Install & run

In short

ReelVault is one program on one port. Pick Docker or an installer, open http://localhost:3030, and the setup wizard creates your administrator — no config files, no programming.

ReelVault is one program: the server, the web app and the streaming engine all run from a single process on a single port. Pick one of the paths below — all of them end the same way, at http://localhost:3030, where the setup wizard creates your administrator account.

Which one should I pick?

If you have…	Use	Why
A NAS, home server or always-on PC	Docker	One command, easy to update.
A Windows PC	Windows installer	Double-click; it sets everything up.
A Linux machine	Linux installer	Installs ffmpeg and a service for you.
A machine where you cannot install anything	Release archive	Portable folder, no installer.
A developer machine, or you want to change the server	Run from source	You build it yourself.

Not sure? Docker is easiest on a server, the installer is easiest on Windows, and either works everywhere else.

What you need

• A machine to run it on — a home server, NAS, mini PC or an always-on desktop. Anything x86-64 or arm64 works; 4 GB of RAM is enough to start, more helps with conversion.
• Your media, already on disk.
• A browser on any device you want to watch from.

ffmpeg and ffprobe are required for streaming — the installers and images handle them for you.

How much machine do I need?

• A small household (1–2 streams, no conversion) — any mini PC, NAS or Raspberry Pi 4/5 with 4 GB of RAM is enough.
• A few people, occasional conversion — a 4-core x86 mini PC with 8–16 GB of RAM.
• Several streams, or lots of conversion — a machine with a recent Intel CPU (Quick Sync) or an NVIDIA GPU makes conversion cheap.

You can start small and move to bigger hardware later — see Moving to a new machine.

Install it

Pick your platform — the detailed instructions for each follow below.

Docker

mkdir reelvault && cd reelvault
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml
docker compose up -d

Windows

# In PowerShell — installs ReelVault and adds a Start Menu shortcut:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/install/install.ps1 | iex

Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/install/install.sh | bash

Release archive

Unpack ReelVault-<version>-linux-x64.tar.gz (or the Windows .zip),
then run start.sh / start.bat.

Then open http://localhost:3030 and create the administrator account.

Option A — Docker (recommended for servers and NAS)

One container: server, web app and ffmpeg included.

mkdir reelvault && cd reelvault
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml
docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:3030 and create the administrator account. Your data lives in the reelvault-data volume.

To scan your media, uncomment the media volume in docker-compose.yml first:

volumes:
  - reelvault-data:/data
  - /srv/media:/media:ro

Or run the image directly

docker run -d --name reelvault \
  -p 3030:3030 -v reelvault-data:/data \
  ghcr.io/reelvault/server:latest

Option B — Windows installer

In PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/install/install.ps1 | iex

It downloads ReelVault, installs ffmpeg if missing, and creates a ReelVault shortcut in the Start Menu. Open it from there, or go to http://localhost:3030.

To pass options, download the installer first — it always pulls the latest release:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/install/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1
.\install.ps1 -Remote          # reachable from other devices on the LAN
.\install.ps1 -Port 8080       # custom port
.\install.ps1 -Autostart       # start when you sign in

Prefer a double-click? Download install.bat and run it — it calls install.ps1 for you.

Option C — Linux installer

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/install/install.sh | bash

The installer installs ffmpeg, downloads the release into ~/.local/share/reelvault, and registers a service that starts with your session. To pass options, download it first:

curl -fsSL -o install.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ReelVault/reelvault/main/install/install.sh
bash install.sh --remote       # reachable from other devices on the LAN
bash install.sh --port 8080    # custom port
bash install.sh --upgrade      # update, keeping your data
bash install.sh --uninstall    # remove again

Option D — release archive (no installer)

Every release ships portable archives — ReelVault-<version>-linux-x64.tar.gz (also arm64) and ReelVault-<version>-windows-x64.zip. They contain everything including the runtime: unpack, run start.sh / start.bat, open http://localhost:3030. All state lives in the unpacked data/ folder — move the folder, move the server.

Connect to it

The web app connected to a fresh server

• Browser — open http://<host>:3030. See Web & desktop clients.
• Phone or TV — the same address works on any device on your network; see Web & desktop clients.
• Your own app — use the typed client; see the SDK overview. The server also serves an interactive HTTP API reference at http://<host>:3030/openapi.

Next steps

• First-run setup — create the administrator and your first profile.
• Adding your media — add your media folders.
• Server configuration — for administrators.