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Cinefin runs home cinema screenings from your own movie library. It builds a show out of trailers, your own user media, a certification card and your movies. It plays it back, and can trigger lights and print tickets while it does.

The Cinefin server plans and controls the show. Playback happens on a playout host: the cinefin-playout agent, which is a shell around MPV, or a local MPV. It can run on the same machine as the server, or on a separate one.

Get started User guide

Features

  • Library sync

    Pull movies and posters from Jellyfin or Plex. Syncs run in the background and can be scheduled.

    Library sync

  • Programmes

    Build a screening from a template of trailers, user media, a certification card and the feature.

    Programmes

  • Scheduling

    Book a screening for a date and time. The web app starts it when it is due.

    Scheduling

  • Playout

    Play, pause, skip and seek from any page. Each block can pin its own audio and subtitle track.

    Playback

  • REST API

    Everything the web UI does is available over HTTP, with interactive docs built in.

    REST API

  • Runs anywhere

    Install with Poetry and systemd, or run the web app in Docker.

    Installation

How it works

Cinefin has two halves. The server holds your library and plans the show; the playout host (the playout agent running MPV, or a local MPV) sits at the screen and plays it. They can be one machine or two.

graph LR
  A[Jellyfin / Plex] -->|sync| B[Library]
  B --> C[Template]
  C -->|add features| D[Programme]
  D -->|resolve rules| E[Playlist]
  E -->|network| F[Playout host + MPV]

The pieces fit together in one line:

  1. Sync your movies from Jellyfin or Plex into the library (local files work too).
  2. Design a template once: the running order of idents, trailers, a certification card and the feature, with the film left as a slot.
  3. Build a programme from that template by dropping in tonight's feature. Cinefin resolves the trailer rules and any random picks into a fixed playlist.
  4. Cue the programme and start it, now or on a schedule. The server drives the playout host through the show, and can trigger lights, print tickets and run other commands as it goes.

Between shows the screen holds your System Ident, the same clip that opens each programme.