masterclass-dl

A command line tool to download masterclass.com classes.

Features

• Download entire categories - Bulk download all classes from any category page
• Plex-ready output - Poster (poster.jpg) and fanart (fanart.jpg) images for media servers
• Embedded subtitles - 10+ languages automatically embedded in videos
• Subtitles-only mode - Download just subtitles without video files
• PDF workbooks - Class guides and supplementary materials
• Flexible options - Control what gets downloaded with --pdfs, --posters, --limit

Prerequisites

• yt-dlp (recommended) or youtube-dl
• ffmpeg

Installation

Download the executable from the releases page.

Or build from source:

go build -o masterclass-dl .

Usage

Login

First, authenticate with your Masterclass account:

masterclass-dl login <email> <password>

You'll be prompted to select a profile if your account has multiple profiles.

Check Status

Verify your login and subscription status:

masterclass-dl status

Download

Download individual classes, specific chapters, or bulk download entire categories:

# Download a single class
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking"

# Download a specific chapter
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking/chapters/introduction"

# Download all classes in a category (first 10 by default)
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads "https://www.masterclass.com/homepage/science-and-tech"

# Download all classes in a category (no limit)
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads --limit 0 "https://www.masterclass.com/homepage/science-and-tech"

Download Options

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--output	-o	(required)	Output directory
--limit	-l	10	Max classes to download from a category (0 = unlimited)
--pdfs	-p	true	Download PDF workbooks
--posters		true	Download poster and fanart images
--ytdl-exec	-y	yt-dlp	Path to yt-dlp/youtube-dl executable
--name-files-as-series		false	Name files in TV series format for Plex/Jellyfin
--write-nfo		false	Generate NFO metadata files alongside downloads
--metadata-only		false	Download only metadata (no videos or PDFs)
--subs-only	-s	false	Download only subtitles (no video)
--force		false	Force re-download and overwrite existing files
--concurrency		1	Number of concurrent downloads to run

Examples

# Download with Plex-friendly TV series naming (s01e01-Title.mp4)
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads --name-files-as-series "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking"

# Download without PDFs
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads --pdfs=false "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking"

# Download without poster images
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads --posters=false "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking"

# Download subtitles only (no video)
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads --subs-only "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking"

# Download first 5 classes from a category
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads --limit 5 "https://www.masterclass.com/homepage/science-and-tech"

# Use a specific yt-dlp path
masterclass-dl download -o ./downloads -y /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp "https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking"

Output Structure

Downloads are organized in a Plex/Jellyfin-friendly format:

Default naming:

downloads/
├── Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking/
│   ├── poster.jpg
│   ├── fanart.jpg
│   ├── Class Guide.pdf
│   ├── 001-Introduction.mp4
│   ├── 002-Knives.mp4
│   └── ...

With --name-files-as-series:

downloads/
├── Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking/
│   ├── poster.jpg
│   ├── fanart.jpg
│   ├── Class Guide.pdf
│   ├── s01e01-Introduction.mp4
│   ├── s01e02-Knives.mp4
│   ├── s01e15-Closing-Extra_trailer.mp4  # Example lessons marked as extras
│   └── ...

Video features:

• Embedded subtitles in 10+ languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Portuguese)
• Best available video/audio quality
• Metadata embedded (title, description, episode number)

With --name-files-as-series, additional metadata:

• show - Series/course title
• artist - Instructor name
• genre - Category (e.g., "Arts & Entertainment")
• date - Episode date
• episode_id - s01e01 format
• network - "MasterClass"
• synopsis - Course overview

Global Flags

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--datDir	-d	~/.masterclass/	Directory for cookies and data
--debug		false	Enable debug output

Commands Reference

masterclass-dl [command]

Available Commands:
  completion  Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
  download    Download a class, chapter, or category from masterclass.com
  help        Help about any command
  login       Login to masterclass.com
  status      Check login status

Use "masterclass-dl [command] --help" for more information about a command.