jtube-tv/README.md
Jeena 669c4af359 license: Adopt GPL-3.0-or-later
Decide on the license before the source is shared publicly: GPL v3
keeps forks and improvements of this app free software too.
2026-10-12 00:41:17 +00:00

3.1 KiB

JTube TV

An Android TV client for PeerTube instances, inspired by how SmartTube works for YouTube. It talks to any PeerTube instance (the default is JTube — my own instance) over the PeerTube REST API.

Features (v0.1)

  • Setup flow — enter instance URL, username and password once; the app exchanges them for OAuth tokens via POST /api/v1/users/token and stores only the tokens (never the password), encrypted with the Android Keystore (EncryptedSharedPreferences).
  • Local videos — list public videos of the instance (GET /api/v1/videos?isLocal=true).
  • My videos — all of the logged-in user's own videos, every privacy level included (private, internal, unlisted — GET /api/v1/users/me/videos). Non-public entries carry a privacy badge.
  • Channels — list channels local to the instance (GET /api/v1/video-channels?search=…&searchTarget=local) and browse each channel's videos.
  • Search — search local videos by title.
  • Subscriptions — the videos in the user's subscription feed (GET /api/v1/users/me/subscriptions/videos).
  • History — the user's watch history as tracked by the server (GET /api/v1/users/me/history/videos).
  • Playback — HLS (or progressive MP4 fallback) playback with ExoPlayer/Media3. Viewing is reported to the server (POST /api/v1/videos/{shortUuid}/watching) so it shows up in server-side history. Private/internal media is streamed with the OAuth token attached to every playlist/segment request.

Out of scope for now (see BACKLOG.md): uploading, editing, subscribing/unsubscribing, deleting, creating anything other than history entries.

Build

Requirements: JDK 17+ (JDK 21 recommended), Android SDK platform 35. local.properties with sdk.dir=… is picked up automatically if present (standard Android Gradle Plugin behavior).

./gradlew :app:assembleDebug

Install on a TV device:

adb connect <tv-ip>:<port>
adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Building requires a JDK; the Gradle wrapper is checked in, so no local Gradle installation is needed.

Architecture overview

Single-module Android TV app (app/):

  • data/api — Retrofit interface + kotlinx-serialization DTOs for the PeerTube API.
  • data/auth — TokenStore (EncryptedSharedPreferences), token acquisition/refresh.
  • data/network — OkHttp/Retrofit wiring: dynamic base-URL interceptor, bearer-token interceptor, single-flight token refresh authenticator.
  • data/PeerTubeRepository.kt — one suspend-call surface used by all view models.
  • ui/ — Compose for TV screens: Setup, Home (sidebar + list content), VideoList (local / my videos / subscriptions / history / search / channel), Channels, Player. MainActivity is the only activity.
  • JTubeApp.kt — tiny service locator (AppGraph); no DI framework on purpose.

License

JTube TV is free software: GPL-3.0-or-later — see the fsf.org license page for details.