ApexPlayer
Point it at a folder
A media server small enough to forget you're running.
ApexFeeder reads your filenames, looks each title up, downloads the posters and descriptions, and serves the result to a web player and to ApexPlayer on your Apple devices. Local drives and cloud storage, in one catalogue.
There is no setup to speak of
No library to curate, no naming scheme to learn, no metadata to type. Add a folder and go and do something else.
Add a folder
A path on the machine, or a Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive account. Mix as many as you like.
It identifies and illustrates
Filenames are parsed, titles looked up on TMDB, and posters and descriptions cached locally.
Watch it anywhere
Play in the built-in web UI, or pair ApexPlayer on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro.
Where your files can live
Local folders
Any path on the machine, including mounted network shares.
Dropbox
Live updates within seconds, and playback streams straight from Dropbox.
OneDrive
Folder-scoped change tracking, and playback direct from Microsoft.
Google Drive
Works, with one caveat — the connection needs renewing weekly.
It reads what you already named things — and asks when it can't tell
Scene release names, plain titles, Season folders, SxxExx, multi-episode files, dated daily shows. ApexFeeder parses the filename, looks the title up, and gets on with it. When two films share a title or a year doesn't line up, the file goes to a Review tab with its best guess attached — confirming is one click, and that decision is locked for good.
- Confirmed matches survive renames and reorganising
- Artwork cached locally and deduplicated across libraries
- Nothing is ever written to your media folders
Movies/
Pulp Fiction (1994).mkv
The.Matrix.1999.1080p.BluRay.x264-GROUP.mkv
TV/
The Wire/
Season 01/
S01E03.mkvTidier names match more often without a trip to Review — but you don't have to rename anything to get started.
Small, but not simple-minded
Everything here is in service of one job: find your media, describe it properly, stream it.
It reads your filenames and works it out
Automatic identification via TMDB
Pulp Fiction (1994).mkv and The.Matrix.1999.1080p.BluRay.x264-GROUP.mkv both resolve cleanly, as do The Wire/Season 01/S01E03.mkv and dated daily shows. ApexFeeder looks each title up, pulls posters and descriptions, and builds the catalogue for you.
When it is unsure, it asks
A review queue, not a wrong guess
Two films sharing a title, or a year that does not line up, sends the file to the Review tab with its best guess attached — confirming is one click. Once you confirm, that decision is locked and no future scan second-guesses it, even if you rename the file.
Cloud and local in one catalogue
Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive
Files in cloud storage are library items like any other — same artwork, same search, same watch state. Dropbox and OneDrive hand out temporary links so playback streams directly from the provider, with zero bytes passing through ApexFeeder.
Reorganise whenever you like
Identity survives renames
Every file is keyed on an identity that outlives its path — an inode locally, a permanent file id in each cloud provider. Moving or renaming a file updates one row instead of losing it, so confirmed matches, artwork and watch state all survive a reshuffle.
Files appear as you add them
Live updates, no rescan button
Local folders are watched directly. Dropbox holds a connection open and answers the moment something changes; OneDrive polls a folder-scoped delta once a minute. Drop a file in and it shows up.
Seeking that actually works
Full HTTP range support
Streaming implements byte ranges properly, so scrubbing lands where you put it instead of restarting the file. Resume points, played and favourite flags, and a "next up" across every show are tracked server-side and shared by every device.
Finds the subtitles you already have
Sidecar files and embedded tracks
Movie.en.srt and Movie.fr.forced.srt sitting next to a video are picked up during a scan, and embedded tracks are read with ffprobe. A subtitle ApexPlayer finds elsewhere can be handed back and cached once for every device.
Nothing is written to your media folders
Ever
Artwork, the database and any cached subtitles live in ApexFeeder's own data directory. Your media folders and cloud drives are read-only as far as it is concerned — it never renames, moves, tags or tidies anything.
What ApexFeeder is not
It is deliberately much smaller than Plex, Jellyfin or Emby. Knowing what it leaves out is the fastest way to work out whether it's for you.
No transcoding
Files are streamed as they are. Whatever plays it has to support the format natively — that is the trade for staying small and fast.
No plugin system
Nothing to install, configure or keep updated. What ships is what it does.
No accounts
No sign-up, no cloud service, no user database. Devices pair; people do not log in.
Not a downloader
ApexFeeder serves files you already have. It finds nothing, fetches nothing and indexes no sources.
No transcoding means format compatibility is on you
Files stream exactly as they are, which is what keeps ApexFeeder fast and small. The device playing them has to decode the format natively — an exotic codec that a transcoding server would have quietly converted will simply not play. Re-encoding that file fixes it, and ApexPlayer speaks to Plex, Jellyfin and Emby too if you'd rather have a transcoder in the loop.
Four digits, approved at the machine
ApexPlayer finds ApexFeeder on the network and shows a four-digit code. You approve it in ApexFeeder's own settings, on the machine ApexFeeder is running on — never remotely. The code isn't the security: the token only goes to whoever holds the matching 256-bit pairing secret, and only the local machine can approve anything at all.
- A paired device can browse and stream — nothing else
- It cannot browse your filesystem, add libraries or change settings
- Revoke any device from Settings and access stops immediately
The ones people ask first
Nothing, and that is structural rather than promotional. TMDB's API is free for non-commercial use, and keeping ApexFeeder free of cost is what keeps that access available.
It is deliberately much smaller. No transcoding, no plugins, no accounts, no library curation step — you point it at folders and it serves them. It also treats cloud storage as a first-class source rather than something to sync down first. If you want live TV, DVR, transcoding for incompatible devices or a plugin ecosystem, run Plex or Jellyfin; ApexPlayer speaks to those too.
Not strictly. The parser handles the usual conventions — a movie named after the film, with or without a year, scene-style release names, Season folders, SxxExx episode numbers and dated daily shows. Tidier names simply match more often without visiting the Review tab.
No. Nothing is ever written to your media folders or cloud drives. Artwork, the catalogue database and any cached subtitles live in ApexFeeder's own data directory, ~/.apexfeeder by default.
The scope ApexFeeder uses is one Google classifies as restricted, and a lasting refresh token requires a Google-verified app — which means a paid third-party security assessment, commonly $800 to $4,500 or more. That is not something a free project takes on, so ApexFeeder stays in Google's testing mode, where refresh tokens expire after exactly seven days. Reconnecting is one click in Settings. Dropbox and OneDrive have no equivalent.
Point it at a folder
Run it, and forget it
Node 22.6 or newer, three commands, then open http://127.0.0.1:8770 and add a folder. Early days — Discord is where the rough edges get reported.
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.