Snappier Server

Latest version: v1.2.0d

Install & Run Guide

This page covers how to download, install, and run Snappier Server in both GUI (Electron) and CLI‐only modes on Windows, macOS, and Linux, for both x86_64 and ARM64 architectures.

What is Snappier Server?

Snappier Server is a lightweight yet powerful service designed to run seamlessly on your machine 24/7 ideally - otherwise you may miss recordings. Built exclusively for the Snappier IPTV App, it acts as the brain behind all your media recording and downloading needs.

With the Snappier IPTV App, users can effortlessly schedule live TV recordings, save CatchupTV, and download movies or entire TV series from their IPTV provider. Movies can also be scheduled to download at a specific future date and time. Snappier Server takes care of these requests in the background—quietly, efficiently, and reliably.

Note: Each active recording or download uses one connection to your IPTV service. If your subscription only allows a single connection, you won’t be able to watch live TV or start another recording at the same time. However, once a recording has started, you can begin watching it from the server even while it’s still in progress—this does not use up a connection

By default, all your media is saved to the Current Working Directory (CWD) + snappierServer/ folder, but you're free to specify a custom location for folders to organize your recordings and downloads your way. The downloaded content is fully compatible with the Snappier IPTV app and can also be played in any media player that supports the formats.

Note: Live TV and CatchupTV recordings are saved in the .ts (MPEG Transport Stream) format. While widely compatible, this format may not work with certain players—such as Infuse. However, if you enable remuxing the .ts file will be converted to .mkv format making it more compatible.

Once a recording or download begins through the Snappier IPTV App, Snappier itself can be closed. Snappier Server continues the task independently, ensuring everything completes smoothly—even while you're away.

Need help? Join our friendly community on Discord! You’ll find the invite link directly in the Snappier IPTV app.

Notice: Snappier Server is currently a beta feature of the Snappier IPTV App. While it's designed to work for most users, it may not be compatible with all systems or network setups. Installation is the responsibility of the user, and while we may not be able to assist with every individual setup, we’ll always try our best to help in the Discord server if possible. We welcome feedback as we continue to improve it.

1. GUI App (Tray)

The GUI App provides a system‐tray icon and Preferences window with full EPG (Electronic Program Guide) configuration support. Through the Preferences window, you can easily:

• Configure server settings (port, remux, download paths)
• Enable and manage EPG sources with a user-friendly interface
• Add multiple EPG URLs with priority settings
• Set EPG refresh intervals
• Generate Xtream Codes EPG URLs automatically

Pick the right package for your OS and CPU:

⚠️ If you're installing on a computer with a graphical user interface (GUI) — such as Windows, macOS, or Linux — the GUI app is recommended. For headless systems (without a GUI), please use the CLI-only binary provided in Section 2 below.

# Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg

# Fedora/RHEL:
sudo dnf install ffmpeg

# Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg
  

2. CLI-Only Binary

🔧 This CLI‐Only Binary is designed for headless/server environments without any GUI.

The CLI package is a single native executable (no GUI), suitable for servers or Docker. It listens on port 8000 by default.

Download

• Windows x64: Download
• Windows ARM64: Download
• macOS x64: Download
• macOS ARM64: Download
• Linux x64: Download
• Linux ARM64: Download

Prerequisite: FFmpeg

Ensure FFmpeg is installed for full recording, remuxing, and optional movie/series downloading support:

# Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg

# Fedora/RHEL:
sudo dnf install ffmpeg

# Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg

Note: If you're running the CLI version in a desktop environment and want notifications, install and activate a Linux notification daemon such as dunst or xfce4-notifyd:

• Ubuntu/Debian:
  sudo apt install dunst
  or
  sudo apt install xfce4-notifyd
• Fedora:
  sudo dnf install dunst
  or
  sudo dnf install xfce4-notifyd
• Arch Linux:
  sudo pacman -S dunst
  or
  sudo pacman -S xfce4-notifyd

After installation, ensure the daemon is started or enabled in your session (e.g., by adding dunst & to your autostart script).

Installation & Run

1. Place the binary in a directory on your PATH, or run it directly:

chmod +x snappier-server-cli-‹platform›-‹arch›
./snappier-server-cli-‹platform›-‹arch›

2. To change the default listening port (8000), set the PORT environment variable before launching the server.
   See the section below titled How to Set Environment Variables for step-by-step instructions.
3. All API endpoints (schedules, recordings, movies, series) are available at:

   http://localhost:8000

4. Connect the App: In the Snappier IPTV app, go to Settings → Snappier Server and enter the IP address and port number of the machine running Snappier Server (e.g., 192.168.1.100 and 8000). Do not include http:// or https://

Environment Variables

You can configure the server by setting the following environment variables before launch:

• PORT
  Set the port the server listens on (default is 8000).
• ENABLE_REMUX
  Set to true to convert .ts files to .mkv format automatically.
• RECORDINGS_FOLDER
  Path to store live TV recordings.
• MOVIES_FOLDER
  Path to store downloaded movies.
• SERIES_FOLDER
  Path to store downloaded TV series.
• DOWNLOAD_SPEED_LIMIT_MBS
  Set max download speed for curl-based downloads (in MB/s). Use 0 to disable limit.
• USE_CURL_TO_DOWNLOAD
  Set to true to force using Curl for all downloads (movies/series) instead of FFmpeg.
• ENABLE_EPG
  Set to true to enable EPG (Electronic Program Guide) support.
• EPG_URL
  Single EPG XML URL (e.g., http://example.com/epg.xml).
• EPG_URLS
  Multiple EPG sources as JSON array (e.g., [{"url":"http://source1.com/epg.xml","name":"Main","priority":1}]).
• EPG_REFRESH_INTERVAL
  How often to refresh EPG data in hours (default is 24).

Command-Line Arguments (Alternative to Environment Variables)

The CLI binary also supports command-line arguments for easier configuration. Use --help to see all available options:

./snappier-server-cli --help

EPG Configuration Examples

Single EPG Source:

# Basic EPG setup
./snappier-server-cli --enable-epg --epg-url "http://example.com/epg.xml"

# With custom port and refresh interval
./snappier-server-cli --port 8080 --enable-epg \
  --epg-url "http://provider.com/epg.xml" \
  --epg-interval 12

Multiple EPG Sources:

# Multiple sources with priority (lower number = higher priority)
./snappier-server-cli --enable-epg --epg-urls '[
  {"url":"http://primary.com/epg.xml","name":"Primary","priority":1,"enabled":true},
  {"url":"http://backup.com/epg.xml","name":"Backup","priority":2,"enabled":true}
]'

Complete Configuration Example:

./snappier-server-cli \
  --port 8080 \
  --enable-epg \
  --epg-url "http://provider.com/epg.xml" \
  --epg-interval 24 \
  --enable-remux \
  --recordings ~/Recordings \
  --movies ~/Movies \
  --series ~/TVShows

Verifying EPG Status

Once running with EPG enabled, check the status using curl:

# Check EPG status
curl http://localhost:8000/epg/status

# View channels
curl http://localhost:8000/epg/channels

# Force EPG refresh
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/epg/refresh

How to Set Environment Variables

If you prefer environment variables over command-line arguments, here's how to set them on each platform:

Windows (Command Prompt)

set PORT=9000
set ENABLE_REMUX=true
set ENABLE_EPG=true
set EPG_URL=http://example.com/epg.xml
snappier-server-cli.exe

Windows (PowerShell)

$env:PORT = "9000"
$env:ENABLE_REMUX = "true"
$env:ENABLE_EPG = "true"
$env:EPG_URL = "http://example.com/epg.xml"
.\snappier-server-cli.exe

macOS / Linux (Bash/Zsh)

export PORT=9000
export ENABLE_REMUX=true
export ENABLE_EPG=true
export EPG_URL="http://example.com/epg.xml"
./snappier-server-cli

To make variables permanent on macOS/Linux, add them to your shell's startup file, like ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc.

3. Common Notes

• Configuration: GUI mode stores prefs in config.json under your user‐data folder (%APPDATA% on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/… on macOS, ~/.config/… on Linux).
• FFmpeg: The macOS and Windows builds bundle FFmpeg, so you don’t need to install it separately on those platforms. On Linux, you must install FFmpeg manually.
• Docker: Use the CLI binary in a Docker image for headless deployments.
• Finding Your IP Address: To connect the Snappier IPTV app to the server, you'll need the local IP address of the machine running Snappier Server:
  • Windows: Open Command Prompt and run ipconfig. Look for the "IPv4 Address" under your active network adapter.
  • macOS: Open Terminal and run ipconfig getifaddr en0 (or en1 depending on your network). Alternatively, go to System Settings → Network → select your network → look for “IP address”.
  • Linux: Open Terminal and run hostname -I or ip a. Look for your active interface’s IP address (e.g., eth0 or wlan0).
• Network Access: Make sure any firewalls or routers allow traffic on the selected port if you want to access the server from another device.
• VPN Configuration: If using a VPN, ensure that both Snappier and the Snappier Server are on the same LAN/subnet to communicate properly.

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