A self-hosted video streaming solution with support for web browsers, Roku devices, and a desktop application. Stream your personal video collection across all your devices.

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Server Setup
• Desktop App
• Roku App Setup
• Configuration
• Recommended Tools

• 🎬 Stream videos from your local collection
• 📱 Web-based interface accessible from any browser
• 📺 Native Roku app support
• 💻 Cross-platform desktop application (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• 🔐 Password protection
• 🎯 Automatic network IP detection
• 📂 Customizable video directory

• Node.js: Version 18.x or higher recommended
  • Check your version: node --version
  • Download from: https://nodejs.org/
• npm: Comes bundled with Node.js
  • Check your version: npm --version
• Operating System:
  • Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.)
  • macOS
  • Windows 10/11

• macOS (for building macOS apps):
  • Xcode Command Line Tools
• Windows (for building Windows apps):
  • Windows 10/11
• Linux (for building Linux apps):
  • Standard build tools (build-essential on Debian/Ubuntu)

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mythius/videostream
   cd videostream

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Configure the server (optional)

   The server will auto-generate a config.json file on first run, but you can create it manually:

   {
     "serverName": "192.168.1.100:3000",
     "videoDirectory": "/path/to/your/videos",
     "password": "your-secure-password",
     "url": "http://192.168.1.100:3000"
   }

npm start

The server will start on port 3000 by default. Access it at:

• Local: http://localhost:3000
• Network: http://YOUR_LOCAL_IP:3000

1. Install PM2 globally

   npm install -g pm2

2. Start the server

   pm2 start server.js --name "videostream"

3. Enable auto-start on system boot

   pm2 startup
   pm2 save

4. Useful PM2 commands

   pm2 status              # Check server status
   pm2 logs videostream    # View logs
   pm2 restart videostream # Restart server
   pm2 stop videostream    # Stop server

1. Create a service file

   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/videostream.service

2. Add the following configuration (adjust paths as needed):

   [Unit]
   Description=Video Stream Server
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=YOUR_USERNAME
   WorkingDirectory=/path/to/videostream
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /path/to/videostream/server.js
   Restart=on-failure
   RestartSec=10
   StandardOutput=syslog
   StandardError=syslog
   SyslogIdentifier=videostream
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Enable and start the service

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable videostream
   sudo systemctl start videostream

4. Useful systemd commands

   sudo systemctl status videostream  # Check status
   sudo systemctl restart videostream # Restart
   sudo systemctl stop videostream    # Stop
   sudo journalctl -u videostream -f  # View logs

If you prefer Docker, you can create a Dockerfile:

FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "server.js"]

Then build and run:

docker build -t videostream .
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -v /path/to/videos:/app/site/videos --name videostream videostream

Make sure port 3000 is open on your server:

Linux (ufw):

sudo ufw allow 3000/tcp

Linux (firewalld):

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=3000/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Windows Firewall:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Video Stream" -Direction Inbound -Port 3000 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow

The desktop application bundles the server with an Electron-based GUI.

npm run desktop

npm run build

The built application will be in the dist/ directory.

macOS:

npm run build:mac

Outputs:

• .dmg installer
• .zip archive

Windows:

npm run build:win

Outputs:

• NSIS installer (.exe)
• Portable executable

Linux:

npm run build:linux

Outputs:

• AppImage (universal)
• .deb package (Debian/Ubuntu)

Note: You typically need to build on the target platform:

• macOS apps: Build on macOS
• Windows apps: Build on Windows (or use wine on Linux)
• Linux apps: Build on Linux

The build configuration is in package.json under the build section. The built app is named MatthiasTV and includes:

• The Express server
• Web interface files
• Roku app source
• All dependencies

1. Enable Developer Mode on your Roku

   • Press Home 3x, Up 2x, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right
   • Set a developer password
   • Note your Roku's IP address

2. Configure the Server URL

   Update the server URL in two places:

   a. Server configuration - config.json:

   {
     "serverName": "YOUR_SERVER_IP:3000",
     "url": "http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3000"
   }

   b. Roku app - rokuapp/components/MainScene.brs:

   ' Update the server URL
   m.baseURL = "http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3000"

1. Zip the Roku app

   cd rokuapp
   zip -r ../roku-channel.zip .
   cd ..

2. Install on Roku

   • Open browser to http://ROKU_IP (where ROKU_IP is your Roku's IP address)
   • Login with your developer password
   • Click "Upload" and select roku-channel.zip
   • Click "Install"

3. Launch the channel on your Roku device

For detailed Roku development instructions, see the Roku Developer Setup Guide.

Edit server.js:

const port = 3000; // Change this to your desired port

Place your video files in the configured videoDirectory. Supported formats:

• MP4 (recommended)
• MKV
• AVI
• MOV
• WebM

If you're building your own video collection from DVDs/Blu-rays:

MakeMKV - Free and open-source disc ripper

• Download: https://www.makemkv.com/
• Supports DVDs and Blu-rays
• Creates lossless MKV files

FFmpeg - Powerful video conversion tool

Installation:

• Windows: winget install ffmpeg
• Linux: sudo apt install ffmpeg (Ubuntu/Debian) or sudo yum install ffmpeg (RHEL/CentOS)
• macOS: brew install ffmpeg

Example conversion (MKV to MP4):

ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx264 -c:a aac -strict experimental output.mp4

Batch conversion (Linux/macOS):

for file in *.mkv; do
  ffmpeg -i "$file" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "${file%.mkv}.mp4"
done

• Check if port 3000 is already in use: lsof -i :3000 (macOS/Linux) or netstat -ano | findstr :3000 (Windows)
• Verify Node.js is installed: node --version
• Check file permissions on the video directory

• Verify firewall allows port 3000
• Ensure devices are on the same network
• Check server is binding to 0.0.0.0 not localhost

• Verify video format is supported
• Check file permissions
• Ensure video files are in the configured directory
• Check browser console for errors

• Clear node_modules: rm -rf node_modules && npm install
• Clear electron cache: rm -rf ~/.electron
• Ensure electron-builder is installed: npm install --save-dev electron-builder

ISC

Issues and pull requests are welcome! Please see the issues page.

For questions or support, please open an issue on GitHub.