Your media library, on the air.
A native app for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad that turns your Plex or Jellyfin library into live TV channels with a classic program guide.
RetroGuide.TV builds dozens of always-on channels from the shows and movies you already have: comedy, anime, sci-fi, 90s TV, 24/7 marathons of your favorite series, and more. Turn it on and something is already playing. Flip channels with the Siri Remote or a swipe, drop into whatever's on mid-episode, and browse what's next in a cable-style guide.
Get RetroGuide.TV on the App Store for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad.
You need a Plex Media Server you own or that is shared with you, or a Jellyfin server you can sign in to. No media is included. Apple TV is free with no ads; the free iPhone and iPad app shows ads. An optional one-time RetroGuide Pro purchase removes mobile ads and unlocks multiple servers, unlimited custom channels, all themes and schedule controls across all three devices.
Website · Setup and support · Privacy Policy
Actual interfaces shown with a public-domain demo library. Your channels are built from your own Plex or Jellyfin media. Screenshot credits.
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Automatic channels. 50+ built-in genre, decade and format channels, plus channels for each library, TV network, large collection and long-running show. Channels with too little content are skipped, duplicates are removed, and the lineup scales to the size of your library.
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Works with any library. Genres are normalized across Plex agents, Jellyfin and languages (for example "Sci-Fi & Fantasy", "Science Fiction" and "Komödie"), and anime is recognized even without an "Anime" genre tag. Servers' genre tags are loose ("Mystery" on a fishing documentary), so RetroGuide checks well-known titles against its own classification, built from Wikidata and matched by IMDb, TMDB or TVDB id: loosely applied tags count only when it agrees, and documentaries, reality, game and talk shows stay off the channels built around fiction. "Why is this here?" in a channel's Options says why a show is on it, and with RetroGuide Pro a show can be removed from one channel.
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Custom channels. Combine genres, shows, networks, collections, decades, audiences and libraries, with a live preview of what the channel will air. One custom channel is free; unlimited custom channels require Pro.
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Real TV scheduling (Pro controls). Every channel runs on a fixed clock, so with the same library and settings, the same program is on at the same time on every Apple TV. Choose Shuffle, Block Shuffle, Show Rotation or Marathon ordering per channel, and optionally align start times to the quarter or half hour.
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Commercial breaks from your library. Choose dedicated Plex or Jellyfin libraries and play one, two or three commercials between programs. The guide includes their full runtime, and Parental Controls apply to commercials too. This is optional and separate from the mobile app's advertising.
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Program guide. A focus-driven grid with a live preview, "now" line, rating colors, show logos and artwork, and search with live results.
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Channel surfing. Swipe to change channels, with static between channels, a glowing channel number and an info banner, and a button for the last channel.
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Apple TV, iPhone and iPad. Built for the Siri Remote on Apple TV and for touch on iPhone and iPad, in portrait or landscape.
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Direct play. A bundled libmpv player plays MKV, HEVC, AV1, Dolby Vision, DTS, TrueHD and ASS subtitles. Compatible files play directly; playback requirements depend on the file, device and server settings. Apple's player is available as a fallback.
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HDR. HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision play in HDR on HDR iPhones and iPads. On Apple TV, Match TV mode switches the TV into HDR (and optionally to each program's frame rate) when Match Content is on in the Apple TV's settings.
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Respects your settings. Audio and subtitle tracks follow your Plex account's or Jellyfin user's language preferences, and your per-show choices.
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Multiple servers (Pro). Mix your own server with ones shared with you, Plex and Jellyfin together. The same title on several servers is kept once (matched by IMDb, TMDB or TVDB id when the servers name it differently), offline servers drop out of the guide until they're back, and each server has its own quality and buffering settings for playback over the internet.
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Themes (all twelve with Pro). Twelve themes, from Classic Cable and Local Forecast to VHS and Teletext, and optional CRT scanlines on menus. On iPhone and iPad, the app icon and What's On widget colors match the chosen theme.
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Widgets and Picture in Picture. See current programs in the What's On widget on iPhone and iPad, tap to tune in, and keep watching in a floating window while using other apps. The sleep timer stops at a chosen time or at the end of the current program, including Picture in Picture.
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Favorites and reminders (Pro). Star channels, browse and surf Favorites, and set local notifications for upcoming airings. Personalize widgets with Favorites, up to eight selected channels, or one pinned channel.
The App Store version is free with ads on iPhone and iPad (Apple TV has no ads): a standard banner under the menus and, at most once per 90 minutes of watching, a full-screen ad at a natural break. RetroGuide Pro is a one-time purchase that removes ads and adds Favorites, program reminders, personalized widgets, multiple servers, unlimited custom channels, every theme, schedule controls, library-wide track rules and removing individual titles from channels. The basic widget, Picture in Picture and sleep timer are free. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
- Apple TV with tvOS 17 or later (Apple TV 4K recommended), or iPhone or iPad with iOS 17 or later
- A Plex Media Server you own or that is shared with you (servers outside your home must have Plex Remote Access enabled), or a Jellyfin server you can sign in to.
- HTTPS with a trusted certificate on every connected server, including local networks and VPNs. HTTP-only servers are not supported.
Plex
- Open RetroGuide.TV and choose Connect Plex.
- Go to plex.tv/link and enter the code shown on screen. On Apple TV you can scan the QR code; on iPhone and iPad, tap Open plex.tv/link.
- Pick a server and the libraries to include, then choose Build My Channels.
Jellyfin
- Open RetroGuide.TV and choose Connect Jellyfin. Servers on your network are found automatically; otherwise choose Enter Address.
- Sign in with Quick Connect (approve the code in another Jellyfin app, under your profile) or with your username and password.
- Pick the libraries to include, then choose Build My Channels.
Live TV starts as soon as your first server is indexed. Add more servers later in Settings → Servers.
| Where | Button | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Watching | Swipe up / down | Channel up / down |
| Watching | Swipe left / right | What's on now / next |
| Watching | Click | Open the guide |
| Watching | Play/Pause | Last channel |
| Guide | Click | Watch the highlighted channel |
| Guide | Play/Pause | Jump to Search and Settings |
| Anywhere | Menu | Back |
| Where | Gesture | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Watching | Swipe up / down | Channel up / down |
| Watching | Swipe right / left | What's on now / next |
| Watching | Tap | Show the info banner and controls (Guide, last channel, channel up / down) |
| Guide | Tap a program | Preview it; tap again or press Watch to tune |
| Guide | Tap a channel number | Watch that channel |
| Guide | Swipe sideways, or ‹ Now › | Move through the schedule |
| Search, Settings | Tap the corner picture | Back to full-screen TV |
- Indexing and playback reports. RetroGuide.TV reads library metadata from your servers and caches it on the device, refreshing when it is more than six hours old. Jellyfin receives playback start, progress, pause and stop reports, including the played item, position and selected tracks. Its server settings determine how those reports affect watch progress and remembered choices. Audio and subtitle choices can be saved to Plex. The app keeps shared track rules locally and in iCloud; Jellyfin receives per-playback track choices, rather than a bulk per-show rule.
- Scheduling. Schedules are computed from the lineup and the date, never stored, so every device agrees. Shows take turns: each gets an equal share of turns however many episodes it has, and always continues with its next episode, in order; each channel starts each show at its own episode, so channels sharing shows don't move through them in step. Channels are scheduled together so the same show isn't on more than the chosen number of channels at once (24/7 and custom channels don't count) and the same episode or movie is never on two channels at once, 24/7 channels included. A 24/7 channel's schedule repeats a fixed cycle, so both its position and the other channels' check against it are simple arithmetic. When a channel has nothing else it may air, it breaks the show limit before it repeats an episode, and airs something anyway rather than going dark.
- Playback. Only one stream plays at a time. Channel changes wait a moment while you're flipping, and the previous stream is released before the next one starts. With the default player the server just sends the original file, like any direct play.
RetroGuide.TV has no separate account system. It talks to plex.tv to link your account and find your servers, and connects to your Plex or Jellyfin servers. Jellyfin discovery checks your local network. Access tokens are stored in the device keychain. Server API requests, artwork, subtitles and playback require HTTPS, including redirects and playlist resources. Both players remain available. Apple Player receives media through an authenticated, device-local loopback relay; that internal connection never leaves the device. The parental PIN stays on the device as a salted verifier in Keychain. Library metadata and local settings are cached on your device. Chosen audio and subtitle preferences can also be saved to Plex, and shared track rules can sync through iCloud.
The free iPhone and iPad app requests non-personalized ads from Google AdMob. Non-personalized ads still involve data processing for advertising, measurement and fraud prevention. Google's consent form appears where required, with applicable privacy choices in Settings. Apple TV and RetroGuide Pro show no ads. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Requirements: macOS with Xcode 26 or later.
git clone https://github.com/shikyo13/RetroGuide.TV.git
cd RetroGuide.TV
open RetroGuide.xcodeprojChoose the RetroGuide scheme and an Apple TV, iPhone or iPad simulator, then
run. To run on a device or archive, copy Config/Local.xcconfig.example to Config/Local.xcconfig
and set your Apple Developer Team ID (that file is git-ignored).
The Xcode project is generated from project.yml with
XcodeGen. After changing project.yml,
run xcodegen generate and commit the updated project.
Run the core library's tests with:
swift test --package-path Packages/RetroGuideKitApp/ App for tvOS, iOS and iPadOS (SwiftUI)
Composition/ App state, servers, lineup building
DesignSystem/ Tokens, themes and shared components
Features/ Onboarding, Watch (player + guide), Search, Settings
Services/ Playback engines, images, persistence
Packages/RetroGuideKit/ Platform-independent core: models, channel rules,
scheduling, search and the Plex and Jellyfin
clients (unit tested)
Tools/BrandAssets/ Generates the app icon and Top Shelf images
Scripts/ Build phase scripts
See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for a deeper tour.
Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md first.
RetroGuide.TV is released under the MIT License. It bundles MPVKit (libmpv and FFmpeg) under the GNU LGPL v3.0; see NOTICE.md.
RetroGuide.TV is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Plex, Inc. or the Jellyfin project. Plex is a trademark of Plex, Inc.