FAQ
The honest details.
Straight answers on what Reel is, what it isn't, and how it treats your media and your privacy.
Is Reel free?
Yes. Reel is free and open-source. If it earns a spot in your movie nights, you can support development, but there's nothing to pay and no paywalled features.
Is my data private?
Reel is local-first by design. There's no account and no cloud. Your media and everything Reel knows about it (watch progress, stats, collections) stays on your disk. Nothing is phoned home.
Does Reel download movies or shows?
No. Reel organises and plays the files that are already on your disk. It doesn't find, torrent, or download content. It's a player and library manager for your own media.
What formats and codecs does it play?
A bundled ffmpeg engine transcodes on the fly, so Reel handles plenty that browsers can't: MKV, HEVC/H.265, AVI, and audio like AC3, DTS, and TrueHD. GPU hardware acceleration is auto-detected, with a CPU fallback.
How do subtitles work?
Reel auto-detects sidecar files (.srt/.vtt/.ass), reads tracks embedded inside MKVs, and can search and download from OpenSubtitles right in the player. If a track drifts, a sync offset nudges it back into place.
Do I need a TMDB key?
No. Reel is fully functional offline without one. Add a free TMDB key and it fetches posters, backdrops, cast, ratings, genres, and runtime to make the library prettier.
Can I use VLC or mpv instead of the built-in player?
Yes. Launch any file in your player of choice and Reel still syncs your watch progress back, so your Continue Watching row stays accurate either way.
Why does Windows warn me on first launch?
Reel is open-source and not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows a caution on first run. Click More info → Run anyway. See the download page for the full note.
Is there a Mac or Linux build?
Only a Windows build ships today. If that changes, it'll show up on the download page.
Where's the source code?
Reel's source lives in a private repository, so it's closed-source for now, it isn't open for contributions. Downloads and releases are handled from the public download repo.
Ready to try it?
Download the Windows build and point it at your folders. It takes about a minute to set up.