PyInstaLive/FAQ.md

Frequently asked questions

I'm unable to log in, what do I do?

Login errors such as Challenge required are usually caused by one of the following:

• You are using PyInstaLive from a different location, device or IP address compared to where you are usually logged in.
• Your IP address or account has been flagged as spam or suspicious.

Try to create a new temporary Instagram account (preferably on the device most importantly using the internet connection you will be using PyInstaLive with) and use that instead. Also make sure to check out this issue for more relevant information.

I get a Rate Limit related error, how do I solve this?

This means you are making too many requests to Instagram and is usually the case when you try to check and download livestreams of multiple users at the same time by using a script (as seen below). Increase the timeout for the scripts or decrease the amount of users you are checking.

How do I download livestreams of multiple users at the same time?

Option 1 - Checking your following users

You can use the --download-following function to check for available livestreams and replays from your following user list. Read the Help Documents for more information.

Option 2 - Using external scripts

Note: Continuously checking for livestreams with an external script is considered suspicious behaviour by Instagram. Use a timeout as large as possible to decrease the chances of your account, device or IP from getting flagged as suspicious and getting blocked as a result of that. Use the scripts below at your own risk.

Windows

:loop
pyinstalive -u "username" -p "password" -d "live-username"
timeout 60 > nul
goto loop

Make a new text file and copy the above contents. Edit the PyInstaLive command to your liking. Make sure to save the text as a .bat file. Do this for each user you want to download a livestream of and run the scripts concurrently.

Make sure there is a configuration file called pyinstalive.ini in the directory you want to run PyInstaLive from. (Use cd to navigate to that directory if you put this script in a different location.)

Linux / MacOS

while true
do
    pyinstalive -u "username" -p "password" -d "live-username"
    sleep 60
done

Make a new text file and copy the above contents. Edit the PyInstaLive command to your liking. Make sure to save the text as a .sh file. You must make the script executable with chmod +x <filename>. Use Google. Do this for each user you want to download a livestream of and run the scripts concurrently.

Make sure there is a configuration file called pyinstalive.ini in the directory you want to run PyInstaLive from. (Use cd to navigate to that directory if you put this script in a different location.)

How can I run PyInstaLive 24/7 so I won't miss a livestream?

Use the scripts provided in the previous question, they'll infinitely run the PyInstaLive command you entered there. You'll need to have a computer or other device running this script 24/7 for this to work, obviously.

Can I use PyInstaLive and livestream_dl concurrently?

No. This is because livestream_dl is no longer being maintained and as such uses an older version of libraries required by PyInstaLive. Installing PyInstaLive and livestream_dl on different Python versions (2/3) will probably work though.

PyInstaLive failed to generate a video file after the download has ended. What do I do?

Don't get your hopes up because manually generating a video file has no guarantee of success, but read below for instructions on what you can do in case this has happened to you.

If it failed to generate a video file from a livestream you have two options:

• Use the --assemble command as described in the FAQ.

If that didn't work, you can still attempt to concatenate the segment files yourself:

• Open the segment video directory in your command line.
  • Windows: copy /b *.m4v video.mp4 && copy /b *.m4a audio.mp4 && ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.mp4 -c copy output.mp4
  • Linux: cat *.m4v > video.mp4 && cat *.m4a > audio.mp4 && ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

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If it failed to generate a video file from a replay you can try the following:

• Open the segment video directory in your command line and run ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.mp4 -c copy output.mp4.