Download Opal →   Watch the demos   Website ↗

A free, open-source media player and browser. No telemetry. No subscription.

_{macOS · Linux · Windows alpha   /   Features · Developers · Support}

Get Opal

One command detects your platform and verifies the download. Linux installs to ~/.local without sudo.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/debpalash/Opal/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Download a release instead →

macOS — Apple silicon, Homebrew, Intel builds

Open the .dmg and drag Opal to Applications, or install the self-contained app:

brew install debpalash/tap/opal

For an unnotarized DMG showing “damaged,” use the installer or run:

sudo xattr -cr /Applications/Opal.app

Intel Macs require a source build with HOMEBREW_PREFIX=/usr/local.

Linux — AppImage, Debian, RPM, Arch

Standard builds require glibc 2.38+. Ubuntu 20.04/22.04, Debian 12, and Mint 21 should use _compat_amd64.deb (glibc 2.31+); the installer selects it automatically. Compatibility builds use software decoding and X11/XWayland. Compatibility details.

AppImage also needs system OpenSSL 3 (libssl.so.3, libcrypto.so.3):

chmod +x Opal-*.AppImage
./Opal-*.AppImage

Debian / Ubuntu: use _compat_amd64.deb on older hosts. Standard packages need libmpv2 and libtorrent-rasterbar2.0 (Ubuntu 24.04+ / Debian 13+).

sudo apt install ./opal_<version>_amd64.deb

Fedora:

sudo dnf install ./opal-*.x86_64.rpm

openSUSE:

sudo zypper install ./opal-*.x86_64.rpm

Arch / Omarchy: the v0.8.8 AUR binary links libtorrent 2.0. Use AppImage if your system ships 2.1. AUR package.

yay -S opal-media-player-bin
# or: paru -S opal-media-player-bin

Without a helper:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/opal-media-player-bin.git
cd opal-media-player-bin && makepkg -si

Release packages also install with sudo pacman -U ./opal-*-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst.

Windows — x64 alpha

Install the .msi or extract the portable .zip from Releases. Expect bugs and SmartScreen prompts. Report an issue.

First launch and updates

Browse Movies & TV without a key, or choose Home to open a file. Install search sources in Settings → General → Install source plugins. A TMDB v4 token adds richer metadata. AI and voice models are opt-in. Reopen onboarding in Settings → About.

Update: rerun the installer with sh -s -- update. Set OPAL_VERSION=vX.Y.Z to pin a release. Update AUR packages with yay -Syu or paru -Syu.

System-wide Linux install requires root or sudo:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/debpalash/Opal/main/scripts/install.sh | OPAL_SYSTEM=1 sh

See it in action

Browse movies and TV, switch sources, and find your next watch.

Watch the full recording →

Stream a torrent while it downloads

Play a magnet directly. Downloads follow playback; available peers are required.

Watch the recording →

_{Sintel, © Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0.}

Ask your local AI what to watch

Get playable recommendations from an optional on-device model. No API key needed.

Watch the recording →

Explore search and playback

Search enabled sources for files, streams, reading results, and title details.

Adjust quality, audio, subtitles, and translation while watching.

_{Big Buck Bunny, © Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0.}

_{Recordings predate the toolbar shown in the screenshots. Reduced-motion settings show still previews.}

Your sources. One player.

• Watch: movies, TV, anime, YouTube, and ~40,000 live TV / IPTV channels.
• Connect: browse your Jellyfin and Plex servers.
• Read: manga through managed Suwayomi and Mihon / Tachiyomi extensions.
• Play together: casting, watch parties, subtitles, translation, and SponsorBlock.
• Keep your place: local history, session restore, and incognito.
• Add what you need: source plugins, RSS, themes, and optional AI, voice, and OCR.

Sources start disabled; install the ones you want. Source coverage · Roadmap.

Playback tips and temporary torrents

Search works from any page; compact windows also offer it under More. Hover toolbar icons for labels, or scroll the toolbar in narrow windows. Click a result or Play to watch; + queues a torrent and Details opens title info. × on Now Playing stops playback. Find controls in More → Playback options.

Source installation errors include recovery steps in redacted Logs.

For temporary torrents, enable Settings → Network → Stream torrents in memory. Choose 128, 256 (default), or 512 MiB per new torrent. Seeking may redownload pieces; closing releases the buffer. Existing transfers keep their storage mode. Decoder memory is extra, and the OS may swap RAM to disk.

Control it from anywhere

Opal Connect for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox sends videos to Opal, adds reading sources, and controls playback from a side panel.

Install the extension → · Download builds

From your phone: enable Settings → Web UI, set Network to LAN, then scan the QR code. It includes a setup code on first use and opens http://<your-pc-ip>:41595. Home-screen installation requires HTTPS. Phone setup guide.

Keyboard shortcuts

Action	Key	Action	Key
Search	S	Browser	B
Library	D	History	H
Fullscreen	F	Playlist	P
Grid	G	Fit / crop	Z
Open file	⌘O	Settings	⌘,
Back	Esc	All shortcuts	⇧I

Built in the open

Zig 0.16.x · dvui · mpv. One native binary, shared application state, and a UI that repaints on change. Architecture · Contributing · CI.

Build from source

Use Zig 0.16.x; 0.17 requires a migration. On macOS:

brew install mpv sqlite sdl2 libtorrent-rasterbar
# Install Zig 0.16.x separately if your package manager offers a newer version.
git clone https://github.com/debpalash/Opal.git
cd Opal
zig build run

Linux / Wayland: run ./scripts/install-deps.sh, then make run for system SDL2. Minimums: libmpv 0.34 (0.38+ recommended), libtorrent-rasterbar 2.0, and SDL 2.0.22. Ubuntu 20.04 needs newer mpv and libtorrent than its stock packages.

macOS 14: if Homebrew cannot provide FFmpeg/mpv, install sqlite sdl2 libtorrent-rasterbar libass libplacebo meson ninja pkgconf, then run ./scripts/install-macos-ffmpeg.sh and ./scripts/install-macos-mpv.sh. These target macOS 13+. HOMEBREW_PREFIX defaults to /opt/homebrew.

Optional: ONNX Runtime with zig build -Docr=true for OCR; FFmpeg and whisper-cpp for voice.

Development and tests

Command	Purpose
./dev.sh	Hot reload; -r for ReleaseFast
just hot	Native incremental rebuilds
just release / just app	Release binary / macOS bundle
zig build test	Zig unit tests
just test-all	Full feature suite

Both test suites must have 0 failures before committing. Optional-component skips are allowed. Include the tally in your PR. Contribution guide.

Source map and local data

src/
├── main.zig     # app entry and frame loop
├── core/        # state, config, storage, I/O
├── player/      # mpv, playlists, subtitles
├── services/    # search, AI, torrents, remote API
└── ui/          # native dvui interface
web/             # companion web UI
extension/       # Opal Connect

Config, tokens (0600), history, and AI memory live in ~/.config/opal/. Caches use ~/.cache/opal/; downloads default to ~/Downloads/opal.

Plugins live in ~/.config/opal/plugins/<name>/, with manifest.json and JSON-emitting search/resolve executables. Lua is sandboxed; native binaries are not. Install trusted plugins.

Keep Opal going

Ko-fi · PayPal · Star the repo · Report a bug · Discussions.

GPL-3.0. License · Dependency notices. Opal connects to sources you configure; it does not host or distribute media. Only access content you have the right to use. BitTorrent shares your IP with peers. Content policy · Privacy · Rights-holder contact. Provided as is, without warranty.