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Quickstart

From a fresh install to your first screening.

1. Finish setup

Open Cinefin in a browser. The setup wizard takes you through the cinema name and an optional login password, then the playout host. When it finishes you land on the dashboard.

2. Connect the player

Nothing plays until a player is connected. You have two ways to run one, and you pick between them when you add a playout host (in the wizard, or under Settings → Playout → Add host):

  • Playout agent (recommended) - run the cinefin-playout agent on the machine at your screen, then copy its address and token from the tray (or its control panel) and paste them in. It bundles MPV and needs no config files, and it can run on the same machine as Cinefin or a separate one.
  • Local MPV - if you already run MPV on the same machine as Cinefin, start it with a JSON-IPC socket and point Cinefin at the socket path instead.

See Playback for both in full.

3. Add your movies

Open Settings → Library source. Add your Jellyfin or Plex server with its URL and API token, then Sync now. Progress and logs appear as it runs. Movies already on disk can be added from the Library page without a media server.

4. Add trailers and user media

Open Trailers to search for and download trailers for films in your library. Open Media to upload your own clips, such as an ident or a "silence your phones" notice. Cinefin stores trailers in its own folder; there is nothing to configure.

5. Make a template

A template is the shape of a screening. Open Templates and add one, for example:

  1. Your own user media (an ident or a notice)
  2. Trailers matched to the feature
  3. Certification card
  4. Feature

6. Build a programme

Open Programmes, then Create programme. Pick your movies and a template that fits them. Cinefin turns the trailer rules and any random picks into a fixed playlist you can review.

7. Play it

Cue the programme, then start playout. To play it later, book it under Schedules with a date and time. Cinefin starts it when it is due.

Where next

  • Programmes: templates, block types and title cards.
  • Scheduling: how booked screenings start.
  • Playback: the playout agent and the controls.