Terebi

A native macOS player for local media, YouTube videos and Miruro episodes, with a local-file queue, saved playback positions, compact mode and Chromecast support.

Build and install

Requires macOS 15+, Xcode Command Line Tools with Swift 6, Python 3.9+ and Homebrew build tools. Build natively on Apple Silicon or Intel; Rosetta and cross-architecture builds are not supported.

brew install pkg-config meson ninja
# Intel Macs also need: brew install nasm
make install
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Open Terebi from ~/Applications or Spotlight. The CLI is installed at ~/.local/bin/terebi; add that directory to your shell's PATH to keep it available.

The first build downloads dependencies. Quit Terebi before updating, then run make install again. To install elsewhere, use make install APPDIR="/Applications" (requires a writable directory) or set PREFIX to change the CLI prefix.

To run without installing, use make run. The built .build/terebi.app is self-contained; no separate FFmpeg, Python or yt-dlp installation is needed at runtime. Builds are ad-hoc signed, not notarized. Bundled licenses and source archives are in the app's Resources; public binary redistribution needs a separate license audit.

Usage

• Local files: use ⌘O, drag files onto the player, or choose Finder's Open With. Multiple files form a queue in natural filename order, with automatic advance. Use View → Show Queue to play, reorder or remove items; + or dropping files onto the sidebar appends them. The queue lasts only for the session; opening other media replaces it.
• Streams: use Open Stream… (⇧⌘O) or drop a supported link. YouTube supports individual videos, not playlists or channels. Miruro links must use https://barelystarted.miruro.tv/watch/<opaque-id>/<slug>?ep=<episode> with an explicit positive episode number; arbitrary streaming sites are not supported.
• Seeking: click the progress track to seek, including immediately beside the visible thumb. Grabbing the thumb preserves the cursor's position within it throughout the drag; dragging from the track first seeks to the cursor.
• Miruro metadata: titles and opening/ending intervals load independently of playback when available. Small rounded gaps mark interval boundaries in the slider, without visible labels; accessibility descriptions retain the interval names and times. Missing/invalid metadata leaves playback usable. Timings may differ between cuts. No automatic skipping is performed.
• Resume: videos resume their saved position; finished videos restart from the beginning. Live and audio-only media do not save progress.
• Compact mode: press P for a floating player; double-click it to restore. Drag noninteractive areas to move the window. Use the titlebar pin to keep the normal window on top.
• Quality: YouTube defaults to SDR up to 1080p. Use gear → Quality for other available resolutions or automatic quality.

Keyboard shortcuts

Action	Default shortcut
Play / pause	Space or K
Seek backward / forward 5 seconds	← / →
Seek backward / forward 10 seconds	J / L
Step one frame backward / forward	, / .
Volume down / up	↓ / ↑
Mute / unmute	M
Fullscreen	F or ⌃⌘F; Esc to leave
Compact mode	P or ⌃⌘P
Always on top	⇧P
Close media	⇧⌘W
Quit	Q or ⌘Q

Chromecast

Open media, select the Cast icon or Playback → Cast to Device, and choose a receiver on the same LAN. Allow macOS Local Network access and incoming firewall connections. Use Find Cast Devices… to retry discovery.

Playback controls and queue navigation work on the receiver. Play on This Mac returns to local playback at the receiver's position. Keep the Mac connected: it relays the media and prevents idle system sleep during playback, while allowing display sleep when casting. Closing the lid or explicitly sleeping the Mac can interrupt playback.

Cast output is limited to 1080p/30 fps; frame stepping and YouTube quality changes are local-only. Use Cast only on a trusted network. AirPlay is not supported.

Command line

terebi "/path/to/video.mp4"
terebi 'https://youtu.be/jNQXAC9IVRw'
terebi --new-instance --no-config "/path/to/video.mp4"
terebi --help

The CLI opens one file or supported stream, reusing the running player by default. With no arguments, it opens or activates the player. --new-instance starts a separate player; --no-config uses built-in settings on a fresh launch. Put these options before the media argument. Before installation, use .build/terebi instead of terebi.

For native episode-URL playback, external resolved sources and progress reporting, see the integration contract.

Configuration

The optional config file is ~/.config/terebi/config.toml, or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/terebi/config.toml when XDG_CONFIG_HOME is absolute. To print all supported settings and key bindings:

terebi --default-config

Copy the settings you want to change into the config file; omitted settings keep their defaults. Settings load at startup, so restart the player after editing. Changes made through menus are session-only.

Limitations

• SDR output only; HDR is not supported.
• No embedded or YouTube captions, manual audio-track selection, rotation or deinterlacing. External WebVTT subtitles are supported for resolved streams.
• Private, age-restricted, region-blocked or sign-in-required YouTube videos may fail; browser cookies are not used. Rebuild and reinstall for bundled YouTube extractor updates.
• Seeking can be slow on long-GOP or unindexed media. Live streams cannot be sought, and expired stream URLs are not automatically refreshed.
• Audio-device changes during playback are not handled.

Development

Install FFmpeg for test fixtures (brew install ffmpeg), then run make check. The suite requires a graphical macOS session and a working audio device; it launches players and plays short test audio. See the Makefile for individual check targets.