LAN Video Server

A Node.js server to browse and play videos from configured folders over LAN in your browser. Supports login, favorites, recently watched, and resume position.

Version: 1.0.0

---

What you need to add (before first run)

Item	Action
.env	Required. Copy from .env.example: copy .env.example .env (Windows) or cp .env.example .env (Linux/macOS). Set LOGIN_USERNAME and LOGIN_PASSWORD. Optional: SESSION_SECRET for session security. On Windows use LOGIN_USERNAME / LOGIN_PASSWORD to avoid conflict with the system USERNAME variable.
config.json	Required. Define video root folders. Repo includes a sample. Edit to add your paths, e.g. { "videoDirs": [ { "name": "Videos", "path": "docs" }, { "name": "Movies", "path": "D:/movies" } ] }. name = label in UI; path = relative to project or absolute. Create the folders if they don’t exist.
Video folders	Create or point to folders that contain your video files (e.g. .mp4, .mkv, .avi, .mov, .webm).

No need to create .remember-tokens.json or .user-data.json; the server creates them at runtime.

---

Setup

1. Install dependencies

npm install

2. Create environment file

Create a .env file in the project root with login credentials (required):

LOGIN_USERNAME=admin
LOGIN_PASSWORD=your_password_here

On Windows, use LOGIN_USERNAME / LOGIN_PASSWORD to avoid conflict with the system USERNAME variable. Optional: SESSION_SECRET (session security). See .env.example for a template.

3. Configure video folders

Define video root directories in config.json:

{
  "videoDirs": [
    { "name": "Videos", "path": "docs" },
    { "name": "Movies", "path": "D:/movies" }
  ]
}

• name: Folder name shown in the UI
• path: Relative to project (e.g. docs) or absolute (e.g. D:/movies). The server creates missing folders on first run; subfolders are supported.

Supported video formats: .mp4, .mkv, .avi, .mov, .webm

---

Running

Method	Command / File
Terminal	npm start or node server.js
Windows (IP + QR)	start.bat
Exe (Windows)	npm run build → dist/video-server.exe

The server listens on http://0.0.0.0:3366.

• Computer: Open http://YOUR_IP:3366 in a browser
• Phone: Same URL or scan the QR code shown by the batch file

When using the exe, config.json and .env must be in the same folder as the exe; video paths are relative to that folder or can be absolute.

---

Usage (UI)

Login

• The login screen appears when you open the page; sign in with the username and password from .env.
• Remember me keeps the session across browser restarts (token stored on the server).

Home

• Favorites: The "Favorites" section at the top. Use the star (☆/⭐) on each video to add or remove. Favorites are stored per user on the server and persist after restart.
• Recently watched: The "Recently watched" section lists the last 10 items; click to expand/collapse. Stored per user on the server.
• Folders: Click folders to navigate; select a video from the list to play.

Player controls

• −30 / −10 / −5 and +5 / +10 / +30: Seek by seconds
• ▶/⏸: Play / Pause | ⏹: Close video
• Time slider: Drag to seek; a tooltip shows the time while dragging
• ▼ (next to slider): Toggle the volume row and volume slider

Settings (⚙️, next to the search bar)

• Seek to time: Jump to a specific time (e.g. 1:30, 90) via "Go"
• Subtitles: Choose .vtt / .srt files that match the video name
• On end (🔁): Do nothing / Repeat / Play next
• Clear recently watched (🗑): Clear the recently watched list
• Logout (🚪): End the session

Favorites and resume

• Playback position for favorited videos is saved on the server; opening from Favorites resumes from that position.
• Recently watched is also stored per user on the server and is restored after a server restart.

---

Server data files

These files are created at runtime and are listed in .gitignore:

File	Description
.remember-tokens.json	"Remember me" session tokens
.user-data.json	Per-user favorites and recently watched (persists across restarts)

---

Features summary

• Login (username / password)
• Folder tree and video list (multiple roots)
• Range-based streaming (seek)
• Favorites (per user on server, persistent)
• Recently watched (last 10, per user on server, persistent)
• Resume from favorites (position saved)
• Subtitle selection (.vtt / .srt)
• PWA: can be added to home screen
• Touch swipe for ±10 second seek
• Time tooltip on slider while dragging