Kino — Personal Media Server (Netflix Clone)

A self-hosted Netflix-style streaming app for movies you legally own. Built with FastAPI + React + MongoDB.

Features

Cinematic browse UI with hero banner, horizontal carousels, hover details
HTML5 video player with HTTP Range request support (proper seeking)
JWT auth (admin + member roles)
Admin upload for adding movies (multipart, large files OK)
My List (watchlist) and Continue Watching (resume playback)
Search by title/director/cast
Request queue — users request movies, admin approves & uploads them (Legal alternative to auto-downloading — auto-download of copyrighted material is not implemented.)

Default admin

Email: admin@kino.local
Password: kino-admin-2026

Change ADMIN_EMAIL / ADMIN_PASSWORD in backend/.env before first start to set your own admin credentials.

Self-hosting on Proxmox

You can run this stack on any Proxmox LXC or VM. Recommended layout:

Create an Ubuntu 22.04 LXC with at least:
- 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM
- 20 GB system disk
- Mount your bulk storage (zfs/nfs) at /mnt/media

Install dependencies:

apt update && apt install -y python3-pip nodejs npm yarn mongodb git

Clone & configure:

git clone <your-fork> /opt/kino
cd /opt/kino

Backend:

cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
# edit .env:
#   MONGO_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017
#   DB_NAME=kino
#   MEDIA_ROOT=/mnt/media
#   ADMIN_EMAIL=you@yourdomain
#   ADMIN_PASSWORD=<strong>
#   JWT_SECRET=<openssl rand -hex 32>
uvicorn server:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001

Frontend:

cd frontend
yarn install
# edit .env:
#   REACT_APP_BACKEND_URL=https://kino.yourdomain.tld
yarn build
# serve build/ via nginx or caddy

Recommended: front with Caddy for HTTPS:

kino.yourdomain.tld {
  handle /api/* {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8001
  }
  handle {
    root * /opt/kino/frontend/build
    try_files {path} /index.html
    file_server
  }
}

GitHub backup

This repo is the source of truth for code and configuration. Do not commit your .env files — they contain secrets. Movie media files should live on your Proxmox storage, not Git.

Adding movies

Via web UI: Sign in as admin → "Upload" in nav → drag MP4 + fill metadata
Manually: drop MP4 into $MEDIA_ROOT/videos/, then create the movie via POST /api/movies with storage_type=local and storage_path=<filename>

API quickstart

# Login
curl -X POST $URL/api/auth/login \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"email":"admin@kino.local","password":"kino-admin-2026"}'

# List movies
curl $URL/api/movies

# Stream a local movie (note: needs ?auth=<token> for <video> tags)
curl $URL/api/stream/<movie_id>?auth=<token>

Why no auto-download?

Auto-downloading copyrighted movies from the internet is illegal in most jurisdictions (DMCA, EU copyright directive, etc.). Kino is built as a personal media server for content you legally own or that is in the public domain (Internet Archive, Blender Open Movies, etc.).

The "Requests" feature lets users wishlist titles for the admin to add manually — preserving the request UX without crossing into piracy.

3.3 KiB Raw Permalink Blame History