TinyMedia — Lightweight Mobile Media Server

A tiny, lightweight file and media server designed to run on low-powered boards like Raspberry Pi or Orange Pi and to be easily accessed from a cellphone. It provides a simple browser UI for browsing folders, streaming video/audio in the browser, downloading, uploading, and creating folders on local storage.

Features

• Browse folders with arbitrary depth
• Stream video/audio directly in browser
• Download any file
• Upload files to any folder
• Create new folders
• Mobile-friendly interface
• Storage usage indicator
• No authentication (local network use)

Requirements

pip install flask

Usage

# Set media root (default: /media/usb)
export MEDIA_ROOT=/path/to/your/media

# Run server
python server.py

Server starts on http://0.0.0.0:5000

Folder Structure

Organize however you like:

/media/usb/
├── Media/
│   ├── Video/
│   │   ├── Series Name/
│   │   │   └── episodes...
│   │   └── movies...
│   └── Audio/
│       └── music...
└── Install files/
    ├── Android/
    └── Windows/

Production Use

For better performance with multiple users:

pip install gunicorn
gunicorn -w 2 -b 0.0.0.0:5000 server:app

Unattended installation

The installer script install_arm_no_venv.sh supports a non-interactive mode that auto-answers prompts and will auto-select a single exFAT USB partition when present. Enable it by setting the environment variable AUTO_YES=1 or by passing -y / --yes on the command line.

Examples:

# env var style
AUTO_YES=1 bash install_arm_no_venv.sh

# or flag style
bash install_arm_no_venv.sh --yes

Note: If multiple exFAT partitions are detected, unattended mode will abort to avoid ambiguity. The script still uses sudo for system changes; for fully automatic runs, configure passwordless sudo for the invoking user or run from a privileged installer.

Recommended Media Formats

Pre-transcode for universal browser playback:

• Video: H.264 MP4, 720p
• Audio: MP3 or AAC

Systemd Service (auto-start)

Create /etc/systemd/system/tinymedia.service to auto-start the server:

[Unit]
Description=TinyMedia Lightweight Media Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=pi
Environment=MEDIA_ROOT=/media/usb
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/tinymedia
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 server.py
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then:

sudo systemctl enable tinymedia
sudo systemctl start tinymedia