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moviebox-v3 CLI Reference

Search, download, and stream movies, TV series, anime, music, and educational content.

Environment Variable Prefix

All environment variable overrides use the prefix MOVIEBOX_V3.


Global Options

moviebox-v3 [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...
Option Description
--version Show the version and exit
--help Show this message and exit

Commands

Command Description
download-movie Search and download or stream a movie
download-series Search and download or stream a TV series
homepage-content Show contents displayed at the landing page
item-details Show details of a particular movie/TV series

download-movie

Search and download or stream a movie.

moviebox-v3 download-movie [OPTIONS] TITLE

Arguments

Argument Description
TITLE Title of the item to search for (required)

Options

Search & Selection

Option Type Default Description
-s, --subject-type movies\|education\|music\|anime\|unknown movies Subject type filter
-y, --year INTEGER 0 Year filter for the movie
-q, --quality 360p\|480p\|720p\|1080p\|best\|worst best Media quality to download
-u, --dub TEXT Original Audio Dub language name or code
-Y, --yes flag Skip confirmation prompt

Output Paths

Option Type Default Description
-d, --dir DIRECTORY $PWD Directory to save the movie file
-D, --caption-dir DIRECTORY $PWD Directory to save the caption file
-P, --part-dir DIRECTORY $PWD Directory for temporary download part files

File Naming

Option Type Default Description
-M, --movie-filename-tmpl TEXT {title} ({release_year}).{ext} Template for the movie filename
-C, --caption-filename-tmpl TEXT {title} ({release_year}).{lan}.{ext} Template for the caption filename
-E, --part-extension TEXT .part File extension for download part files

Caption Options

Option Type Default Description
-x, --language TEXT English Caption language filter. Pass multiple times to download multiple languages
--caption / --no-caption flag caption Enable or disable caption download
-O, --caption-only flag Download caption file only; skip video
-I, --ignore-missing-caption flag Proceed with download even if caption is missing

Download Behaviour

Option Type Default Description
-m, --mode start\|resume\|auto auto Download mode: start fresh, resume, or detect automatically
-t, --tasks INTEGER (1–1000) 5 Number of concurrent download tasks
-N, --chunk-size INTEGER 256 Streaming chunk size in kilobytes
-R, --timeout-retry-attempts INTEGER 10 Retry attempts on read timeout
-B, --merge-buffer-size INTEGER (1–102400) CHUNK_SIZE Buffer size (KB) for merging part files
-T, --test flag Test download viability without actually downloading

Streaming

Option Type Default Description
-X, --stream-via mpv\|vlc Stream directly via the chosen media player instead of downloading

Progress Bar

Option Type Default Description
-c, --colour TEXT cyan Progress bar colour
-U, --ascii flag Use Unicode smooth blocks for the progress bar meter
-z, --disable-progress-bar flag Suppress the download progress bar
-S, --simple flag Show percentage and bar only
--leave / --no-leave flag no-leave Keep all progress bar leaves after completion

Logging

Option Type Default Description
-V, --verbose flag Show detailed interactive output
-Q, --quiet flag Suppress all interactive output/logs

Examples

# Download a movie (best quality, auto-detect resume), skip confirmation, test only
moviebox-v3 download-movie avatar -YT

# Download with multiple caption languages (English + Filipino)
moviebox-v3 download-movie avatar -YT -x en -x filipino

# Download Hindi dub
moviebox-v3 download-movie avatar --dub hi -YT

# Download music content
moviebox-v3 download-movie walker -s music -YT

# Download anime at 1080p, save to directory
moviebox-v3 download-movie "Demon Slayer" -s anime -q 1080p -Y -d ~/Videos/Anime

# Stream directly with mpv
moviebox-v3 download-movie "Avengers Endgame" -X mpv

download-series

Search and download or stream a TV series.

moviebox-v3 download-series [OPTIONS] TITLE

Arguments

Argument Description
TITLE Title of the TV series to search for (required)

Options

Search & Selection

Option Type Default Description
-y, --year INTEGER 0 Year filter for the series
-s, --season INTEGER (1–1000) 1 Season number to start processing from
-e, --episode INTEGER (1–1000) 1 Episode within the selected season to start from
-l, --limit INTEGER (-1–1000) 1 Total episodes to download; set -1 to disable the limit
-q, --quality 360p\|480p\|720p\|1080p\|best\|worst best Media quality to download
-u, --dub TEXT Original Audio Dub language name or code
-Y, --yes flag Skip series confirmation prompt
-A, --auto-mode flag Download all remaining episodes across all remaining seasons (shortcut for --limit -1)

Output Paths

Option Type Default Description
-d, --dir DIRECTORY $PWD Directory to save the series files
-D, --caption-dir DIRECTORY $PWD Directory to save caption files
-P, --part-dir DIRECTORY $PWD Directory for temporary download part files

File Naming & Structure

Option Type Default Description
-L, --episode-filename-tmpl TEXT {title} S{season}E{episode}.{ext} Template for episode filenames
-C, --caption-filename-tmpl TEXT {title} S{season}E{episode}.{lan}.{ext} Template for caption filenames
-E, --part-extension TEXT .part File extension for download part files
-f, --format standard\|group\|struct standard Episode file organisation format (see below)

Episode Organization Details

Format Modes

Mode Description Example path
standard All episodes saved flat in the output directory Merlin S1E2.mp4
group Episodes organised into per-season subdirectories Merlin/S1/Merlin S1E2.mp4
struct Hierarchical structure using episode numbers as filenames Merlin (2009)/S1/E1.mp4

Group format — episodes organized into season subfolders:

moviebox-v3 download-series Merlin -s 1 -e 1 --auto-mode --format group
Merlin/
  S1/
    Merlin S1E1.mp4
    Merlin S1E2.mp4
  S2/
    Merlin S2E1.mp4

Struct format — hierarchical directory structure using episode numbers as filenames:

moviebox-v3 download-series Merlin -s 1 -e 1 --auto-mode --format struct
Merlin (2009)/
  S1/
    E1.mp4
    E2.mp4
  S2/
    E1.mp4

Caption Options

Option Type Default Description
-x, --language TEXT English Caption language filter. Pass multiple times to download multiple languages
--caption / --no-caption flag caption Enable or disable caption download
-O, --caption-only flag Download caption files only; skip video
-I, --ignore-missing-caption flag Proceed with episode download even if caption is missing

Download Behaviour

Option Type Default Description
-m, --mode start\|resume\|auto auto Download mode: start fresh, resume, or detect automatically
-t, --tasks INTEGER (1–1000) 5 Number of concurrent download tasks
-N, --chunk-size INTEGER 256 Streaming chunk size in kilobytes
-R, --timeout-retry-attempts INTEGER 10 Retry attempts on read timeout
-B, --merge-buffer-size INTEGER (1–102400) CHUNK_SIZE Buffer size (KB) for merging part files
-T, --test flag Test download viability without actually downloading

Streaming

Option Type Default Description
-X, --stream-via mpv\|vlc Stream directly via the chosen media player

Progress Bar

Option Type Default Description
-c, --colour TEXT cyan Progress bar colour
-U, --ascii flag Use Unicode smooth blocks for the progress bar meter
-z, --disable-progress-bar flag Suppress the download progress bar
-S, --simple flag Show percentage and bar only
--leave / --no-leave flag no-leave Keep all progress bar leaves after completion

Logging

Option Type Default Description
-V, --verbose flag Show detailed interactive output
-Q, --quiet flag Suppress all interactive output/logs

Examples

# Download S1E1, skip confirmation, test only
moviebox-v3 download-series 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' -s 1 -e 1 -YT

# Download with a specific dub (Telugu)
moviebox-v3 download-series 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' -s 1 -e 1 --dub 'Telugu dub' -YT

# Download with multiple caption languages (English + Filipino)
moviebox-v3 download-series banshee -YT -x en -x filipino

# Download with multiple caption languages and a specific dub
moviebox-v3 download-series banshee -YT -x en -x filipino --dub en

# Download all remaining episodes across all seasons from S1E1
moviebox-v3 download-series "Merlin" -A

# Equivalent to --auto-mode using --limit -1
moviebox-v3 download-series "Merlin" -s 1 -e 1 -l -1

# Download episodes 3–7 of Season 2 at 720p, grouped into folders
moviebox-v3 download-series "Merlin" -s 2 -e 3 -l 5 -q 720p -f group

# Stream S1E1 directly with VLC
moviebox-v3 download-series "Into the Badlands" -s 1 -e 1 -X vlc

# Download full series with hierarchical folder structure, skip confirmation
moviebox-v3 download-series "Merlin" -A -f struct -Y -d ~/Series

homepage-content

Show contents displayed at the Moviebox landing page.

moviebox-v3 homepage-content [OPTIONS]

Options

Option Type Default Description
-J, --json flag False Output details in JSON format
-T, --title TEXT None Filter contents by title
-B, --banner flag False Show banner content only
-V, --verbose flag Show detailed interactive output
-Q, --quiet flag Suppress all interactive output/logs

Examples

# List all homepage content
moviebox-v3 homepage-content

# Filter by title keyword
moviebox-v3 homepage-content -T "action"

# Output as JSON
moviebox-v3 homepage-content -J

# Show banner items only
moviebox-v3 homepage-content -B

item-details

Show details for a specific movie or TV series.

moviebox-v3 item-details [OPTIONS] TITLE

Arguments

Argument Description
TITLE Title to look up (required)

Options

Option Type Default Description
-y, --year INTEGER 0 Year filter for the item
-s, --subject-type all\|movies\|tv_series\|education\|music\|anime\|unknown all Subject type filter
-Y, --yes flag Skip item confirmation prompt
-J, --json flag Output details in JSON format instead of tabulated
-V, --verbose flag Show detailed interactive output
-Q, --quiet flag Suppress all interactive output/logs

Examples

# Look up a movie
moviebox-v3 item-details "Avengers Endgame"

# Look up a TV series with year filter
moviebox-v3 item-details "Merlin" -y 2008 -s tv_series

# Output as JSON, skip confirmation
moviebox-v3 item-details "Inception" -J -Y

# Filter by subject type
moviebox-v3 item-details "Demon Slayer" -s anime

Filename Templates

Both download-movie and download-series support customisable filename templates using placeholder variables.

Video File Placeholders (-M, -L)

Placeholder Description
{title} Title of the movie or series
{release_year} Release year
{release_date} Full release date
{resolution} Video resolution (e.g. 1080p)
{ext} File extension
{size_string} Human-readable file size
{season} Season number (series only)
{episode} Episode number (series only)
{episode_title} Episode title (series only)
{duration} Media duration
{codec_name} Video codec name

Caption File Placeholders (-C)

Placeholder Description
{title} Title of the movie or series
{release_year} Release year
{release_date} Full release date
{ext} File extension
{size_string} Human-readable file size
{id} Caption track identifier
{lan} Caption language code (e.g. en)
{lan_name} Caption language full name (e.g. English)
{delay} Caption sync delay value
{season} Season number (series only)
{episode} Episode number (series only)
{episode_title} Episode title (series only)

Defaults

Movie file:    {title} ({release_year}).{ext}
Movie caption: {title} ({release_year}).{lan}.{ext}

Episode file:    {title} S{season}E{episode}.{ext}
Episode caption: {title} S{season}E{episode}.{lan}.{ext}

v1 / v2 / v3 Comparison

Feature v1 v2 v3
Subtitle/caption support
Dub language selection (-u / --dub)
Subject types (download-movie) movies only movies, anime, music, education movies, anime, music, education, unknown
Subject types (item-details) all, movies, tv_series, education, music, anime all, movies, tv_series, education, music, anime all, movies, tv_series, education, music, anime, unknown
popular-search command
mirror-hosts command
--season / --episode defaults required required 1 / 1
--limit -1 (disable limit)
env var prefix MOVIEBOX MOVIEBOX MOVIEBOX_V3
API host env var MOVIEBOX_API_HOST MOVIEBOX_API_HOST_V2 (NOT REQUIRED)

Common Flags Reference

Flag Commands Description
-V, --verbose all Show detailed interactive output
-Q, --quiet all Suppress all interactive output/logs
-J, --json most Output in JSON format
-Y, --yes download, item-details Skip confirmation prompts
-T, --test download commands Test without downloading
-X, --stream-via download commands Stream via mpv or vlc
-u, --dub download commands Select dub language
-x, --language download commands Caption language; repeatable for multiple languages
-O, --caption-only download commands Fetch captions only
-I, --ignore-missing-caption download commands Proceed even if caption is absent