Hitomi Downloader is gone. Not temporarily broken — gone. Microsoft's GitHub took down the repository in early 2026, and since the application depends on GitHub to load its filter and HTML parsing lists at launch, it stopped working entirely for every user the moment the repo went down. The developer, KurtBestor, hasn't responded publicly and the account has gone quiet. There's no update coming.
For users who relied on Hitomi Downloader specifically for Chzzk and SOOP VODs, this leaves an immediate gap. The software had been struggling with Chzzk support for months before the takedown — issues going back to early 2025 show repeated failures with Naver's authentication system, 400 errors on the VOD playback API, and adult content verification blocks that never got properly resolved. The GitHub takedown just made the situation permanent.
What Hitomi Downloader was actually good at
Hitomi Downloader was a desktop application that supported hundreds of sites in one place. It was free, open source, and had a dedicated community that maintained site-specific plugins. For power users who downloaded from many different platforms, it was a genuinely useful all-in-one tool.
The problem is that "all-in-one" tools trade depth for breadth. When Naver changed their authentication flow, Chzzk support broke and stayed broken for months because the maintainer was juggling hundreds of other site integrations simultaneously. Niche platform support in a generic downloader is always the first thing to fall behind.
What's different about Vodloader
Vodloader is built specifically for Chzzk, SOOP, and Pandalive. That's the entire focus — not 500 sites, three platforms done properly.
A few things that matter for Chzzk users specifically:
No desktop installation required. Vodloader runs in the browser. Paste the VOD link, start the download. No Python, no FFmpeg, no filter lists that break when a GitHub repo goes down.
Cloud download for VODs that aren't directly accessible. Some Chzzk VODs can be downloaded directly as a file. Others — particularly older VODs and certain live replay types — aren't available as a direct download from Chzzk's side. Vodloader's cloud download processes these server-side and delivers a clean MP4, which is something a local desktop tool can't handle when the source isn't directly accessible.
Auto live recording. Add a channel and Vodloader records it automatically whenever it goes live, without you needing to be online. The recording is processed server-side and available for download when it's done.
1080p and 1080p60 support. Hitomi Downloader's Chzzk support was inconsistent on resolution even when it worked. Vodloader downloads at the source quality — up to 1080p60 for channels that stream at that resolution.
The Hitomi Downloader users looking for something now
If you found this post because Hitomi stopped working and you're looking for a replacement specifically for Korean streaming content, Vodloader covers what Hitomi Downloader's Chzzk and SOOP plugins were trying to do — and handles the edge cases (auth changes, VOD type detection, cloud processing for inaccessible VODs) that were consistently broken in Hitomi's implementation.
You can try it at vodloader.com. The free tier lets you test basic VOD downloads before committing to a paid plan.