man, they've change so much since 2017, where they were giving VIP membership out for free as a Christmas gift. Now they're making it so can't access the API for free anymore as a Christmas gift to themselves lmao
Now they're making it so can't access the API for free anymore
No, they're not.
They are switching from the old API to the new API. You can pay to continue using the old one, use the new one for free (max 5 downloads per day), or pay for less-restricted access to the new API.
I can view opensubtitles.org click on a random title, click download, and a .zip containing an .nfo and .srt downloads no issue.
Presumably that's the old method; there's also a 'download (beta)' button. It puts up a 20sec timer, then lets me click download and lists how much of my quota (1 of 10, not signed in) I've used.
Supposed to remain free, just rate limited to 10/day.
Edit: After I login, it works as you described, by the way. It's not really a big deal; I was just surprised that it started happening since I hadn't seen any mention of that change anywhere. I'm even more surprised that it isn't happening to everyone.