install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install get_iplayer

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install get_iplayer

MacPorts ports tree · net/get_iplayer/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install get_iplayer

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · get_iplayer · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#get_iplayer

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ge/get_iplayer/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install main/get-iplayer

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/get-iplayer.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Utility for downloading TV and radio programmes from BBC iPlayer

Project links

Commands and aliases

get_iplayer
get_iplayer.cgi

history

Project history and usage

get_iplayer is a long-running Perl command-line tool and PVR for indexing, searching, and downloading BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds programmes. Its niche is not general web downloading but BBC programme discovery, recording, metadata, subtitles, and scheduled retrieval.

Project history

The program header credits Phil Lewis for the 2008-2010 era and the get_iplayer contributors after 2010. The GitHub project became the public home for documentation, release notes, and the maintained Perl codebase.

Adoption history

get_iplayer became a fixture for users who wanted scriptable access to BBC catch-up media from Linux, BSD, macOS, and Windows systems. Its packaging across Homebrew, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, and Scoop reflects a cross-platform audience that treats it as a media-archiving and PVR utility rather than a library.

How it is used

Practitioners use get_iplayer to rebuild a programme cache, search BBC TV and radio listings with regular expressions, download by index, PID, or BBC URL, select quality levels, fetch subtitles, tag metadata, and run saved PVR searches from cron or Task Scheduler.

Why package nerds care

Package maintainers care about get_iplayer because it tracks BBC service changes closely. Release notes repeatedly document adjustments to stream classification, channel schedules, programme metadata, CDN behavior, and option names, so packaged versions can lag behind site behavior in visible ways.

Timeline

2008: The get_iplayer program began under Phil Lewis.
2011: The GitHub repository was created.
2019-2022: The 3.20 through 3.29 release series adapted to BBC stream, metadata, and schedule changes.

Related projects

get_iplayer depends on external tools such as ffmpeg for media conversion and AtomicParsley for metadata tagging.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:download

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.get_iplayer/options/etc/get_iplayer/options
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.get_iplayer\options

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`get_iplayer`	cli	global executable
`get_iplayer.cgi`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version3.36

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv3.36

https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:get_iplayer
Version	3.36
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/get_iplayer
Homepage	https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer
Repository	https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer
Upstream docs	https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer#readme
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer/archive/refs/tags/v3.36.tar.gz
Dependencies	atomicparsley, ffmpeg
Uses from macOS	libxml2, perl
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	get_iplayer
Version Scheme	0
Revision	2
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

get_iplayer

nix profile install nixpkgs#get_iplayer

normalized package name match
Matched by: Get Iplayer

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ge/get_iplayer/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

dnf95%

get_iplayer 3.36-3.fc44

Lists, records and streams BBC iPlayer TV and radio programmes

https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer

sudo dnf install get_iplayer

License: GPL-3.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: get_iplayer
5 dependencies
4 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Get Iplayer

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: get_iplayer from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

get_iplayer

sudo port install get_iplayer

normalized package name match
Matched by: Get Iplayer

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: net/get_iplayer/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Scoop95%

main/get-iplayer

scoop install main/get-iplayer

normalized package name match
Matched by: Get Iplayer

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/get-iplayer.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/get_iplayer.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install get_iplayer with Homebrew, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, scoop