Questions about WatchMyMedia

A self-hosted media server for your Mac. It's a menu bar app: point it at your movie and TV folders and it builds a library with posters and details, then streams it to any web browser in your home.

Your library, your accounts and what you watch stay on your Mac. WatchMyMedia is made by Eldwick Software LLC.

No. Accounts live on your own server: you create the first one during setup, then add one for each person who watches. Nothing about you or your library is sent to us.

Privacy policy

Any web browser on a phone, tablet or computer in your home. On the same Wi-Fi as the Mac, go to your Mac's address, such as http://my-mac.local:27587. Your Mac's local hostname is at the bottom of System Settings › General › Sharing.

To watch on a TV, cast to Chromecast or Google TV from Chrome or Edge on the Mac itself, or over HTTPS. AirPlay works from Safari.

Apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android and Google TV are on the way.

No. WatchMyMedia is for movies and TV shows only: no music, photos or live TV.

• A Mac with macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
• Your movies and TV shows in folders, with movies and TV shows in separate folders.
• A free TMDB key. The Movie Database supplies the posters and details, and you get a key from a free account there, during setup.

Install the Mac app Set up your server

Yes. Your folders can be on the Mac, an external drive or a network share, such as a NAS.

The first time, macOS may ask whether WatchMyMedia can use files on an external drive: choose Allow. For a network share, connect to it in Finder first, with Go › Connect to Server…, then choose its folder.

Keep the drive connected. If it's ejected, reconnect it, then choose Restart Server in the menu.

Set up your server A library on an external drive is empty

Usually, yes. Folders named the way Plex, Jellyfin or Kodi ask follow the same patterns WatchMyMedia looks for: Title (Year) for movies, and Season folders with S01E01 in each episode's name. It also reads the ID tags they use in folder names: {tmdb-…}, [tmdbid-…], {imdb-tt…} and {tvdb-…}.

Your watch history doesn't come across.

Name your movie and TV folders

Yes. An admin adds an account for each person under Settings › Users. Each person has their own Continue watching row, progress and watch history.

Yes. Your other screens can watch only while the Mac is on and awake. WatchMyMedia keeps it awake while something is playing.

Turn on Launch at Login in the menu, so the server is back after the Mac restarts.

Your library plays over your home network. Finding posters and details for new titles needs the internet, because they come from TMDB. Subtitle downloads from OpenSubtitles and casting to a Chromecast need it too.

Choose Check for Updates… in the WatchMyMedia menu. It finds a new version and installs it when you agree. Settings › General has Check for updates too, which tells you whether a newer version is out.

Back up first, with Back up now under Settings › Backups. After some updates, 0.4.4 among them, an older version can't use your data again.

On your Mac. Your library's details, accounts, watch history, settings and backups are in ~/Library/Application Support/WatchMyMedia. Logs are in ~/Library/Logs/WatchMyMedia, and Show Logs in the menu shows them in Finder.

To open either folder, choose Go › Go to Folder… in Finder and paste its path.