glossary

terms

path - the list of locations your operating system checks when attempting to run a command.
cli - command line you can run programs from. accessed by opening a terminal / command prompt / powershell window.
widevine - digital rights management (DRM) system developed by google that provides content protection for media.
playready - digital rights management (DRM) system developed by microsoft that provides content protection for media.
dev tools - the developer console of your browser. can be opened with F12 or ctrl+shift+c.
manifest url - url storing information regarding the available streams. typically uses an mpd or m3u8 extension.
pssh - a string of characters used to uniquely identify encrypted content. can be found inside the mpd.
license url - url of the server used for the license request. the auth token is contained in this url or it's header.
auth token - a string of characters used by the license server to confirm access to content.
header - an array of data related to your browser footprint and the request you are making to a server.
cdm - content decryption module. this is the device used when communicating with the license server.
key - a string containing two sets of 32 characters separated by a colon. the first half is the key identifier (KID) and the second half is the decryption key.

widevineproxy - retrieves decryption keys of widevine protected content.
playreadyproxy - retrieves decryption keys of playready protected content (edge only).
vineless - allows you to play drm protected content without a real cdm.
stream-detector - finds stream and subtitle urls for you.

n-m3u8dl-re - cli stream dowloader for encrypted media.
mp4decrypt - audio and video file decrypter. part of the bento4 suite.
ffmpeg - complete solution to record, convert and stream audio and video.
shaka-packager - media packaging and development framework supporting common encryption for widevine drm.
yt-dlp - cli audio and video downloader.
gallery-dl - cli image gallery and collection downloader.
rsack - cli lossless music downloader for korean streaming services.
unshackle - actively maintained fork of devine, a program for ripping drm protected content from streaming services.
vt-pr - actively maintained fork of vinetrimmer, a program for ripping drm protected content from streaming services.

videohelp - the main forum for discussion of ripping encrypted media. everything I have learnt comes from here.
cdm-project - gitea instance that hosts several repos containing tools and programs relevant to drm.