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Requirements & Setup

Welcome to the installation guide for Social Media Downloader — a lightweight, open-source CLI tool for downloading public videos from platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and more.

This page walks you through installing the tool via pip, source code, standalone .exe, .deb package, or binary .tar.gz.

Question

Need help using the tool after installation? Check out the Usage Guide for step-by-step instructions and examples.

Clone the Repository

If you'd like to run the tool from source or contribute to development:

git clone https://github.com/nayandas69/Social-Media-Downloader.git
cd Social-Media-Downloader

Set Up a Python Environment

We recommend using Python 3.10+ and creating a virtual environment to manage dependencies cleanly.

On Windows

python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

On Linux

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Quote

Running from source requires installing dependencies listed in requirements.txt.

Install FFmpeg (Required)

Important

ffmpeg is essential for handling video/audio formats. The downloader will not work without it.

On Windows

  1. Visit ffmpeg.org and download the latest static build.
  2. Extract the archive.
  3. Add the bin directory to your system PATH.

On Linux

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ffmpeg

To verify:

ffmpeg -version

If you see version details, you're good to go!

Install via pip

Installing via pip is the quickest and most recommended method.

pip install social-media-downloader

Once installed, you can run the downloader using:

social-media-downloader

Or, if you're using version 1.1.4 or newer:

smd

Warning

The smd shortcut is only available in versions v1.1.4 and above.

Install on Windows via .exe

Info

No Python required — just download and run!

  1. Visit the Releases page.
  2. Download the latest .exe file.
  3. Double-click to launch the terminal interface.

Install on Linux via .deb

For Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:

  1. Download the .deb package from the Releases.
  2. Install it using:
sudo dpkg -i social-media-downloader_VERSION_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

Once installed, run the tool with:

smd

Danger

You may need to adjust your $PATH or shell environment for the CLI shortcut.

Install on Linux via .tar.gz Binary

If you're using a non-Debian Linux distribution or prefer a portable install:

  1. Download the .tar.gz binary from the Releases.
  2. Extract it and make it executable:
tar -xvf smd-linux.tar.gz
chmod +x smd
./smd

Summary of Installation Options

Platform Method Link
Universal pip install social-media-downloader PyPI
Windows Standalone .exe Releases
Linux (Debian) .deb package Releases
Linux (Other) .tar.gz binary Releases
Developer From source (clone) GitHub Repo

Warning

Ensure ffmpeg is installed on your system or the tool will not function.

See Also