Gamdl (Glomatico's Apple Music Downloader)

A command-line app for downloading Apple Music songs, music videos and post videos.

Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/aBjMEZ9tnq

✨ Features

• 🎵 High-Quality Songs - Download songs in AAC 256kbps and other codecs
• 🎬 High-Quality Music Videos - Download music videos in resolutions up to 4K
• 📝 Synced Lyrics - Download synced lyrics in LRC, SRT, or TTML formats
• 🏷️ Rich Metadata - Automatic tagging with comprehensive metadata
• 🎤 Artist Support - Download all albums or music videos from an artist
• ⚙️ Highly Customizable - Extensive configuration options for advanced users

📋 Prerequisites

Required

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Apple Music Cookies - Export your browser cookies in Netscape format while logged in with an active subscription at the Apple Music website:
  • Firefox: Export Cookies
  • Chromium: Get cookies.txt LOCALLY

Dependencies

Add these tools to your system PATH or specify their paths via command-line arguments or the config file. The tools needed depend on which audio quality, video format, and download mode you want. Use the table below to find the required tools for your use case:

Use Case	Configuration	Required Tools
Songs in Legacy Codecs	song_codec_priority: aac-legacy|aac-he-legacy	None
Songs in Non Legacy Codecs	song_codec_priority: aac|aac-he|aac-binaural|aac-downmix|aac-he-binaural|aac-he-downmix|atmos|ac3 use_wrapper: true	Wrapper
Music Videos	music_video_remux_mode: ffmpeg	FFmpeg mp4decrypt
	music_video_remux_mode: mp4box	MP4Box mp4decrypt
Faster Downloads	download_mode: nm3u8dlre	N_m3u8DL-RE

Tool Reference

Tool	Download	Purpose
FFmpeg	Windows / Linux	Required for music video remuxing with FFmpeg mode
MP4Box	Download	Alternative for music video remuxing
mp4decrypt	Download	Decrypts MP4 files when used with MP4Box
N_m3u8DL-RE	Download	Faster download alternative
Wrapper	Download	For downloading songs in ALAC and other experimental codecs

📦 Installation

1. Install Gamdl via pip:

   pip install gamdl

2. Set up the cookies file:

   • Place the cookies file in the working directory as cookies.txt, or
   • Specify the path using --cookies-path or in the config file

3. Optional: Set up tools (only if you need the functionality)

   See the Dependencies section to determine which tools you need based on your use case, then follow the Tool Reference for download and installation instructions.

🚀 Usage

gamdl [OPTIONS] URLS...

Supported URL Types

• Songs
• Albums (Public/Library)
• Playlists (Public/Library)
• Music Videos
• Artists
• Post Videos
• Apple Music Classical

Examples

Download a song:

gamdl "https://music.apple.com/us/album/never-gonna-give-you-up-2022-remaster/1624945511?i=1624945512"

Download an album:

gamdl "https://music.apple.com/us/album/whenever-you-need-somebody-2022-remaster/1624945511"

Download from an artist:

gamdl "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/rick-astley/669771"

Interactive Prompt Controls:

Key	Action
Arrow keys	Move selection
Space	Toggle selection
Ctrl + A	Select all
Enter	Confirm selection

⚙️ Configuration

Configure Gamdl using command-line arguments or a config file.

Config file location:

• Linux: ~/.gamdl/config.ini
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.gamdl\config.ini

The file is created automatically on first run. Command-line arguments override config values.

Configuration Options

Option	Description	Default
General Options
--read-urls-as-txt, -r	Read URLs from text files	false
--config-path	Config file path	<home>/.gamdl/config.ini
--log-level	Logging level	INFO
--log-file	Log file path	-
--no-exceptions	Don't print exceptions	false
--artist-auto-select	Automatically select artist content to download (artist URLs)	-
--database-path	Path to the SQLite database file for registering downloaded media	-
--no-config-file, -n	Don't use a config file	false
Apple Music Options
--cookies-path, -c	Cookies file path	./cookies.txt
--wrapper-account-url	Wrapper account URL	http://127.0.0.1:30020
--language, -l	Metadata language	en-US
Output Options
--cover-format	Cover format	jpg
--cover-size	Cover size in pixels	1200
--wvd-path	.wvd file path	-
Song Options
--synced-lyrics-format	Synced lyrics format	lrc
--song-codec-priority	Comma-separated codec priority	aac-legacy
--use-album-date	Use album release date for songs	false
--no-synced-lyrics	Don't download synced lyrics	false
--synced-lyrics-only	Download only synced lyrics	false
Music Video Options
--music-video-resolution	Max music video resolution	1080p
--music-video-codec-priority	Comma-separated codec priority	h264,h265
--music-video-remux-mode	Remux mode	ffmpeg
--music-video-remux-format	Music video remux format	m4v
Post Video Options
--uploaded-video-quality	Post video quality	best
Download & Path Options
--output-path, -o	Output directory path	./Apple Music
--temp-path	Temporary directory path	.
--nm3u8dlre-path	N_m3u8DL-RE executable path	N_m3u8DL-RE
--mp4decrypt-path	mp4decrypt executable path	mp4decrypt
--ffmpeg-path	FFmpeg executable path	ffmpeg
--mp4box-path	MP4Box executable path	MP4Box
--use-wrapper	Use wrapper for decrypting songs	false
--wrapper-decrypt-ip	Wrapper decryption server IP	127.0.0.1:10020
--download-mode	Download mode	ytdlp
Template Options
--album-folder-template	Album folder template	{album_artist}/{album}
--compilation-folder-template	Compilation folder template	Compilations/{album}
--no-album-folder-template	No album folder template	{artist}/Unknown Album
--playlist-folder-template	Playlist folder template	Playlists/{playlist_artist}/{playlist_title}
--single-disc-file-template	Single disc file template	{track:02d} {title}
--multi-disc-file-template	Multi disc file template	{disc}-{track:02d} {title}
--no-album-file-template	No album file template	{title}
--playlist-file-template	Playlist file template	Playlists/{playlist_artist}/{playlist_title}
--date-tag-template	Date tag template	%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ
--exclude-tags	Comma-separated tags to exclude	-
--truncate	Max filename length	-
File Output Options
--overwrite	Overwrite existing files	false
--save-cover, -s	Save cover as separate file	false
--save-playlist	Save M3U8 playlist file	false

Template Variables

Tags for templates and exclude-tags:

• album, album_artist, album_id
• artist, artist_id
• composer, composer_id
• date (supports strftime format: {date:%Y})
• disc, disc_total
• media_type
• playlist_artist, playlist_id, playlist_title, playlist_track
• title, title_id
• track, track_total

Tags for exclude-tags only:

• album_sort, artist_sort, composer_sort, title_sort
• comment, compilation, copyright, cover, gapless, genre, genre_id, lyrics, rating, storefront, xid
• all (special: skip all tagging)

Logging Level

• DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR

Download Mode

• ytdlp, nm3u8dlre

Note

• yt-dlp is only used as a file download library. Media is still fetched directly from Apple Music's servers, and yt-dlp is only responsible for handling the file download process.

Remux Mode

• ffmpeg
• mp4box - Preserve the original closed caption track in music videos and some other minor metadata

Cover Format

• jpg
• png
• raw - Raw format as provided by the artist (requires save_cover to be enabled as it doesn't embed covers into files)

Metadata Language

Use ISO 639-1 language codes (e.g., en-US, es-ES, ja-JP, pt-BR). Don't always work for music videos.

Song Codecs

Stable:

• aac-legacy - AAC 256kbps 44.1kHz
• aac-he-legacy - AAC-HE 64kbps 44.1kHz

Experimental (may not work due to API limitations):

• aac - AAC 256kbps up to 48kHz
• aac-he - AAC-HE 64kbps up to 48kHz
• aac-binaural - AAC 256kbps binaural
• aac-downmix - AAC 256kbps downmix
• aac-he-binaural - AAC-HE 64kbps binaural
• aac-he-downmix - AAC-HE 64kbps downmix
• atmos - Dolby Atmos 768kbps
• ac3 - AC3 640kbps
• alac - ALAC up to 24-bit/192kHz (unsupported)
• ask - Interactive experimental codec selection

Synced Lyrics Format

• lrc
• srt - SubRip subtitle format (more accurate timing)
• ttml - Native Apple Music format (not compatible with most media players)

Music Video Codecs

• h264
• h265
• ask - Interactive codec selection

Music Video Resolutions

• H.264: 240p, 360p, 480p, 540p, 720p, 1080p
• H.265 only: 1440p, 2160p

Music Video Remux Formats

• m4v, mp4

Post Video Quality

• best - Up to 1080p with AAC 256kbps
• ask - Interactive quality selection

Artist Auto-Select Options

• main-albums
• compilation-albums
• live-albums
• singles-eps
• all-albums
• top-songs
• music-videos

⚙️ Wrapper

Use the wrapper to download songs in ALAC and other experimental codecs without API limitations. Cookies are not required when using the wrapper.

Setup Instructions

1. Start the wrapper server - Run the wrapper server
2. Enable wrapper in Gamdl - Use --use-wrapper flag or set use_wrapper = true in config
3. Run Gamdl - Download as usual with the wrapper enabled

🐍 Embedding

Use Gamdl as a library in your Python projects:

import asyncio

from gamdl.api import AppleMusicApi
from gamdl.downloader import (
    AppleMusicBaseDownloader,
    AppleMusicDownloader,
    AppleMusicMusicVideoDownloader,
    AppleMusicSongDownloader,
    AppleMusicUploadedVideoDownloader,
)
from gamdl.interface import (
    AppleMusicBaseInterface,
    AppleMusicInterface,
    AppleMusicMusicVideoInterface,
    AppleMusicSongInterface,
    AppleMusicUploadedVideoInterface,
)


async def main():
    # Create AppleMusicApi instance from cookies
    apple_music_api = await AppleMusicApi.create_from_netscape_cookies(
        cookies_path="cookies.txt",
    )

    # Check subscription
    if not apple_music_api.active_subscription:
        print("No active Apple Music subscription")
        return

    # Create base interface
    base_interface = await AppleMusicBaseInterface.create(
        apple_music_api=apple_music_api,
    )

    # Create specialized interfaces
    song_interface = AppleMusicSongInterface(
        base=base_interface,
    )
    music_video_interface = AppleMusicMusicVideoInterface(
        base=base_interface,
    )
    uploaded_video_interface = AppleMusicUploadedVideoInterface(
        base=base_interface,
    )

    # Create main interface
    interface = AppleMusicInterface(
        song=song_interface,
        music_video=music_video_interface,
        uploaded_video=uploaded_video_interface,
    )

    # Create base downloader
    base_downloader = AppleMusicBaseDownloader(
        interface=interface,
    )

    # Create specialized downloaders
    song_downloader = AppleMusicSongDownloader(base=base_downloader)
    music_video_downloader = AppleMusicMusicVideoDownloader(
        base=base_downloader,
    )
    uploaded_video_downloader = AppleMusicUploadedVideoDownloader(base=base_downloader)

    # Create main downloader
    downloader = AppleMusicDownloader(
        song=song_downloader,
        music_video=music_video_downloader,
        uploaded_video=uploaded_video_downloader,
    )

    # Download from URL
    url = "https://music.apple.com/us/album/never-gonna-give-you-up-2022-remaster/1624945511?i=1624945512"
    
    download_queue = []
    async for media in downloader.get_download_item_from_url(url):
        download_queue.append(media)

    for download_item in download_queue:
        try:
            await downloader.download(download_item)
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Error downloading: {e}")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

🤝 Contributing

Currently, I'm not interested in reviewing pull requests that change or add features. Only critical bug fixes will be considered. However, feel free to open issues for bugs or feature requests.