- `yt-dlp` installed and available on PATH (or configure via environment variables).

## Installation
1. Clone the repository:

```bash
git clone <repo-url>
cd patreon-downloader
```

2. Install dependencies:

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

3. Export your Patreon cookies to `cookies.txt` (use a browser extension such as “Get cookies.txt”) and place it in the project root.

## Quick Start

### Web UI (recommended)
1. Start the UI server:

```bash
python with_ui.py
```

2. Open http://localhost:5000 in your browser.
3. Fill in the post URL and the path to `cookies.txt`. Inspect formats and click download. The terminal-like pane shows `yt-dlp` output live.

### Batch mode
You can provide URLs in two ways:

- Inline in `batch.py`: edit the `URLS` list.
- JSON file: create `urls.json` (or set `URLS_JSON`) containing an array of URLs.

Example `urls.json` format (see `urls.sample.json`):

```json
["https://www.patreon.com/posts/example-post-12345678", "https://www.patreon.com/posts/another-example-87654321"]
```

Run the batch script:

```bash
python batch.py
```

## Configuration
- `YTDLP_PATH` (env): override `yt-dlp` executable for the UI server.
- `DOWNLOAD_DIR` (env): override download directory used by the UI server.
- `URLS_JSON` (env): path to a JSON file containing an array of URLs for `batch.py` (default: `./urls.json`).

## JSON input behavior (batch)
- If `URLS_JSON` exists and contains a non-empty array of strings, `batch.py` will use those URLs.
- If not present, `batch.py` falls back to the `URLS` list embedded in the script.

## Examples
- Run single download quickly via UI.
- Use `urls.sample.json` as a template for bulk downloads.

## Troubleshooting
- `yt-dlp` extractor or permission errors: re-export `cookies.txt` and ensure they are up to date.
- UI fetch timeout: the UI uses a 30s timeout for `--dump-json`; run the `yt-dlp --dump-json` command manually to debug.
- If downloads fail on Windows, ensure `YTDLP` in `batch.py` points to `yt-dlp.exe`.

## Security & Ethics
- Use this tool only for content you are authorized to access (e.g., from subscriptions you paid for). Respect creators' terms.

## Contributing
- Bug reports and pull requests welcome. Keep changes minimal and focused.

## Files of interest
- `with_ui.py` — Flask UI server and job manager.
- `frontend.html` — browser interface.
- `batch.py` — command-line batch downloader (now supports JSON input).
- `requirements.txt` — Python dependencies.
- `urls.sample.json` — example JSON file.

## Browser helper
Use the included `get_urls.js` helper to extract post URLs from a Patreon page via the browser console. Paste and run the script in the console while viewing a page with posts; the script logs an array of URLs which you can right-click and "Copy Object" on.

## License
- MIT No Attribution — see `MIT-0.txt`.

## Made with Claude Sonnet in about 15 Minutes.