GitHub Removes Hentai Downloader Tools After Fakku DMCA Takedown

The popular command-line tool gallery-dl, used for downloading media from hundreds of websites, has been forced to remove several hentai site extractors after receiving a DMCA takedown notice from Fakku, LLC.

The Takedown Notice

On March 23, 2026, GitHub received a DMCA takedown notice from Fakku targeting 28 repositories, including gallery-dl. The notice specifically called out extractors for sites like NHentai, ExHentai, Hitomi, and Hentai Foundry, claiming they constituted "circumvention of technological protection measures" under Section 1201 of the DMCA.

Fakku's notice argued that gallery-dl enables "automated mass downloading from hentai piracy infrastructure" and demanded the removal of specific extractor files through git history rewriting.

Community Response

The GitHub community has been vocal in its criticism of the takedown. Many users pointed out that several of the targeted sites already comply with DMCA requests and remove infringing content. Others noted that Hentai Foundry is primarily a platform for original artist content, not piracy.

Legal experts in the discussion suggested Fakku's secondary liability argument is "weak but not legally baseless." Options discussed included:

• Full compliance (setting precedent)
• Partial compliance by removing only named extractors
• Filing a counter-notice (carrying legal risk)
• Migrating to alternative platforms like Codeberg

Maintainer's Decision

Faced with the demand to rewrite the entire repository's git history, gallery-dl maintainer mikf initially expressed reluctance, stating they "would honestly rather switch to a different platform than making any major changes."

However, after further consideration and lack of response from the EFF and GitHub support, mikf ultimately decided to comply. Using git-filter-repo, they removed the specified extractor files and pushed the rewritten history to GitHub.

"All I want to do is write code and manage this project the same way as all these years before, without having to worry about any external issues like copyright, politics, and so on," mikf explained. "The easiest way to achieve this and to just keep doing what I've always done here is to bend the knee and give in."

Platform Migration

In response to the takedown, mikf has begun migrating gallery-dl development to Codeberg, an open-source alternative to GitHub. The maintainer plans to stop pushing commits to GitHub but will leave the repository active for automated CI/CD tasks like testing and binary builds.

Broader Implications

The incident has sparked discussion about the power of DMCA notices and their potential for abuse. Some users noted that GitHub's previous stance on developer rights, exemplified by their handling of the YouTube-dl case, appears to have shifted.

Community members have already begun creating external extractor modules to restore the removed functionality. One such repository, additional-gallery-dl-extractors, allows users to load the removed extractors using gallery-dl's external module support.

Fakku's History

Several commenters highlighted Fakku's controversial history, noting that the company was originally created as an Exhentai scraper before pivoting to licensed content. Critics accused Fakku of using DMCA notices to eliminate competition rather than protect legitimate copyright interests.

The case raises questions about the balance between copyright enforcement and open-source software development, particularly when tools have substantial non-infringing uses beyond the content targeted by copyright holders.