Kick VOD Downloader

Kick VOD Downloader downloads authorized, anonymously reachable public Kick VOD media and exports a structured archive record. Give it one or more kick.com/{channel}/videos/{uuid} URLs. It resolves the public Kick API record, selects an HLS rendition, stores the MPEG-TS file in the run key-value store, and writes metadata to the default dataset.

Use metadata-only mode when you need a lightweight manifest rather than a copied video. The output includes the channel, title, timestamps, duration, thumbnail, views, categories, HLS source, stored-file link, byte size, and retrieval status.

What can you do with this Kick VOD downloader?

• Back up your own public Kick broadcasts before they disappear.
• Archive authorized campaign or creator media with source evidence.
• Build a recurring manifest of supplied VOD URLs.
• Resolve HLS sources and normalized metadata for a media pipeline.
• Export records to JSON, CSV, Excel, a database, or a webhook.
• Check whether previously collected public VOD URLs still resolve.

This Actor accepts supplied VOD URLs. It does not discover channels, record live streams, bypass access controls, or access subscriber-only media.

Who is it for?

Creators and channel teams can preserve authorized public broadcasts.

Agencies can retain campaign evidence for creators they manage.

Media researchers can create reproducible archives of public material they are permitted to copy.

Developers can feed stable dataset records and stored-file URLs into downstream processing.

Archive operators can run metadata-only checks before deciding which VODs to transfer.

Why use this Actor?

• Uses the public VOD detail and HLS surfaces rather than rendering a heavy browser.
• Supports best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, and smallest-available selection.
• Streams segments through a byte limit instead of loading an entire VOD into memory.
• Charges one item event only after a VOD is successfully resolved.
• Suppresses duplicate VOD UUIDs in one run.
• Returns explicit failed records while failing the run if every supplied VOD fails.
• Needs no account or proxy for supported public VODs.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
startUrls	array	required	Public Kick VOD URLs in the supported channel/videos/UUID form.
maxItems	integer	URL count	Maximum unique VODs to process, from 1 to 25.
downloadVideo	boolean	true	Store the selected rendition; disable for metadata only.
quality	string	480p	best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, or worst.
maxVideoSizeMb	integer	100	Stop before the stored file exceeds 1–500 MB.
maxRequestRetries	integer	2	Retry temporary network, rate-limit, and server failures 0–5 times.

Example download input:

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://kick.com/xqc/videos/78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4" }
  ],
  "maxItems": 1,
  "downloadVideo": true,
  "quality": "360p",
  "maxVideoSizeMb": 20
}

Example metadata-only input:

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://kick.com/xqc/videos/9c70ebbe-01d3-48d4-8b8f-b9514ba7d813" }
  ],
  "downloadVideo": false
}

Getting started

1. Open the Actor input page.
2. Add public Kick VOD URLs.
3. Keep Save video files enabled to copy media.
4. Choose a quality and a practical byte limit.
5. Click Start.
6. Open Dataset for normalized records.
7. Follow storedFileUrl or open Key-value store for copied files.
8. Export or integrate the dataset as needed.

Start with one short VOD. Long broadcasts can exceed the size limit or run timeout. Use metadata-only mode to inventory a larger supplied list cheaply.

Output fields

Field	Meaning
vodId	Kick VOD UUID.
title	Stream session title when exposed.
channel, channelId	Kick channel slug and ID.
uploader, uploaderId	Public channel user identity.
createdAt	VOD creation timestamp.
durationSeconds	Duration normalized from Kick milliseconds.
thumbnailUrl	Public generated VOD thumbnail.
views	Public view count at retrieval time.
categories	Public Kick content category names.
mature	Public mature-content flag when exposed.
sourceUrl	Canonical supplied Kick VOD URL.
hlsSourceUrl	Public master HLS playlist URL.
selectedQuality	Rendition actually selected.
storedFileKey	Run storage key for the MPEG-TS file.
storedFileUrl	Apify API URL for the stored file.
storedFileSizeBytes	Bytes copied successfully.
contentType	video/mp2t for downloaded files.
retrievalStatus	downloaded, metadata_only, or failed.
error	Concise per-URL failure reason, otherwise null.
scrapedAt	UTC retrieval timestamp.

Example output

{
  "vodId": "78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4",
  "title": "LIVE HERE DRAMA NEWS VIDEOS GAMES",
  "channel": "xqc",
  "channelId": "668",
  "uploader": "xQc",
  "uploaderId": "676",
  "createdAt": "2026-07-29T20:13:48.000000Z",
  "durationSeconds": 4,
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://images.kick.com/video_thumbnails/DsuAwCgUc9Bh/QRBZDFTkhQVg/720.webp",
  "views": 2599,
  "categories": ["Just Chatting"],
  "mature": false,
  "sourceUrl": "https://kick.com/xqc/videos/78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4",
  "hlsSourceUrl": "https://stream.kick.com/.../master.m3u8",
  "selectedQuality": "360p30",
  "storedFileKey": "kick-vod-78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4-360p30.ts",
  "storedFileSizeBytes": 408336,
  "contentType": "video/mp2t",
  "retrievalStatus": "downloaded",
  "error": null
}

Counts and URLs can change as Kick updates public data. Null means the source did not expose that field.

Download format and quality

Kick publishes VODs as HLS renditions. The Actor selects the requested maximum height, or the nearest lower available rendition. best selects the highest advertised stream. worst selects the smallest.

Media segments are concatenated into an MPEG transport stream (.ts). This preserves the HLS audio/video transport without a costly transcoding pass. Most media players and tools such as FFmpeg can read it directly. Transcoding or remuxing is intentionally left to downstream workflows.

How much does it cost to download a Kick VOD?

Pay-per-event pricing has a one-time run-start event and one item event per successfully resolved VOD. The same item event covers either a stored download or a metadata-only archive record; failed URLs are not charged item events.

The exact active tier prices appear on the Actor pricing tab before a run. At the BRONZE curve, the run start is $0.0085 and each successful VOD is $0.005468. That is about $0.014 for one VOD, $0.036 for five VODs, or $0.145 for 25 VODs. Bulk tier discounts apply automatically according to your Apify plan.

Large files consume more transfer and storage even though the event is per successful file. Use an appropriate maxVideoSizeMb and avoid requesting unnecessary quality.

Scheduled archive workflow

1. Maintain authorized VOD URLs in your system.
2. Run metadata-only mode on a schedule.
3. Compare vodId, views, and retrievalStatus with prior exports.
4. Submit selected newly seen URLs to a download run.
5. Copy stored files to your long-term storage before run retention expires.
6. Keep the dataset record as the retrieval manifest.

The Actor does not discover new VODs by channel. Your scheduler or upstream process must supply URLs.

Integrations

Use Apify integrations to send dataset items to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, Slack, webhooks, or cloud storage workflows. A webhook can react when the run succeeds. The dataset API is suited to manifests and status checks. The key-value-store API serves the actual .ts records.

For durable archiving, copy files out of run storage promptly. Do not assume temporary run storage is a permanent media library.

API with cURL

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~kick-vod-downloader/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"startUrls":[{"url":"https://kick.com/xqc/videos/78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4"}],"downloadVideo":false}'

Wait for completion, then fetch defaultDatasetId items from the run response. Keep tokens in environment variables rather than source code.

API with JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/kick-vod-downloader').call({
  startUrls: [{ url: 'https://kick.com/xqc/videos/78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4' }],
  downloadVideo: false,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

API with Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
import os

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/kick-vod-downloader').call(run_input={
    'startUrls': [{'url': 'https://kick.com/xqc/videos/78a39add-ac70-4c16-8fae-9eca007d1cc4'}],
    'downloadVideo': False,
})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

MCP usage

Add the Actor to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/kick-vod-downloader"

Use the same JSON configuration in Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/kick-vod-downloader"
    }
  }
}

Example prompts:

• “Resolve this authorized public Kick VOD and return its archive metadata without downloading it.”
• “Download this short public Kick VOD at 360p with a 20 MB limit.”
• “Build a metadata manifest for these supplied Kick VOD URLs.”

Limits and failure behavior

• Only exact public Kick VOD URLs are accepted.
• Live channel URLs and clip URLs are rejected.
• Private, deleted, pruned, subscriber-only, or account-gated VODs are unsupported.
• Encrypted HLS renditions are rejected rather than bypassed.
• The maximum is 25 unique URLs per run.
• The file limit is enforced while streaming; a partial file is removed after failure.
• Very long VODs may exceed file limits or run timeout.
• Kick can change its public API or anti-bot behavior.
• No residential proxy fallback is enabled.
• Downloaded output is MPEG-TS, not transcoded MP4.

A mixed run can contain successful and failed dataset rows. If every URL fails, the Actor run fails with a non-zero status.

Troubleshooting

The URL is rejected immediately

Confirm it matches https://kick.com/{channel}/videos/{uuid}. Do not use a live channel, category, clip, or shortened URL.

The VOD is unavailable or pruned

Open it logged out in a normal browser. If it is no longer anonymously reachable, the Actor will not bypass that restriction.

The file exceeds the limit

Choose 360p or worst, raise maxVideoSizeMb within 500 MB, or use metadata-only mode.

The run times out

Process fewer URLs, select a smaller rendition, or archive shorter VODs.

A player does not recognize the file

Use a player that supports MPEG-TS or remux it with FFmpeg in your downstream system.

Responsible use and legality

Download only media you own or are authorized to archive. Public reachability does not grant copyright ownership or permission to redistribute a work. Respect Kick’s terms, creator rights, privacy, publicity rights, takedown requests, and applicable law. Do not use this Actor to bypass access controls, subscriptions, geographic restrictions, DRM, or removed content. Keep copied media secure and delete it when your lawful purpose expires. You are responsible for the URLs you submit and how you use the output.

Related Automation Lab Actors

• Reddit Public Video Downloader archives authorized Reddit-hosted videos and audio.
• YouTube Thumbnail Downloader saves public YouTube thumbnail assets and metadata.
• Kick Streamer & Channel Analytics is the better choice for public channel discovery and analytics rather than VOD file retrieval.

FAQ

Does it need a Kick login?

No. Supported VODs must be anonymously reachable and public.

Does it use a proxy?

No proxy is enabled for the working public API and CDN route.

Can it record a live stream?

No. It processes completed public VOD URLs only.

Can it discover every VOD for a channel?

No. Supply the exact VOD URLs you are authorized to process.

Can it output MP4?

It stores the selected HLS media as MPEG-TS without transcoding. You can remux or transcode downstream.

Are failed URLs charged?

They do not emit an item event. The one-time start event still applies to the run.

Where is the video file?

Use storedFileUrl in the dataset or open the run key-value store.

How long are files retained?

Retention depends on your Apify storage and plan settings. Copy important files to durable storage promptly.