MediaBrain

MediaBrain is a local-first PySide6 media library manager for personal video, music, playlist, and streaming-watch history.

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Start Here

Need	Go to
Run the desktop app	python MediaBrain.py
Check privacy boundaries	PRIVACY_POLICY.md
Understand the architecture	ARCH.md
Review planned work	ROADMAP.md
Get machine-readable context	llms.txt

Why MediaBrain

MediaBrain is for people who want one local place for media they watch, collect, tag, blacklist, or organize across services and local files. It is not a hosted streaming service and it does not upload a private library to a cloud account.

• Local SQLite storage for media entries, favorites, tags, blacklist items, and playlists
• PySide6 desktop UI with dashboard, libraries, search, statistics, settings, and high-contrast themes
• Provider layer for Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Twitch, and local files
• Manual playlists and smart playlists backed by QueryBuilder rules
• Optional metadata lookup through user-configured TMDb/OMDb keys or public MusicBrainz data
• No telemetry, no tracking, and no automatic cloud sync

Search Context

This repository is the canonical GitHub home for:

• doc-bricks MediaBrain
• MediaBrain media library manager
• local-first PySide6 media manager
• offline media hub with smart playlists
• privacy-first media history desktop app

The name "MediaBrain" collides with generic AI/media search results, so README text and GitHub topics use the more specific doc-bricks MediaBrain and local-first media library manager phrasing.

Architecture

Core Layer        Database, MediaManager, BlacklistManager, TagManager, PlaylistManager
Query Layer       QueryBuilder for advanced filters and smart playlists
Provider Layer    Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Disney+, Prime, AppleTV+, Twitch, Local
Background Layer  FileIndexer, WindowWatcher
GUI Layer         Dashboard, Libraries, Favorites, Blacklist, Playlists, Search, Stats, Settings

Full diagram: ARCH.md

Installation

Requirements:

• Python 3.8 or newer
• Windows, Linux, or macOS with Qt/PySide6 support

pip install -r requirements.txt

On first launch, MediaBrain creates settings.json locally. The public template is settings.example.json. Personal settings, databases, logs, and build artifacts are excluded through .gitignore.

Usage

python MediaBrain.py

Windows double-click launcher:

START.bat

A lightweight Windows launcher can be built with:

build_exe.bat

Tests

python -m pytest tests/ -q

The test suite covers database managers, metadata, tags, QueryBuilder, playlists, and playlist GUI behavior in offscreen mode.

Privacy

MediaBrain stores usage data locally in SQLite databases and configuration files. It has no telemetry and no automatic cloud sync. Optional metadata requests use only user-configured TMDb/OMDb API keys or public MusicBrainz data. Details: PRIVACY_POLICY.md.

License

MIT, see LICENSE. The GUI uses PySide6 under LGPL terms.

Liability

This project is provided free of charge and "as is", without warranty, maintenance guarantee, or fitness-for-purpose guarantee. Use it at your own risk.