FAQ
What does kino do?
Section titled “What does kino do?”kino is a single-binary self-hosted media automation and streaming server. It covers everything from “I want to follow this show” through to “play it on the TV downstairs” without you having to glue together a stack of separate services.
Concretely, that means:
- Library + automation — follow movies and shows, kino keeps them up to date
- Search — query Torznab-compatible indexers + a built-in Cardigann definition catalogue
- Downloads — embedded BitTorrent client; no external download client to wire in
- Library management — automatic file naming + organisation with hardlink import
- Streaming + transcode — direct play when possible, hardware transcode when not
- Casting — Chromecast support via a built-in custom receiver
- Privacy networking — built-in WireGuard client with an IP-leak killswitch
One config UI, one database, one log, one upgrade path.
Why one binary?
Section titled “Why one binary?”Smaller surface area to operate. One config file, one log to look at, one thing to back up, one thing to update. No inter-service network configuration, no version-skew between components, no “is this Service A’s job or Service B’s job” debugging.
Does kino support direct play / direct stream?
Section titled “Does kino support direct play / direct stream?”Yes. Direct play (no transcode) is preferred whenever the playback device’s codec, container, and audio support match the source. Transcode kicks in when:
- The browser or casting target can’t decode the source codec
- The audio channel layout exceeds what the device supports (e.g. 5.1 → stereo for headphones)
- The container needs swapping (e.g. MKV → MP4 for browser playback)
See Features → Streaming for the full decision tree.
What hardware transcoders are supported?
Section titled “What hardware transcoders are supported?”| Vendor | API | Status |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | NVENC | ✓ |
| Intel | QuickSync (QSV) | ✓ |
| AMD | AMF / VAAPI | ✓ |
| Apple Silicon | VideoToolbox | ✓ |
| Raspberry Pi 4/5 | V4L2 stateless | ✓ |
Auto-detected on first launch. Override in Settings → Playback → Transcode.
How do I import an existing library?
Section titled “How do I import an existing library?”Point kino’s media path at your existing library directory in the setup wizard. kino scans the structure and matches files to TMDB entries. The wizard previews matches and lets you correct mismatches before committing.
Can I run kino behind a reverse proxy?
Section titled “Can I run kino behind a reverse proxy?”Yes. Set KINO_BASE_URL=https://kino.your-domain.tld in the
service environment, terminate TLS at your proxy
(Caddy / nginx / Traefik), and reverse-proxy :8080 to the
upstream. WebSocket upgrades on /api/v1/ws need the standard
Upgrade / Connection header forwarding. See
Setup → Reverse proxy for the full
config snippets.
Does kino phone home?
Section titled “Does kino phone home?”No. kino ships no telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting, no anonymous usage stats. The only outbound connections are the ones you’d expect: TMDB for metadata, your configured indexers for search, your configured VPN endpoint, and an opt-out daily GitHub Releases API check for update-available notifications (opt out in Settings → Updates).
See Privacy for the full posture.
Is there a mobile app?
Section titled “Is there a mobile app?”Not yet. The web UI is responsive and works on phones and tablets; the React app is also installable as a PWA. Native mobile clients aren’t in the v1 plan but aren’t ruled out post-launch — see the roadmap.
What’s the license?
Section titled “What’s the license?”kino is GPL-3.0-or-later. Use it for any purpose, modify it, fork it, redistribute it. The catch: any derivative work you distribute publicly must remain under the same license. This protects every kino user’s freedom to inspect and modify the software they run.
In plain terms:
- ✅ Run it for yourself, your family, your business — no restrictions.
- ✅ Modify it locally — no obligations.
- ✅ Fork it publicly — your fork must also be GPL-3.0 (or later).
- ❌ Build a closed-source product on top of kino’s source — not allowed.
- ❌ Repackage kino as a paid SaaS without sharing your changes — not allowed.
See Attributions for the full third-party dependency + license list.
Can I sponsor or contribute?
Section titled “Can I sponsor or contribute?”Sponsorship via the GitHub Sponsors page is the preferred channel. Code contributions: PRs welcome — read CONTRIBUTING.md first.
How fast is the release cycle?
Section titled “How fast is the release cycle?”Ship-when-ready. We don’t follow a fixed monthly / quarterly schedule. Patch releases land within a day for security fixes. Minor releases land when meaningful features are stable. Major releases will be rare pre-1.0; v1.0 itself is the “core surface considered stable” milestone.