Save Twitch live streams via streamlink

streamlink-save.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Save Twitch live streams via streamlink
# Version 0.5.3 modified 2026-05-30 by AfroThundr
# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later

set -euo pipefail
shopt -s extdebug

declare -gr \
    BASEDIR='/mnt/pool0/media/archive/twitch' \
    BASEURL='https://api.twitch.tv/helix/streams' \
    CHANNEL="${1}" \
    LEVEL=best \
    CLIENT="${CLIENT:-}" \
    TOKEN="${TOKEN:-}" \
    SLEEP=20

utils.sleep() {
    (($# == 1)) || return
    [[ ${_sleep_fd:-} ]] || {
        exec {_sleep_fd}<> <(:) && utils.sleep 0
    }
    read -r -t "${1#*-}" -u "$_sleep_fd" || :
}

streamlink_save() {
    (($# == 2)) || return
    local pid comm=(/usr/bin/streamlink -o "$1" "$2" "${LEVEL}")
    pid=$(
        ps -U "${USER}" -jf |
            awk -v u="${2}" -v l="${LEVEL}" \
                '$0 ~ "streamlink -o.+" u " " l {print $4}'
    )
    [[ $pid ]] ||
        systemd-run -q --user --scope --slice-inherit -u streamlink-save-$$ \
            nice -n 19 ionice -c 3 "${comm[@]}" &
    systemd-inhibit --who=streamlink-$$ --why="VOD recording: $2" \
        pidwait -ns "${pid:-$$}" streamlink 2>&- || wait
}

get_stream_info() {
    (($# == 1)) || return
    local headers filter='
    .data[] | {
        id: .id,
        author: .user_name,
        category: .game_name,
        title: .title
    }'
    printf -v headers '%s\n' \
        "Accept: application/vnd.twitchtv.v5+json" \
        "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
        "Client-ID: ${CLIENT}"
    while [[ ! -s $1 ]]; do
        utils.sleep 5
        curl -fsS -H @<(printf '%s' "${headers}") \
            "${BASEURL}?user_login=${CHANNEL}" |
            jq "${filter}" >"$1"
    done
}

main() {
    local stamp file json
    [[ ${CLIENT:-} && ${TOKEN:-} ]] ||
        { echo 'Missing client credentials.' && exit 1; }

    while utils.sleep "${SLEEP}"; do
        [[ -d ${BASEDIR} ]] || continue
        streamlink "twitch.tv/${CHANNEL}" &>/dev/null && {
            printf -v stamp '%(%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S)T'
            json=${BASEDIR}/${CHANNEL}/${CHANNEL}_${stamp}r.json
            file=${BASEDIR}/${CHANNEL}/${CHANNEL}_${stamp}r.m2t
            [[ -d ${file%/*} ]] || mkdir -p "${file%/*}"
            get_stream_info "${json}" &
            streamlink_save "${file}" "twitch.tv/${CHANNEL}"
        }
    done
}

[[ ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} == "$0" ]] && main "$@"

streamlink-save@.service

# ~/.config/systemd/user/streamlink-save@.service
[Unit]
Description=Auto start Streamlink for Twitch channel %I
RequiresMountsFor=/mnt/pool0/media/archive/twitch

[Service]
Type=simple
EnvironmentFile=-%h/.config/systemd/user/streamlink-save.env
ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/streamlink-save %I
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

• To use this script, place the above files in their designated locations.
• Generate a token with at least the user:read:follows scope (try this site).
• Set the CLIENT and TOKEN variables via the environment file listed in the service.
• Streamlink authentication should be configured as per the documentation.
• Enable for a channel with: systemctl --user enable --now streamlink-save@USER
• For splicing VODs after interruptions, check out vod-splice.sh.
• If this task depends on a remote host, consider implementing remote inhibitors for stability.