Today marks a new era for Stremio: the Web alpha version was open-sourced on GitHub: https://github.com/stremio/stremio-web.
This is the first Stremio version that is a web app, which means it runs in your browser! It also features a slightly redesigned user interface, with a new color palette and focused on improved usability.
It’s also the first full-featured Stremio UI that’s fully open-source, and it’s licensed under GPLv2.
How complete is this?
This is an alpha release intended for early adopters and developers. It is not complete enough for everyday use.
Currently, you can only run it locally from the GitHub repository.
When will it be production ready?
We’re currently targeting a beta release in July/August.
Does it support streaming from all addons?
To support advanced streaming features (non-standard formats, local files and BitTorrent), it must be connected to a streaming server.
There are a few ways this can be done:
- By connecting it to a running instance of the Stremio desktop app
- Later down the line, there will be a standalone streaming server (10-20MB download) which you will be able to install
Will it work on Android/iOS?
Yes! However, we recommend using the standalone app on Android.
As for iOS, initially there will be support for iPads only, as iPhones do not support MSE. However, it’s possible to work this around eventually by implementing HLS.
How does it work under the hood?
The app uses React, combined with stremio-core, which is a library that implements all the business logic of Stremio (addons, account management, library, notifications, continue watching), written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly.
For playing video, it uses the regular HTML5 <video> tag, with Media Source Extensions, which allows it to play media that’s transcoded/transmuxed on the fly – this allows it to play any format, as long as it’s connected to a streaming server.
If it requires being connected to a streaming server, what’s the benefit of running in the browser?
There are many addons which do not require a streaming server to work. We’re planning to have a separate list in the addon catalog for addons that work without a streaming server.
Additionally, running in the browser has the following advantages:
- Consistent video playback performance
- Easier and faster updates
- Lightweight: the streaming server is only about 10-20MB to download, while the entire desktop app is around 100MB
- You can use Stremio on many devices in your local network w/o installing anything, as long as you have a streaming server on only one of them
Final thoughts
We are not replacing the Desktop or Android applications with Stremio Web, all our applications will continue to work as they have before.
But we will always work to make Stremio more accessible, simpler to use, and closer to our users. With this vision in mind, Stremio Web brings us one step closer to that goal, by bringing Stremio directly to the browser, on any device.
We have faith that our growing community will embrace this web version, as they embraced all of our applications. Together, we will make something truly amazing, that millions of users worldwide will use daily for their media needs.
I love the fact that Stremio is open source! Well done!