Freedom251 › Video Downloaders
get_iplayer
What get_iplayer is
get_iplayer is free, GPL-3.0 software for downloading programmes from BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. It runs on Linux or BSD, macOS 10.10 or later, and Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11. Video downloads can reach 1080p, with MP4, M4A, MPEG-TS, and SRT output options; subtitles and batch downloads are supported. The utility indexes most catch-up programmes from the previous 30 days, excluding Red Button, iPlayer Exclusive, and podcast-only programmes. Regular-expression searches cover programme names, descriptions, and episode titles, with channel filters. Downloads can start from search results, programme IDs, or service URLs. PVR scheduling works with cron or Windows Task Scheduler, and HTTP proxies are supported. Perl 5.16 or later and listed modules are required. ffmpeg and AtomicParsley add conversion and tagging; without them, files remain raw streaming formats without metadata tags.
Who it suits
get_iplayer suits people who want BBC iPlayer or BBC Sounds downloads on Linux, macOS, or Windows. It is useful when subtitles, batch downloads, searches, or scheduled recording are needed.
What it does well
- Supports BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds
- Downloads up to 1080p video
- Subtitle and batch downloads supported
- Searches with regular expressions and channel filters
- Works with cron or Windows Task Scheduler
What to know first
- No live BBC channel recording
- Many content categories are unsupported
- Requires Perl and listed modules
- Conversion and tagging need additional tools
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| get_iplayer | Downloads BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds programmes · GPL-3.0 licensed | Free |
As github.com lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
get_iplayer offers broad desktop support and multiple BBC download formats, with search and scheduling features. Its content scope and dependency requirements should be checked before use.
Facts from get_iplayer's own pages
- Batch downloads
- It allows multiple programmes to be downloaded using a single command. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Content limitation
- It does not support live recording from BBC channels and does not support downloading news or sport videos, embedded media, archive programmes, special collections, educational material, clips or other content outside its stated whole-episode scope. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Conversion and tagging
- ffmpeg and AtomicParsley enable media conversion and metadata tagging; without them, downloads remain in raw streaming formats and metadata tags are not created. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Dependencies
- Perl 5.16 or later and Perl modules including LWP, LWP::Protocol::https, Mojolicious, XML::LibXML and CGI are required. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Deployment and support
- Web server deployment of get_iplayer or Web PVR Manager is unsupported by the developers. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Device platforms
- Windows; macOS; Linux · github.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Download limitation
- Search covers programmes scheduled on BBC linear services in the previous 30 days; older available items can be downloaded directly by PID or URL. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Input methods
- Programmes can be downloaded by search result index, programme ID, or BBC iPlayer/BBC Sounds URL. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository identifies the project as licensed under GPL-3.0. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Maximum video quality
- 1080p · github.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Output formats
- MP4; M4A; MPEG-TS; SRT · github.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Platform support
- It runs on Linux/BSD, macOS 10.10 or later, and Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Programme index
- It indexes most available iPlayer and Sounds catch-up programmes from the previous 30 days, excluding Red Button, iPlayer Exclusive and podcast-only programmes. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Proxy support
- The utility supports HTTP proxies. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- get_iplayer is a utility for downloading TV and radio programmes from BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Scheduled recording
- Its PVR capability can be used with cron or Windows Task Scheduler. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Search
- It supports regular-expression searches on programme names, descriptions and episode titles, and can filter results by channel. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Subtitle downloads
- Yes · github.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Supported sources
- BBC iPlayer; BBC Sounds · github.com, 21 Sept 2026
Where get_iplayer stands on Freedom251
- Video Downloaders#64 of 135