Guide

How to Download HLS Streaming Videos

A complete guide to saving HLS (.m3u8) streams as MP4 files directly in your browser — no command line required.

What is HLS?

HLS stands for HTTP Live Streaming. It is a video delivery protocol developed by Apple and now used by the vast majority of streaming platforms worldwide. Instead of sending one large video file, HLS breaks the video into small segments (usually 2–10 seconds each) and delivers them sequentially. A playlist file with the extension .m3u8 acts as a table of contents, telling the player where to find each segment.

This approach has several advantages for streaming services: it adapts video quality to your internet speed in real time, it starts playback almost instantly, and it is harder to download than a plain MP4 link. However, TimeSave Video Downloader is specifically designed to handle HLS streams.

How TimeSave downloads HLS videos

When you visit a page that plays an HLS video, your browser makes network requests to fetch the .m3u8 playlist and its segments. TimeSave monitors these requests in the background and captures the playlist URL automatically. When you initiate a download, it:

1
Reads the playlist
Fetches the .m3u8 file and parses the list of all segment URLs, including any quality variants from a master playlist.
2
Downloads segments in parallel
Fetches up to 6 .ts segments simultaneously, which can be up to 6× faster than downloading them one by one.
3
Converts to MP4 in your browser
Uses ffmpeg.wasm — a WebAssembly port of ffmpeg — to concatenate all .ts segments into a single .mp4 file entirely inside your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.

Step-by-step: Downloading an HLS video

  1. Install TimeSave Video Downloader from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to your toolbar.
  2. Navigate to the page containing the video you want to download and press Play so the video starts loading.
  3. Look at the TimeSave icon in your toolbar — it will show a number badge indicating how many video sources have been detected.
  4. Click the TimeSave icon to open the popup. You will see a list of detected video URLs. HLS streams are labelled HLS and show the .m3u8 address.
  5. Click the download button next to the stream you want. A new tab opens showing the download and conversion progress.
  6. Wait for the conversion to finish (this may take a minute for long videos). The finished MP4 will be saved automatically to your browser's default download folder.

Quality selection

Many HLS streams use a master playlist that lists multiple quality levels (e.g., 1080p, 720p, 480p). TimeSave automatically selects the highest available quality for download. If the stream uses a single-quality playlist, that quality is used directly.

Troubleshooting common HLS issues

The extension icon shows no badge number
The extension only detects requests made after it was installed and the page was loaded. Refresh the page and press Play again. Also ensure the video has actually started buffering, not just showing a thumbnail.
Download stops partway through
Network instability or server rate-limiting can interrupt segment downloads. Keep the download tab in the foreground and try again. For very long videos, the ffmpeg command option (copy to clipboard) and running it locally is more reliable than in-browser conversion.
Conversion is slow
ffmpeg.wasm runs on your CPU inside the browser. Speed varies by device. A modern laptop typically converts a one-hour video in 2–5 minutes. For faster conversion, copy the ffmpeg command and run it natively in a terminal.
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