techno-cli

Watch anime from your terminal. Like ani-cli, but with multiple providers, automatic fallback, tracker sync and Discord presence.

Works on Arch Linux, Debian, Ubuntu and macOS.

Features

• Multiple providers: animepahe (default), hianime, allanime (experimental)
• Automatic fallback: if a provider fails, the others are tried before you see an error
• Tracker sync: AniList, MyAnimeList and Kitsu update after every episode
• Continue watching: offers to resume from your last watched episode
• Discord Rich Presence: show what you are watching
• Pretty terminal: panels, spinners and fzf menus
• Sub or dub, quality selection, subtitles when the provider has them
• Self-diagnosing: techno-cli --doctor tests every provider
• Self-updating: techno-cli --upgrade

Install

git clone https://github.com/7yxz/techno-cli
cd techno-cli
bash install.sh

The script installs python, pipx, mpv and fzf with pacman, apt or brew, then installs techno-cli with pipx. Check it with techno-cli -v.

Manual install: pipx install . (needs mpv, fzf is optional).

Usage

techno-cli naruto
techno-cli -p hianime one piece
techno-cli -a -q 720 frieren
techno-cli -e 5 -d bleach
techno-cli -help

Controls after each episode: n next (default, just press Enter), p previous, r replay, f refresh (clears the terminal and reloads the video from a different source), s select episode, q quit.

Flag	Meaning
-p, --provider	animepahe (default), hianime, allanime
-a, --all	search animepahe and hianime together
-d, --dub	dubbed audio
-q, --quality	preferred quality, default 1080
-e, --episode	start at this episode number
--login / --logout TRACKER	anilist, mal or kitsu
--status	show tracker login status
--no-sync	skip tracker updates for this run
--remap	re-pick the tracker match for this anime
--rpc-setup / --no-rpc	set up or disable Discord presence
--config	customize settings on a full-screen page
--sub	force subbed audio (overrides a dub default)
--doctor	test every provider
-D, --discord	open the techno-cli Discord server
--upgrade	update to the latest version
-v, --version	show version

Providers

Provider	Notes
animepahe	Default. Finds a working mirror and handles cookies by itself. Often behind Cloudflare, so it may fail.
hianime	Direct scraping, no server needed. Uses curl_cffi to look like Chrome.
allanime	Experimental, use with -p allanime. Uses rotating keys published by anipy-cli.

If the provider you choose fails, techno-cli tries the others and only shows an error when all of them fail. Working mirrors are remembered in the config.

Tracker sync

Log in once, then progress updates automatically after you watch 80% of an episode (change it with TECHNO_SYNC_PCT).

techno-cli --login anilist
techno-cli --login mal
techno-cli --login kitsu
techno-cli --status

Tracker	What you need
AniList	An app from anilist.co/settings/developer with redirect https://anilist.co/api/v2/oauth/pin. Paste the token it shows, or use --token.
MAL	An app from myanimelist.net/apiconfig, type other, redirect http://localhost:8765/callback. Login opens your browser.
Kitsu	Email and password, only used once to get a token.

Progress only moves forward, and the last episode marks the entry completed. Percent tracking needs mpv. Tokens are stored in ~/.config/techno-cli/config.json (chmod 600).

Customize

You can also pick the command name there (command): techno-cli, tcli or t-cli. It adds a small link next to the installed command, and techno-cli keeps working too.

techno-cli --config opens a settings page: default provider, quality, dub, sync threshold, Discord presence, the info page and more. Choose a setting to toggle or change it. You can also press c on the info page between episodes. Command line flags always win over saved settings.

After each episode a full-screen info page shows the anime's details from AniList (score, genres, studio, synopsis) and your progress, with the controls.

Discord Rich Presence

techno-cli --rpc-setup

Paste a Discord application ID from discord.com/developers/applications. While you watch, Discord shows "Watching" with the anime's AniList cover, title, episode out of total, time left, score and genres, and a button to its AniList page (all fetched automatically, no login needed). The Discord desktop app must be running. For a logo, upload an image named techno-cli under Rich Presence, then Art Assets.

Upgrade and uninstall

techno-cli --upgrade      # latest version from GitHub
pipx uninstall techno-cli # remove
rm -rf ~/.config/techno-cli  # remove saved logins and settings

Troubleshooting

• animepahe says no working mirror: it is behind a Cloudflare browser check. Open animepahe in your browser, copy the cf_clearance cookie value from the dev tools (Application, Cookies) and run export PAHE_COOKIE="cf_clearance=VALUE". It can expire, and it may not work if your browser differs from the one techno-cli imitates. hianime is usually the easier choice.
• allanime says keys are stale: its API rotates keys that anipy-cli publishes. When that file is outdated allanime stops working until it is updated.
• Video window is blank or frozen: press f on the info page. It clears the terminal and reloads the episode from the next source. If it keeps happening, open techno-cli --config and set mpv_args to something like --hwdec=no or --vo=gpu.
• Everything fails: run techno-cli --doctor and look at which step breaks for each provider.
• Cloudflare blocks: make sure curl_cffi is installed (pipx inject techno-cli curl_cffi). Providers change often, so a different one may work better today.
• Old version after updating: run which -a techno-cli and delete any copy that is not the pipx one.
• ./install.sh not executable: run it with bash install.sh.
• Wrong tracker match: run again with --remap.

Environment variables

All optional: PAHE_URL, PAHE_COOKIE, HIANIME_URL, TECHNO_PLAYER (default mpv), TECHNO_SYNC_PCT, DISCORD_CLIENT_ID, TECHNO_NO_UPDATE_CHECK.

Adding a provider

Create a class in techno_cli/providers/ with these methods, then register it in providers/__init__.py:

class MySite:
    name = "mysite"
    in_all = True
    def search(self, q): ...                          # -> [(title, id)]
    def episodes(self, id): ...                       # -> [("Episode 1", ep_id)]
    def stream(self, id, ep_id, quality, dub=False):  # -> (url, headers, subtitle_or_None)
        ...

Community

Questions, bug reports or just want to hang out? Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/U953H5hmPG (or run techno-cli --discord).

Credits and license

hianime logic is ported from ani-cli and allanime logic from anipy-cli. Both are GPL-3.0, so techno-cli is GPL-3.0 too (see LICENSE).

Disclaimer

techno-cli does not host or store any video. It only fetches links from third-party sites. You are responsible for how you use it and for following the laws where you live. Please support the official releases.