MovieHouse

Self-hosted media library and download manager. Download movies and TV shows via BitTorrent, transcode for any device, browse with a web UI, and stream to your TV.

Single binary. No cloud. Your media, your network.

Features

Media Library

• TMDB integration — poster art, cast, director, ratings, per-episode synopses
• TV show support — seasons, episodes, grouped library with drill-down navigation
• Movies and shows — separate sections, each with full metadata cards
• Folder scanning — import existing media files with recursive directory search

Web UI

• React frontend — embedded in the binary, no separate server
• Mobile-first — bottom nav on mobile, persistent sidebar on desktop
• Light/dark mode — toggle in sidebar, persists in localStorage
• shadcn/ui — accessible components with Tailwind CSS
• Real-time updates — WebSocket for download progress, 3-second polling for library

Transcoding

• HEVC MP4 (default) — remux MKV to MP4 with hvc1 tag, seconds, no quality loss
• H.264 MP4 (fallback) — re-encode for universal compatibility
• Concurrent runner — configurable parallelism (default: 2 jobs)
• Batch transcode — per-season "Transcode Season" button
• Stop/cancel — per-job and per-season cancellation
• Progress persistence — survives server restarts

Video Playback

• Click to play — click poster to stream in browser
• HTTP range requests — seeking, pause/resume
• Works everywhere — Safari, Chrome (Mac/Android), Edge
• AirPlay — stream to Apple TV from any Apple device

BitTorrent Engine

• DHT, magnet links, PEX — full peer discovery
• Endgame mode — fast completion of last pieces
• Lightspeed mode — adaptive pipelining, persistent DHT, PEX
• Security hardened — path traversal protection, bencode limits, input validation

Settings

• Persistent — sled database with JSON serialization
• Download folder — configurable with server-side folder browser
• Auto-transcode — toggle + default encoding (HEVC/H.264)
• TMDB API key — loaded from .env file

Quick Start

# Build and install
cargo install --path .

# Configure
cp .env.example .env    # Add your TMDB API key

# Run
moviehouse serve --open

# Network access (Apple TV, phones, tablets)
moviehouse serve --bind 0.0.0.0:3000 --open

Or use the install script (builds, launches in background, opens browser):

./install.sh

CLI Commands

# Web UI server
moviehouse serve [--bind 0.0.0.0:3000] [--open]

# Download from .torrent file
moviehouse download ubuntu.torrent -o ~/Downloads [--lightspeed]

# Download from magnet link
moviehouse magnet "magnet:?xt=urn:btih:..." -o ~/Downloads

# Inspect a .torrent file
moviehouse info ubuntu.torrent

Requirements

• Rust 2024 edition (build-time)
• Node.js (build-time, for frontend compilation)
• FFmpeg (optional, for transcoding)
• TMDB API key (free, for movie/show metadata — get one here)

Configuration

.env file

TMDB_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Data locations

~/.movies/data/         — sled database
~/.movies/transcoded/   — transcoded media files
~/.moviehouse/          — DHT routing table cache

Architecture

moviehouse serve
├── axum web server (REST API + WebSocket + embedded React SPA)
├── BitTorrent engine (DHT, trackers, peer wire protocol)
├── Transcode runner (concurrent ffmpeg jobs)
├── sled persistence (downloads, library, settings)
└── TMDB client (movie/show metadata)

Protocol Support

BEP	Name	Status
3	BitTorrent Protocol	Implemented
5	DHT Protocol	Implemented
6	Fast Extension	Implemented
9	Metadata Exchange	Implemented
10	Extension Protocol	Implemented
11	Peer Exchange (PEX)	Implemented
12	Multi-tracker	Implemented
15	UDP Tracker	Implemented

Tests

cargo test          # 69 unit tests
./pre-deploy.sh     # Rust fmt/clippy + React prettier/eslint

License

Personal use.