FAQ | Fliks docs

Setup#

Do I need Docker?#

No. Docker is the recommended way to run the server, but native builds exist for Windows and macOS with no separate dependencies to install, and you can build it from source on a machine with Node.js, PostgreSQL and FFmpeg.

I forgot the admin password and it's my only admin account. What now?#

There's no self-service "forgot password" flow and no reset command. If another account has users.manage (and settings.access), it can set you a new password from Settings > Users. A backup won't help: it holds the same forgotten password.

With no other admin, you have to write a new password hash into the database yourself. On the Docker setup from Docker, generate a hash for a temporary password:

bash

docker compose exec fliks node -e "require('bcrypt').hash('temporary-password', 12).then(console.log)"

Then open the database with docker compose exec postgres psql -U fliks -d fliks and run this, pasting the hash printed above:

sql

UPDATE users SET "passwordHash" = '<hash>', "requirePasswordChange" = true WHERE username = 'admin';

Replace admin with your username if you renamed it. Log in with the temporary password; Fliks asks you to pick a new one straight away.

Nothing shows up after I add a library. Is it broken?#

Probably not; a first scan matches every file against TMDB/TVDB and downloads artwork for each one, which takes a while on a large library. Watch the Activity list on Settings > System for the scan's progress. A file that genuinely can't be matched still appears, unidentified, rather than being silently dropped.

Does Fliks need internet access to work?#

Mostly for two things: fetching metadata (posters, descriptions, cast) from TMDB/TVDB, and the check for a newer Fliks release on GitHub (which you can turn off, see Updating). Playback, transcoding and everything else works entirely on your network without it. Browsing and installing from a plugin catalog also needs internet access.

Playback and transcoding#

Why is Fliks transcoding instead of playing the file directly?#

Because the device asking for it can't decode the file's codec, container, or bitrate as-is. Check Transcoding dashboard for the exact reason on a live stream, and Streaming and transcoding for the full decision behind Direct Play, Direct Stream and Transcode.

My GPU isn't being used for transcoding#

Fliks only uses a hardware path it successfully tested at startup; it never assumes one works just because a device exists. Check the server log for HW accel test passed or HW accel test failed lines and see Hardware acceleration for what each vendor's path needs (a device passed into the container, a driver version, a container capability).

Does Fliks support 4K and HDR?#

Yes. Direct Play and Direct Stream pass HDR through untouched. For a device or display that can't render HDR, HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision are tone-mapped to SDR on whichever encoding path (hardware or CPU) is active. A transcode that stays in HDR needs HEVC on Intel QSV or NVIDIA NVENC, or AV1 on NVENC; other backends hand it to the much slower CPU encoder. See HDR and Dolby Vision.

Accounts and access#

Can I give someone access to only some of my libraries?#

Yes; library access is set per user, independent of their role. See Users and permissions.

Can non-admin users request new content?#

Yes, if their role has the requests.create permission (the default User role does). Someone with requests.manage, or an auto-approval rule, approves it from there.

License and project#

What license is Fliks under?#

AGPL-3.0-or-later. In practice: if you run a modified version of Fliks and let others use it over a network, you owe those users the modified source, the same as if you'd distributed it to them directly.

Is there a Nintendo Switch client?#

Yes, in beta: a native client in a separate repository (switchfliks) that you build yourself as a homebrew .nro, for a homebrew-enabled console, with hardware video decode. It isn't part of the main Fliks release.