About — Phlix

Mission

Phlix exists because you should own your media server. Not rent access to someone else's. Not hand control of your library to a corporation that might change priorities, raise prices, or disappear tomorrow.

We built Phlix in PHP because PHP runs everywhere, on everything — that old laptop in the closet, the Raspberry Pi in the garage, the desktop you're not using anymore. You shouldn't need enterprise hardware to run your own media.

License

Phlix is BSD-3-Clause across the board — server, all clients, and the Hub. This means you can use it personally, commercialize it, fork it, or build a business around it. The only requirement is to keep the copyright notice and license intact when you redistribute.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

Technology

Server

PHP 8.3+ with Workerman 5.x for async handling, FFmpeg for transcoding, and a plugin architecture with versioned manifests.

Clients

Roku (Channel), Samsung Tizen (Vanilla JS), Windows (Electron + React), Mobile (React Native). All sharing the same streaming stack.

Hub

PHP 8.3+ relay server using Workerman for WebSocket handling. Can be self-hosted or use the public instance at hub.phlix.org.

Protocols

HLS for adaptive streaming, WebSocket for real-time control, DLNA/UPnP for device discovery, and a reverse-tunnel relay for remote access.

Contributing

Phlix is developed in the open on GitHub. Bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests are welcome. The project uses semantic versioning and a plugin contract that's designed to be stable — plugins you write today will continue working with future releases.

FAQ

Is Phlix like Plex / Jellyfin / Emby?: Yes — same job, different stack. Phlix is built in PHP 8.3+ on Workerman, ships with a versioned plugin contract, and includes a hub for accessing remote servers behind NAT without a third-party tunnel.
Do I need to expose my server to the internet?: No. Run Phlix on your LAN and use the Phlix Hub's reverse-tunnel relay to reach it from your phone or Roku at a friend's house. You can self-host the hub, or use the public one.
What formats are supported?: Anything FFmpeg can read. Direct play when the client supports it; transcoded HLS otherwise. Per-device quality profiles pick the right bitrate automatically.
Is there a mobile app?: Yes — React Native, available on iOS and Android. Currently in beta.
Can I write plugins?: Yes. Implement LifecycleInterface, ship a manifest, drop it in the plugins directory. See phlix-plugin-example for the smallest working starter.
What's the license?: BSD-3-Clause across the board.