Configuration

Kino keeps every server-level setting in a single SQLite row (the config table). The Settings pages in the web UI are a thin editor over that row; this page enumerates the row itself, grouped by area.

Most fields have a sensible default and only need attention if you’re deviating from the standard single-host install. Fields marked auto-managed are populated by Kino itself — you should not edit them by hand.

Tip

The same fields are exposed via GET /api/v1/config and PUT /api/v1/config. Sensitive fields (API keys, VPN secrets, passwords) come back as "***" on GET — see the HTTP API reference.

Server

How Kino binds the HTTP listener and identifies itself to clients.

Field	Type	Default	Description
listen_address	string	0.0.0.0	Interface the HTTP server binds to. 127.0.0.1 for localhost-only; an IP for a specific NIC.
listen_port	integer	8080	TCP port for the HTTP server. Override at boot with --port / KINO_PORT.
api_key	string	random UUID on first boot	The master credential. Sent as Authorization: Bearer <key> or X-Api-Key: <key>. Rotatable from Settings; rotation does not invalidate per-device sessions.
base_url	string	""	Path prefix when reverse-proxied behind a sub-path (e.g. /kino). Empty means served at the root.

Storage paths

Where Kino writes its own state and where it expects your media to live.

Field	Type	Default	Description
data_path	string	platform default	Kino’s working directory — SQLite database, cached images, trickplay sprites, librqbit session. Set at boot via --data-path / KINO_DATA_PATH; the platform default is XDG / native.
media_library_path	string	""	Root directory for your imported library. Required before Kino can move completed downloads into the library.
download_path	string	""	Working directory for the BitTorrent client. Required before any download will start.

Personal VPN

Optional WireGuard tunnel that scopes the BitTorrent client (only). See VPN setup for the full walkthrough.

Field	Type	Default	Description
vpn_enabled	boolean	false	Master switch. When off, the BitTorrent client uses the default route.
vpn_private_key	string	—	WireGuard private key. Write-only via the API.
vpn_address	string	—	Tunnel-side address assigned by the VPN provider (e.g. 10.64.0.2/32).
vpn_server_public_key	string	—	Peer (server) public key.
vpn_server_endpoint	string	—	Peer endpoint, host:port.
vpn_dns	string	—	DNS server reachable inside the tunnel.
vpn_port_forward_provider	string	none	Port-forwarding API used to obtain a forwarded port. none disables port forwarding.
vpn_port_forward_api_key	string	—	API key for the port-forwarding provider, when applicable.
vpn_killswitch_enabled	boolean	true	When the tunnel drops, soft-pause every active download until it reconnects. Ignored when vpn_enabled is off.
vpn_killswitch_check_url	string	https://api.ipify.org	URL the periodic IP-leak self-test hits. Self-hostable for paranoid setups.

Metadata providers

Field	Type	Default	Description
tmdb_api_key	string	""	TMDB Read Access Token. Required for any title metadata; without it the metadata features are disabled.
opensubtitles_api_key	string	—	OpenSubtitles API key for subtitle search.
opensubtitles_username	string	—	OpenSubtitles account username.
opensubtitles_password	string	—	OpenSubtitles account password. Write-only via the API.

Downloads

Throughput and seeding behaviour for the built-in BitTorrent client.

Field	Type	Default	Description
max_concurrent_downloads	integer	3	How many downloads run in parallel. Higher values can hurt completion time on the per-download side.
download_speed_limit	integer	0	Global download cap in bytes/sec. 0 means unlimited.
upload_speed_limit	integer	0	Global upload cap in bytes/sec. 0 means unlimited.
seed_ratio_limit	real	1.0	Stop seeding once uploaded ÷ downloaded reaches this ratio.
seed_time_limit	integer	0	Stop seeding after this many minutes regardless of ratio. 0 disables the time cap.

Media server / playback

Field	Type	Default	Description
transcoding_enabled	boolean	true	Allow the player to fall back to HLS transcoding when direct play isn’t possible.
ffmpeg_path	string	ffmpeg	Path to the FFmpeg binary. Defaults to PATH lookup.
hw_acceleration	string	auto-probed on first boot	Hardware-acceleration backend. Kino probes on first run and picks the fastest backend that works on your box; none means software-only.
max_concurrent_transcodes	integer	2	Hard cap on simultaneous FFmpeg transcode sessions.
cast_receiver_app_id	string	—	Custom Chromecast Receiver application ID. Empty means the default media receiver.

Library management

How Kino keeps the library tidy and what it goes looking for in the background.

Field	Type	Default	Description
auto_cleanup_enabled	boolean	true	Delete watched movies and episodes after the configured delay.
auto_cleanup_movie_delay	integer	72	Hours to wait after a movie is marked watched before auto-cleanup deletes it.
auto_cleanup_episode_delay	integer	72	Hours to wait after an episode is watched before auto-cleanup deletes it.
auto_upgrade_enabled	boolean	true	When a higher-quality release becomes available, replace the current file.
auto_search_interval	integer	15	Minutes between background scans for wanted-but-missing items.
stall_timeout	integer	30	Minutes a download may be making no progress before it’s flagged as stalled.
dead_timeout	integer	60	Minutes after which a stalled download is killed and re-searched.

Note

Metadata refresh cadence is not user-tunable: hot rows refresh hourly, cold rows every 72 hours, on a fixed 30-minute scheduler tick.

File management

How completed downloads land in your library.

Field	Type	Default	Description
use_hardlinks	boolean	true	Hardlink imported files instead of copying. Requires the download path and library path on the same filesystem.
movie_naming_format	string	{title} ({year}) [{quality}]	Filename template for imported movies.
episode_naming_format	string	{show} - S{season:00}E{episode:00} - {title} [{quality}]	Filename template for single-episode files.
multi_episode_naming_format	string	{show} - S{season:00}E{episode:00}E{episode_end:00} - {title} [{quality}]	Filename template for multi-episode files.
season_folder_format	string	Season {season:00}	Folder template for season directories.

Trakt integration

OAuth credentials and per-bucket sync toggles for Trakt. You register the app on Trakt yourself (see Settings → Integrations); credentials are per-install, not baked into the binary.

Field	Type	Default	Description
trakt_client_id	string	—	Client ID from your Trakt OAuth application.
trakt_client_secret	string	—	Client secret from your Trakt OAuth application.
trakt_scrobble	boolean	true	Send live play / pause / stop scrobbles to Trakt.
trakt_sync_watched	boolean	true	Two-way sync of watched state.
trakt_sync_ratings	boolean	true	Two-way sync of 1-10 ratings.
trakt_sync_watchlist	boolean	true	Mirror Trakt watchlist as a system list. Marks already-in-library items as monitored; never adds new titles to the library.
trakt_sync_collection	boolean	true	Mirror your Kino library to your Trakt collection.
trakt_resume_sync_enabled	boolean	true	Mirror playback resume position between Kino and Trakt.
trakt_recommendations_enabled	boolean	true	Refresh the Home recommendations row from Trakt.

Lists

External lists Kino can poll for titles to add. See mdblist.com.

Field	Type	Default	Description
mdblist_api_key	string	—	MDBList API key. TMDB lists reuse tmdb_api_key; Trakt lists reuse the Trakt OAuth tokens.
list_bulk_growth_threshold	integer	20	Send a notification when a single list-poll adds more items than this.

Intro / credits skip

Per-install detection and skip behaviour for show intros and credit sequences.

Field	Type	Default	Description
intro_detect_enabled	boolean	true	Run the chromaprint-based intro detector on imported episodes.
credits_detect_enabled	boolean	true	Detect credit sequences alongside intros.
auto_skip_intros	string	smart	One of off (button only), on (always auto-skip), smart (button on the first episode of a season, auto-skip the rest).
auto_skip_credits	boolean	false	Auto-skip detected credits sequences.
intro_min_length_s	integer	15	Minimum candidate intro length in seconds; shorter matches are ignored.
intro_analysis_limit_s	integer	600	How far into each episode the intro analyser scans, in seconds.
credits_analysis_limit_s	integer	450	How far back from the end the credits analyser scans, in seconds.
intro_match_score_threshold	real	10.0	Minimum match score required to accept a detected intro.
max_concurrent_intro_analyses	integer	2	Hard cap on simultaneous intro-detection workers.

Networking / discovery

Field	Type	Default	Description
mdns_enabled	boolean	true	Advertise {hostname}.local and _http._tcp on the LAN so users can reach Kino without knowing the IP.
mdns_hostname	string	kino	Hostname advertised over mDNS — reach Kino at http://<hostname>.local:8080.
mdns_service_name	string	Kino	Human-readable service name advertised over mDNS.
low_disk_threshold_gb	integer	5	Free-space threshold (in GB) on the download path below which the health banner warns.

Backups

Built-in archive + restore. See Backups once the runbook lands.

Field	Type	Default	Description
backup_enabled	boolean	true	Run the scheduled backup job.
backup_schedule	string	daily	Preset cadence — daily, weekly, monthly, or off.
backup_time	string	03:00	Local time-of-day the scheduled backup fires (24-hour HH:MM).
backup_location_path	string	{data_path}/backups (set on first boot)	Directory backups land in. Override to point at a NAS or external drive.
backup_retention_count	integer	7	Number of scheduled backups to keep. Manual and pre-restore archives are exempt.

Auto-managed

These fields exist on the row but you don’t set them by hand. They’re populated by Kino on demand.

• session_signing_key — HMAC secret for short-lived signed media URLs. Lazily initialised on first use; rotates separately from api_key.

Display preferences

A separate single-row table, user_preferences, holds UI-only preferences (Home layout, hidden sections, greeting name). These are edited entirely from the UI; there’s no operator reason to touch them directly.