ani-cli-rs

August 30, 2026 · View on GitHub

A cross-platform Rust port of ani-cli with two independent Anikoto catalogs and native MegaPlay/KotoCDN playback.

ani-cli-rs provides the familiar interactive ani-cli experience on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Termux while keeping its executable name distinct from the Bash project. It also exposes the scraper as an ani_cli Rust library.

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Automated ani-cli-rs showcase

Kioku

Kioku is a native desktop AniList manager that uses ani-cli-rs for anime search and playback.

It aims to combine AniList library management with an integrated media playback experience, without requiring a separate player application.

Note

Kioku is currently in an early stage of development and is not feature-complete. Expect incomplete features, UI changes, and breaking changes as development continues.

Rust library

ani-cli-rs also exposes its provider and playback functionality as the ani_lib Rust library crate.

The library is intended for applications that want to integrate ani-cli-rs provider resolution directly instead of invoking the CLI as a subprocess.

Add the dependency:

[dependencies]
ani-cli-rs = "0.9.6"

Then use the exported API:

use ani_lib::{
    AnikotoCzClient,
    TranslationType,
};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = AnikotoCzClient::new()?;

    let results = client
        .search("Frieren", TranslationType::Sub)
        .await?;

    for result in results {
        println!("{}", result.name);
    }

    Ok(())
}

The library exposes the main provider, playback, download, history, HLS relay, internationalization, and model APIs used internally by the CLI.

Library API

The public API currently includes:

AnikotoClient and AnikotoClientBuilder
AnikotoCzClient and AnikotoCzClientBuilder
SearchResult
StreamLink
SubtitleTrack
TranslationType
SearchOptions
CatalogProvider
HlsRelay
relay_stream
relay_stream_without_hls_subtitles
download_stream
HistoryStore
HistoryEntry
Player
PlayerKind
PlayerOptions
I18n
Locale

The CLI itself is built on top of the same library APIs where practical.

For an application integration example, see the Rust library integration guide.

Quick links

Features

Interactive anime/season and episode selection
Subbed and dubbed Anikoto API and Anikoto.cz search and playback
Native MegaPlay source extraction and transparent KotoCDN HLS unwrapping
mpv, IINA, VLC, Android mpv, and Syncplay support
Quality selection, episode ranges, history, and continuation
Preflighted batch downloads with aria2, yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and built-in fallbacks
Scriptable commands with JSON output
Native Rust HTTP, HTML parsing, and local HLS relay—no Python, curl, sed, OpenSSL, Botan, or fzf dependency

Installation

Official releases are provided for Windows x64 and Linux x86-64. macOS and Termux are tested as source builds; Linux ARM64 is source-buildable but is not maintainer-tested. Prebuilt macOS, Android/Termux, and Linux ARM64 binaries are not currently published.

Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vorlie/ani-cli-rs/master/scripts/install.sh -o install.sh
sh install.sh
rm install.sh

Windows PowerShell

Portable installation:

Invoke-WebRequest https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vorlie/ani-cli-rs/master/scripts/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1
.\install.ps1
Remove-Item .\install.ps1

To use the Inno Setup installer instead:

.\install.ps1 -UseSetup

Android with Termux

Termux is supported through a source build:

pkg update
pkg install git rust termux-tools
git clone https://github.com/vorlie/ani-cli-rs.git
cd ani-cli-rs
cargo build --release --locked
install -Dm755 target/release/ani-cli-rs "$PREFIX/bin/ani-cli-rs"

Install an Android video player such as mpv-android or VLC from an Android app source. Do not use pkg install vlc: that package is a terminal VLC build, not the Android application used by this integration.

The scripts verify release archives against their published SHA-256 checksums and install to the user-local ~/.local/bin directory by default. See the installation guide for PATH help, custom locations, uninstalling, and source builds.

Requirements

Linux and Windows: mpv for default playback
macOS: IINA for tested out-of-the-box playback (brew install --cask iina)
Termux: an Android HLS-capable video player; mpv-android, VLC, Amnis, and Samsung Video Player are device-tested
Optional: VLC or Syncplay for alternate playback
Optional: aria2 for faster parallel downloads
Optional: yt-dlp and FFmpeg for HLS downloads, fallbacks, and embedding provider subtitles into MP4 files

Desktop programs must be available through PATH. On Termux, normal playback requests mpv-android and --vlc requests Android VLC when the explicit activity bridge works. If it does not, ani-cli-rs uses Android's media handler through termux-open; the chosen/default player then takes precedence over the CLI preference. See Playback and Players and Downloads for setup details.

Quick start

Search interactively:

ani-cli-rs "frieren"

Common examples:

ani-cli-rs --dub -q 720p "cowboy bebop"
ani-cli-rs -e 2-4 "one piece"
ani-cli-rs --continue
ani-cli-rs --download "anime title"
ani-cli-rs --allow-adult "search query"
ani-cli-rs --provider anikoto2 "black torch"

Termux examples:

ani-cli-rs "cyberpunk"
ani-cli-rs --vlc "cyberpunk"

For protected HLS playback, leave Termux running in the background. Return to it and press Enter only after playback finishes. External provider subtitles are exposed as HLS subtitle tracks; select them from the Android player's subtitle menu when they are not enabled automatically.

Interactive playback remains open after an episode and offers next, replay, previous, episode-selection, and quality controls. Add --exit-after-play to exit immediately instead.

In download mode, search results act as the anime/season picker. All selected episodes are resolved before the first transfer begins, preventing unavailable episodes from leaving a partially downloaded batch.

CLI compatibility

The primary interface follows Bash ani-cli conventions:

ani-cli-rs [OPTIONS] [QUERY]

Supported compatibility flags include:

-c, --continue            Continue from history
-d, --download            Download instead of play
-D, --delete              Delete history
-s, --syncplay            Use Syncplay
-S, --select-nth          Select the nth search result
-q, --quality             best, worst, or a resolution
-v, --vlc                 Use VLC (a preference on Termux fallback paths)
-e, --episode             Episode or range
-r, --range               Episode range alias
-a, --allow-adult         Include adult results
-N, --nextep-countdown    Show release timing
-U, --update              Update from GitHub Releases
-p, --provider            anikoto (default) or anikoto2
    --dub                  Use dubbed results
    --multi-selection      Select multiple episodes
    --no-detach            Keep the player attached
    --exit-after-play      Skip the post-playback menu

Run ani-cli-rs --help for the authoritative list. Environment variables and keyboard controls are documented in the CLI reference.

Scriptable commands

ani-cli-rs search --json "frieren"
ani-cli-rs -p anikoto2 search --json "black torch"
ani-cli-rs episodes --json SHOW_ID --mode sub
ani-cli-rs links --json SHOW_ID 1 --quality 1080p
ani-cli-rs play SHOW_ID 1 --title "Frieren" --no-detach
ani-cli-rs download SHOW_ID 1 --output ./downloads
ani-cli-rs update --check

episodes, links, play, and download require the show ID returned by search, not an anime title.

Anikoto API results have IDs beginning with anikoto:. Anikoto.cz results begin with anikoto2:. Both prefixes route automatically, including history entries. Raw numeric Anikoto API IDs require --provider anikoto; raw Anikoto.cz slugs require --provider anikoto2.

Use ani-cli-rs --download "anime title" when you want interactive name, season, and episode selection.

Set ANI_CLI_RS_PROVIDER=anikoto2 to make Anikoto.cz the interactive/search default. The catalogs are intentionally not combined and playback never silently crosses between them.

See the CLI reference for every command and JSON workflow.

Security and antivirus notices

Official Windows binaries are currently unsigned and may trigger SmartScreen or heuristic antivirus warnings. ani-cli-rs performs network requests, starts media players/downloaders, and temporarily binds a loopback HLS relay for KotoCDN playback; those behaviors can produce misleading automated behavior classifications.

Release installers verify published checksums. Users who prefer not to run prebuilt binaries can inspect the tagged source and build it with cargo build --release --locked. Read Security and Privacy for the full explanation and manual verification steps.

Build and test

The project uses Rust 2024 and therefore requires a current stable Rust toolchain.

cargo build --release
cargo fmt --check
cargo check --all-targets
cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test

On Windows with WSL available, .\showcase\showcase.ps1 generates the deterministic terminal MP4, screenshots, and README GIF without contacting anime providers. See the showcase guide.

Target-specific Cargo aliases and release packaging are covered in Building and Releasing.

Debug logging

If the external player refuses to open or the wrong executable is launched, enable the built-in diagnostic logs to see which player is selected, the full command line, and the resolved stream URL:

# PowerShell
$env:RUST_LOG = "ani_cli_rs=debug,ani_cli=debug"; ani-cli-rs "cyberpunk edgerunners"

# bash / zsh
RUST_LOG=ani_cli_rs=debug,ani_cli=debug ani-cli-rs "cyberpunk edgerunners"

Log lines include the chosen executable, the mpv/vlc/iina/syncplay kind, the attached/detached mode, whether the loopback HLS relay was started, the relay bind address, and the exit code of the player. Use RUST_LOG=ani_cli_rs=trace,ani_cli=trace for full stream resolution and relay tracing.

Users are responsible for complying with applicable laws and the terms of service of the services they access.

License

Licensed under GPL-3.0-only.