The latest articles on DEV Community by Hugo (@destr0code). https://dev.to/destr0code https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4013674%2F7663edd8-0c6b-47b8-848f-27db5031ab28.png https://dev.to/destr0code en Hugo Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:10:31 +0000 https://dev.to/destr0code/building-miravault-a-local-first-media-library-app-for-windows-50o3 https://dev.to/destr0code/building-miravault-a-local-first-media-library-app-for-windows-50o3 <h1> Building MiraVault: a local-first media library app for Windows </h1> <p>I have been working on <strong>MiraVault</strong>, an open-source desktop app for Windows focused on organizing and watching local media libraries.</p> <p>The idea came from a simple problem: many people keep series, movies, IPTV playlists, subtitles, and downloads spread across different folders and drives. Existing solutions are powerful, but they often expect a server, an account, a cloud service, or a very specific library structure.</p> <p>MiraVault tries to solve a smaller, more local problem:</p> <blockquote> <p>Take the media files you already have and make them easier to organize, browse, play, and continue watching.</p> </blockquote> <p>Repository:<br> <a href="https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault</a></p> <h2> What MiraVault does </h2> <p>MiraVault is still in beta, but it already includes:</p> <ul> <li>A visual library for local series and movies.</li> <li>Automatic watch progress.</li> <li>Watched and unwatched episode tracking.</li> <li>Folder organization for series, seasons, and episodes.</li> <li>Metadata enrichment without private API keys.</li> <li>Covers, synopsis, ratings, cast, and episode information where available.</li> <li>VLC integration for robust playback.</li> <li>IPTV playlist support from M3U/M3U8 sources.</li> <li>Subtitle handling.</li> <li>Early torrent/download management experiments.</li> </ul> <p>It does <strong>not</strong> provide media content, IPTV lists, torrent indexes, trackers, or providers.</p> <h2> Why local-first? </h2> <p>I wanted MiraVault to work without an account and without a hosted backend.</p> <p>The app stores user data locally: library paths, settings, watch progress, metadata cache, and preferences. External requests only happen when a feature needs them, such as checking GitHub releases, fetching metadata, resolving subtitles, or loading a user-provided IPTV playlist.</p> <p>That design keeps the project simple and transparent.</p> <h2> Tech stack </h2> <p>MiraVault is built with:</p> <ul> <li>Electron</li> <li>React 19</li> <li>Vite</li> <li>Tailwind CSS</li> <li>Zustand</li> <li>better-sqlite3</li> <li>electron-store</li> <li>hls.js</li> <li>WebTorrent experiments</li> <li>Electron Builder</li> </ul> <p>The app is currently Windows-focused.</p> <h2> Some technical challenges </h2> <p>A few parts turned out to be more interesting than expected.</p> <h3> Organizing messy folders </h3> <p>Detecting series from filenames is harder than it sounds. MiraVault has to handle different naming styles, season/episode formats, quality tags, subtitle files, incomplete downloads, duplicated episodes, and residual files like <code>.txt</code>, <code>.url</code>, or archives.</p> <p>The organizer now uses a preview-first approach so users can see planned changes before applying them.</p> <h3> Playback </h3> <p>I originally explored internal playback more deeply, but codec support quickly became a practical issue. VLC is still the most reliable fallback for MKV, HEVC/H.265, multichannel audio, subtitles, and some IPTV streams.</p> <p>The current direction is: use internal playback where possible, but integrate VLC for serious compatibility.</p> <h3> Metadata without API keys </h3> <p>I want the project to stay easy to clone and run, so I avoided private API keys. MiraVault uses public/fallback metadata sources where possible and caches results locally.</p> <p>This is not perfect, especially with movies or shows that share the same name, but it keeps the app open-source friendly.</p> <h2> Current status </h2> <p>MiraVault is beta software. It has public releases, a Windows installer, a privacy policy, changelog, and GitHub Actions build workflow.</p> <p>There is still a lot to improve before <code>1.0</code>, especially around:</p> <ul> <li>metadata matching</li> <li>large libraries</li> <li>torrent/download stability</li> <li>IPTV edge cases</li> <li>installer signing</li> <li>screenshots and onboarding</li> <li>tests and release checks</li> </ul> <h2> What I would like feedback on </h2> <p>I would appreciate feedback from other developers and users around:</p> <ul> <li>Electron packaging for Windows</li> <li>local-first architecture</li> <li>metadata matching strategies</li> <li>folder organization edge cases</li> <li>UI/UX for media libraries</li> <li>how to make the project easier to trust before downloading</li> </ul> <p>Repository:<br> <a href="https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault</a></p> <p>Latest releases:<br> <a href="https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault/releases" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault/releases</a></p> <p>Privacy policy:<br> <a href="https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault/blob/main/PRIVACY.md" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/Destr0code/MiraVault/blob/main/PRIVACY.md</a></p> <p>Thanks for reading. Any feedback, issues, or ideas are welcome.</p> opensource electron react desktopapp