Donghua CLI | Imperial Documentation

Imperial Decree: Series Availability

Ancient tomes and first seasons may be lost to the realms, as source domains preserve only recent chronicles. The imperial scribes are working on realm aggregation techniques to restore these lost cultivation manuals in future updates.

Core Abilities

Features

Everything you need to stream and download Donghua from the terminal

🌐

Multi-Source Scraping

Searches LuciferDonghua and AnimeXin simultaneously, giving you the widest library of Chinese animation available.

⚡

Instant Streaming

MPV-powered playback with yt-dlp backend. LRU caching and episode preloading for zero-wait binge sessions.

⬇

Fast Downloads

Save episodes locally to ~/Videos/Donghua for offline cultivation. Select quality from 360p to 1080p.

📱

Cross-Platform

Runs on Linux, Windows, Android (Termux), and iOS (iSH). Optimized scripts for each platform.

🔎

Deep Iframe Scanning

Advanced stream extraction that digs through nested iframes, base64 obfuscation, and Dailymotion embeds.

🎨

Quality Control

Choose 360p for mobile data, 720p for balanced, or 1080p for the full cultivation experience.

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Before You Begin

Prerequisites

Gather these tools before entering the cultivation grounds

🐍

Python 3.8+

Core runtime

📦

pip

Package installer

🎬

mpv / VLC

Video player

📹

ffmpeg

Media processing (Linux)

Python Packages (Installed Automatically)

requests — HTTP requests • beautifulsoup4 — HTML parsing • yt-dlp — Video extraction

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Enter the Realm

Installation

Select your platform and follow the sacred scrolls

🐧

Linux

Ubuntu / Debian / Linux Mint / Fedora / Arch

Install System Dependencies

Install Python, the MPV video player, and ffmpeg for media processing. Open your terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T.

Terminal

# Debian / Ubuntu / Mint
sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3 python3-pip mpv ffmpeg -y

# Fedora
sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip mpv ffmpeg -y

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S python python-pip mpv ffmpeg

Install Python Dependencies

Install the required Python packages that power the stream extraction engine.

Terminal

pip3 install requests beautifulsoup4 yt-dlp

Run the Installer

The installer detects your shell (bash/zsh), backs up your config, and adds the dhua command aliases.

Terminal

chmod +x install.sh && ./install.sh

Reload & Verify

Reload your shell configuration, then verify the installation.

Terminal

source ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc if you use Zsh

Verify Installation

Run dhua "test" — if the Wuxia-themed interface appears, the installation succeeded.

Manual Run (Without Installer)

You can always run directly: python3 dhua.py "Series Name"

💻

Windows

Windows 10 / 11 • PowerShell

Install Python

Download and install Python from python.org. During installation, check the box that says "Add Python to PATH" — this is essential.

Install MPV Player

MPV is the recommended video player. Install it via winget or download from mpv.io.

PowerShell

winget install mpv

Allow Script Execution

Right-click the Start button, select PowerShell (or Terminal), and allow local script execution.

PowerShell

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope CurrentUser

Run the Installer

Navigate to the Donghua CLI folder and run the PowerShell installer. It will install Python dependencies, detect MPV, and set up the dhua commands in your PowerShell profile.

PowerShell

.\install.ps1

Restart & Verify

Close and reopen PowerShell to load the new profile, then verify.

Verify Installation

Run dhua "test" in a new PowerShell window — you should see the Donghua CLI interface.

What the Installer Does

The PowerShell installer: (1) auto-detects your Python command (python, python3, or py), (2) installs requests, beautifulsoup4 & yt-dlp via pip, (3) checks for MPV, and (4) adds function aliases to your PowerShell profile.

📱

Android

Termux • Android 7+

Install Termux

Download Termux from F-Droid (not the Play Store — that version is outdated and broken).

Update & Install Packages

Open Termux and update all packages, then install Python and the required libraries.

Termux

# Update Termux packages
pkg update && pkg upgrade -y

# Install Python and libraries
pkg install python python-pip requests beautifulsoup4 -y

Install yt-dlp

Install the video extraction backend.

Termux

pip install yt-dlp

Get the Android Script

Download the Android-optimized donghua.py script to your Termux environment.

Termux

# Copy donghua.py into Termux, then:
chmod +x donghua.py

Run & Enjoy

Launch the script. It auto-detects your installed video player (MPV, VLC, or MX Player).

Termux

python donghua.py

Verify Installation

The Donghua CLI menu should appear. Search for any series to confirm streams are working.

Android-Specific Features

• Defaults to 360p to save mobile data
• Deep iframe scanning finds hidden streams
• Dailymotion embed auto-detection
• Auto-launches MPV, VLC, MX Player, or any installed video app

🍎

iOS

iSH Shell • iPhone / iPad

Install iSH Shell

Download iSH Shell from the App Store. This gives you a Linux-like terminal on iOS.

Install VLC

Install VLC for Mobile from the App Store. This is the video player that will handle stream playback.

Update & Install Python

Open iSH and install Python with the Alpine package manager.

iSH

apk update && apk upgrade
apk add python3 py3-pip

Install Dependencies

Install the Python packages required by Donghua CLI.

iSH

pip3 install requests beautifulsoup4 yt-dlp

Get the Script & Run

Copy donghua.py into iSH and launch it. Streams will open as clickable links that launch VLC.

iSH

python3 donghua.py

Verify Installation

Search for any series. Tap a stream link to open it in VLC.

iOS Notes

• VLC is required for video playback on iOS
• Stream URLs appear as clickable links in the terminal
• iSH uses Alpine Linux under the hood, so apk is the package manager

v2.0 — Recent Updates

• Python 3.14 compatibility — Fixed subprocess handling
• Deep iframe scanning — Extracts streams from hidden/nested players
• Dailymotion detection — Automatically finds Dailymotion embeds
• Android optimization — Mobile-friendly with 360p default
• Multi-player support — Auto-launches MPV, VLC, or MX Player on Android

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Command Scrolls

Usage

Master these commands to navigate the cultivation grounds

Desktop Commands (Linux & Windows)

Command	Description	Example
`dhua`	Interactive search & stream (default quality)	`dhua "Soul Land"`
`dhua360`	Stream in 360p (low bandwidth)	`dhua360 "Perfect World"`
`dhua480`	Stream in 480p (balanced)	`dhua480 "Martial Peak"`
`dhua720`	Stream in 720p HD	`dhua720 "Btth"`
`dhua1080`	Stream in 1080p Full HD	`dhua1080 "Swallowed Star"`
`dhuadl`	Download episodes to ~/Videos/Donghua	`dhuadl "Martial Peak"`

Mobile Commands (Android & iOS)

Android / Termux

python donghua.py

Interactive menu with 360p default. Auto-detects installed video players.

iOS / iSH

python3 donghua.py

Interactive menu with VLC integration. Clickable stream links.

Cultivation Tips

💡

Series Selection

When multiple results appear, type the number and press Enter to select.

📺

Episode Ranges

Play multiple episodes: type 1-5 for a range or 1,3,7 for specific episodes.

⚡

Stream Caching

Previously played streams are cached. Replay any episode instantly without re-extracting.

🔄

Episode Preloading

The next episode's stream is preloaded in the background while you watch. Zero wait between episodes.

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Scroll of Remedies

Troubleshooting

Common issues and their solutions

❌

"dhua: command not found"

Your shell hasn't loaded the new aliases yet. Close your terminal completely and reopen it, or run source ~/.bashrc (or source ~/.zshrc). On Windows, restart PowerShell. You can also run directly with python3 dhua.py "query".

🚫

"Video won't play" or "No stream found"

The source site may be down or blocking your region. Try a different series or wait a few minutes. Make sure mpv is installed and in your PATH. On Android, ensure you have a video player app installed (MPV, VLC, or MX Player).

🐍

"ModuleNotFoundError" for requests or bs4

The Python dependencies aren't installed. Run pip3 install requests beautifulsoup4 yt-dlp. If you have multiple Python versions, make sure you're using the right pip (try python3 -m pip install instead).

🔒

PowerShell: "execution of scripts is disabled"

Run Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope CurrentUser in PowerShell before running the installer. This allows local scripts to execute on your machine.

📱

Android: video player doesn't launch

Make sure you have a video player installed (MPV for Android, VLC, or MX Player). The script auto-detects installed players. If no player is found, it will print the stream URL so you can copy and paste it into any browser or player.

🍎

iOS: streams not opening in VLC

Ensure VLC for Mobile is installed from the App Store. In iSH, stream URLs appear as clickable links in the terminal. Tap the link to open it in VLC. If links aren't clickable, long-press to copy the URL and paste it into VLC's "Open Network Stream" option.