Quick start

The fastest way to run everything is Docker Compose from the flixer repository. For hacking on the code see Local development.

Prerequisites

• Docker with Compose v2.
• A PostgreSQL database reachable from the containers (the compose file does not start one).
• A folder containing your media, for example Movies/, TV Shows/ and Music/ subfolders.

1. Configure

cd flixer
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and set at least:

Variable	What to put
DATABASE_URL	Your Postgres connection string.
JWT_SECRET	A random secret of 32 or more bytes.
STREAM_TOKEN_SECRET	A different random secret of 32 or more bytes. Shared by flixer, the streamer and the indexer.
FLIXER_PUBLIC_URL, APP_URL, PASSKEY_RP_ID, PASSKEY_ORIGINS	The address users type in the browser. Passkeys only work when these match.
MEDIA_PATH	Host path of the root media folder.

Generate a secret with:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(48).toString('base64url'))"

2. Start

docker compose up -d

This starts api, streamer, indexer, redis, web and an nginx proxy. The proxy publishes HTTP_PORT (default 8080).

3. Create your admin account and libraries

1. Open http://localhost:8080 and register. Follow the first-run steps shown in the app.
2. Open Admin dashboard → Libraries and click Add library.
3. Give it a name, a type (movies, TV or music) and choose one or more folders from the offered root folders.
4. Press Scan. Progress appears live on the Libraries and Overview tabs.

tip

Libraries are yours to define. Flixer does not assume folder names such as Movies exist; it only offers whatever is inside your root media folders.

4. Optional extras

• Subtitles from OpenSubtitles: add credentials under the admin dashboard settings. See Subtitles.
• SMB network shares: use docker-compose.smb.yml. See Network shares.
• Logs in Grafana: docker-compose.observability.yml. See Observability.