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• Version 4.5 is now available

  diddy • 4 days ago • 0 comments

  Version 4.5 adds the following :-

  Search Bar : for searching media in the current directory and directories below

  Universal Cloud Integration:  expanded the "Cloud Sync" capabilities from just Google Drive to include OneDrive and MEGA, making the project accessible to a much wider audience. Just use one type when selecting during the install.

  SVG Icon Graphics for Media types

  You can download / upgrade by running the following on the Raspberry Pi (either SSH into the Pi or on the actual Pi) :-

  wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/main/install.sh | bash

• Pi zero 2 w running powerbank use

  diddy • 7 days ago • 0 comments

  Since the Pi zero 2 w can be powered off a power bank.

  A 20,000 mah power bank easily gives over 24 Hours of use !

  Only drawing 1 watt of power with everything booted up and idle and that's with the usb to etherent adapter connected as well.

  You can download / upgrade by running the following on the Raspberry Pi (either SSH into the Pi or on the actual Pi) :-

  wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/main/install.sh | bash

• Version 4.4 is now available with Google Drive sync

  diddy • 02/07/2026 at 19:38 • 0 comments

  I’ve just pushed an update (v4.4) to the Mini-Pi Media Server that introduces automated cloud syncing. You can now drop video files into a specific Google Drive folder (Video folder) from another PC and have your Pi Zero 2W automatically download them and refresh the MiniDLNA library every 30 minutes.

  How it Works

  The integration uses Rclone, an open-source command-line program to manage cloud storage. I’ve wrapped the logic into a new interactive setup script (rclone-setup.sh) to keep the process "headless-friendly."

  Key Features of the Update:

  • Automated Sync: The system checks your Google Drive every 30 minutes.
  • Smart Refresh: The minidlna service only restarts if the script detects a change in the file count—saving CPU cycles on the Pi Zero.
  • Permission Management: Automatically fixes file permissions (755) and ownership (www-data) after every sync so files are immediately playable.
  • Background Service: Once configured, it runs as a systemd service, meaning it starts automatically on boot and checks every 30 minutes.

  The Setup Workflow

  I designed the bash script to be a step-by-step wizard. Here is the process for users:

  1. Software Prep: The script installs Rclone and sets up the local directory structure at /var/lib/minidlna/Video/Web.
  2. Folder Mapping: Users provide a specific Google Drive Folder ID. This keeps the sync scoped to just your "Video" folder rather than your entire drive.
  3. Headless Auth: Since the Pi Zero usually runs without a browser, the script allows you to paste an authentication token generated via rclone authorize from another machine.
  4. The "Set and Forget" Service: The script generates a systemd unit file that handles the timing and the sync logic.
     

  So where do synchronised media files go ?
  

  Running this script creates a Web folder within the Video folder, your media is synchronised there.
  

  Minidlna, samba and apache will show the media files in this directory.

  Technical Snippet: The Sync Logic

  The heart of the sync is this one-liner executed by the service that runs every 30 minutes :-

  Rclone-sync systemd service

  The script has been designed to fail silently if no internet availability. 

  So this scirpt will not crash if the pi is running away from an internet connection (ethernet unplugged).

  When next connected to the home network, the sync service will run at the next 30 minute slot, connect and just sync again.

  Unattended, automatic - just the way things should be.

  Why Google Drive?

  While I love local storage, the Pi Zero could just sync new media and with media scraper at 5am will download the movie art and synopsis for the movie.

  So where does it sync media to ?
  Every 30 minutes a rclone-sync service runs and checks with your local copy of the web folder and pulls down any different media files that you have locally from your google drive Video folder.

  
  Other updates:-
  A couple of optimisations for the WiFi access point on a Pi 5 to get the speed faster when connected via WiFi access point (which should get faster as firmware updates to the wifi chip are released).
  

  Updated the mini-pi-setup.sh script to include the google drive setup synchronisation
  
  NOTE: the mkv conversion to mp4 overnight system task will NOT work on media files in the Web (synchronised) folder. They are left as is from whatever is synchronised.
  
  ____________________________________________________________________

  ☁️ Google Drive Sync User Guide

  Prerequisites

  • A Google Drive account is obviously needed.
  • A PC/Laptop with a web browser to perform the initial authentication.
  • Sudo access on your Mini-Pi.

  Step 1: Prepare your Google Drive

  Before running the script, you need to identify the specific 'Video' folder you want to sync.

  1. Open Google Drive in your web browser.
  2. Create a new folder named "Video" (or any name you prefer).
  3. Open that folder. Look at the URL in your browser's address bar.
  4. Copy the Folder ID. This is the long string of random letters and numbers at the end of the URL (after...

  Read more »

• Mini‑DLNA Server — v4.3 Release

  diddy • 02/01/2026 at 16:24 • 0 comments

  Version 4.3 is the biggest network overhaul this project has ever had. After days of deep‑dive testing across the Pi Zero 2 W, Pi 4B, and the notoriously difficult Pi 5, the entire Wi‑Fi and routing system has been rewritten from the ground up for reliability, portability, and seamless use at home or on the move.

  During the setup process the user is asked if they want to reconfigure the WiFi card, selecting yes will run a script asking the user for a WiFi access point name (leave for the system name or provide your own), a password and the country of use (important for WiFi band frequency use).

  This update finally delivers what the community has been asking for: a stable, always‑on Wi‑Fi access point that works consistently across all Raspberry Pi models — including the Pi 5, despite its current firmware limitations (there is a few known issues with firmware for the WiFi card and kernel support for it on a Pi 5).

  So now the Raspberry Pi is not just a media server, but a WiFi router too.... ok its still WiFi at 2.4Ghz but 5Ghz was just too much pain to get right. plus my head already hurts from the Pi 5 access point issues.

  What’s New in v4.3

  1. Complete Wi‑Fi Access Point Rewrite

  The AP setup has been rebuilt to avoid the silent failures, driver crashes, and misleading success messages that plague the Pi 5’s current firmware. The new logic:

  • auto‑detects the Pi model
  • applies model‑specific wireless settings
  • avoids the Pi 5 channel‑setting bug
  • prevents PMF negotiation failures with modern Linux clients
  • ensures the AP comes up cleanly every time

  This is the most stable AP implementation this project has ever had. none of that previous detect home WiFi and if not found turn the Pi into an access point.

  2. Seamless “Always‑On AP” Mode

  The Pi now broadcasts its access point all the time, regardless of where you are.

  • Away from home:  Lets say the Pi runs from a power bank, clients connect to the AP, and all services (Samba, Apache, Cockpit, MiniDLNA) are available.
  • Back home: Plug in Ethernet and routing activates instantly — no reboot, no reconfiguration, no reconnecting clients with tablets and phones or even having to reconnect to the home WiFi.

  Your devices never need to switch networks. The Pi handles everything automatically.

  3. Intelligent Ethernet Detection

  The script now:

  • detects USB‑Ethernet adaptors on the Pi Zero 2 W (users will need to buy a USB to Ethernet adaptor for home streaming)
  • handles unplugged cables gracefully
  • falls back safely when no WAN interface is present
  • avoids NetworkManager conflicts and stale profiles

  This makes the system genuinely plug‑and‑play.

  4. Pi 5 Firmware Workarounds

  The Pi 5’s AP mode is currently unstable due to upstream firmware issues. v4.3 includes:

  • channel auto‑selection (required on Pi 5)
  • PMF disabled to prevent Linux client timeouts
  • strict RSN/CCMP security for compatibility
  • forced cleanup of conflicting services
  • recovery logic for driver dropouts

  This is one of the few working Pi 5 AP setups available today (after searching the web for answers).

  5. Fully Stateless, Self‑Recovering Network Stack

  All configuration is generated dynamically. No fragile manual edits. No leftover profiles. No dependency on hostapd or dnsmasq.

  NetworkManager handles:

  • DHCP
  • NAT
  • DNS
  • routing
  • interface monitoring

  The result is a system that behaves like a commercial travel router, but tiny, portable, and running your own services.

  for Pi zero 2 w users, you WILL need a USB to Ethernet card to stream media at home, like this one from Amazon :-
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08XW2VWPJ
  

  Version 4.3 can be downloaded / upgraded by :-
  
  

  wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/main/install.sh | bash
  

• Version 4.2 is now available

  diddy • 01/27/2026 at 22:08 • 0 comments

  So whats new ?
  

  No new functionality in this release but plenty of bug fixes due to Pi OS Trixie madness
  

  1. the introduction of rpi-swap played havoc with zram-tools for memory compression and swap space

  2. kernel page size setting to 16k is great for performance boost on a pi5, absolutely useless on a Pi Zero 2 W with 512mb ram. any PI with 1GB of ram of less will struggle with this latest introduction.

  3. had to completely re-write the WiFi and Adhoc WiFi management for the pi's onboard wifi card.

  NOTE: only tested the WiFi and Adhoc WiFi on the Pi Zero 2 W.

  so many race conditions with services on startup. got there in the end.

  4. On the main web page, updated the popup status for the network connection type Now shows if connected via WiFi, Ethernet or running as an access point. the old method was sometimes wrong.

  5. a couple of new backgrounds added for the web page. looked good to me.
  
  

  can be downloaded by :-
  

  wget -qO main.zip https://github.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip -o main.zip && cd mini-pi-media-server-main && unzip -o pi-setup*.zip && cp -rf pi-setup ~/ && cd ~ && rm -rf mini-pi-media-server-main main.zip && cd ~/pi-setup && chmod +x ./*.sh && sudo ./mini-pi-setup.sh

• Version 4.1 is now up for grabs

  diddy • 01/16/2026 at 21:15 • 0 comments

  Hot on the heels of Version 4 and the addition of the media scraper tool, I have updated the media scraper (that runs at 5am) :-

  Media scraper matches your movies and then downloads Movie art, Movie synopsis and now downloads IMDB rating as well as Rotten tomato movie rating.
  

  also added the synopsis as a clickable link to the movie on wikipedia for film buffs to check out.

  Fixed issues with 125 DPI scaling

  Fixed placement of the movie window and the synopsis window

  Made the Movie scraper with tolerance to not be blacklisted from duckduckgo when searching for hundreds of movie art. it  no  longer spams the search engine to get blacklisted on searches.

  Added resume option on previously watched movies

  Resume  on previously watched movie :

  can be downloaded / upgraded by running :-
  

  wget -qO main.zip https://github.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip -o main.zip && cd mini-pi-media-server-main && unzip -o pi-setup*.zip && cp -rf pi-setup ~/ && cd ~ && rm -rf mini-pi-media-server-main main.zip && cd ~/pi-setup && chmod +x ./*.sh && sudo ./mini-pi-setup.sh

• Version 4 is now available with media scraping for movies

  diddy • 01/13/2026 at 19:19 • 0 comments

  Version 4.0: The "Cinematic" Update
  This version transforms the web server from a simple file streamer into a rich media gallery. The headline feature is a completely custom-built, lightweight metadata engine designed specifically for the limited resources of the Pi Zero.

  The user is asked during install if they want to setup a media scraper service which will run at 5am and download media art and movie synopsis.

  New Feature: Automated Wikipedia "Plot" Scraper
  Unlike most media servers that require complex API keys and heavy databases, V4 introduces a "Zero-Config" scraper.

  Narrative Extraction: Using advanced HTML parsing (BeautifulSoup4), the scraper identifies the specific "Plot" or "Synopsis" section of a movie's Wikipedia page.

  Anti-Clickbait Logic: Implemented a sophisticated filtering system to bypass SEO "teaser" text (e.g., "Ending explained...") and non-narrative facts, ensuring only the story is displayed.

  Multi-Sentence Formatting: Automatically cleans Wikipedia citations (like [1], [2]) and trims the synopsis to a perfectly formatted 4-sentence blurb to maintain a clean UI.

  New Feature: Intelligent Poster Gallery
  Auto-Sourcing: The engine automatically finds high-quality movie posters via DuckDuckGo Image Search.

  Resource Optimized: Images are automatically downloaded, converted to RGB, and resized to a standard 300x450px thumbnail. This saves significant disk space and ensures the web interface loads lightning-fast on the Pi Zero 2W.

  Improved: Rich Metadata Interface
  Plot Overlay: The web UI now features a dedicated synopsis window below the movie preview.

  CSS Line-Clamping: Uses modern CSS logic to ensure text never overflows, keeping your library looking professional and uniform regardless of description length.

  Daily Automation: A new Systemd timer-service automatically runs the scraper at 5:00 AM daily, finding metadata for any new movies you've added while you slept.

  Developer Notes :
  Environment Isolation: The scraper now runs in a Python Virtual Environment (venv), ensuring dependencies like Pillow and BeautifulSoup4 don't interfere with your system-wide Python installation.

  Permissions Logic: The setup script automatically manages minidlna group permissions, ensuring the web server can always read and display your metadata.

  Media-scraper service is set to run at 5am but can be ran at any time from within cockpit (remote administration) and search for media-scraper under services

  how does it work ?
  when the scraper.py runs (at 5am), this script will search DuckDuckGo search engine for movie art posters for your movie files then search Wikipedia for the plot of every movie to get the actual plot.
  this is then displayed when browsing the Video section and the user clicks on a movie. The synopsis is displayed below the playing movie.
  it's about 95% correct. small indie movies are hit and miss.
  
  

  can be download upgraded by :-
  

  wget -qO main.zip https://github.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip -o main.zip && cd mini-pi-media-server-main && unzip -o pi-setup*.zip && cp -rf pi-setup ~/ && cd ~ && rm -rf mini-pi-media-server-main main.zip && cd ~/pi-setup && chmod +x ./*.sh && sudo ./mini-pi-setup.sh

• version 3.9 is now on github

  diddy • 01/11/2026 at 01:13 • 0 comments

  Version 3.9 has a few updates applied

  glassmorphism look completly added to the file and directory listing now.

  user can select media to play then navigate off to another directory without stopping media playing.

  Adhock and Wifi modes now update in the main index page and show properly

  in adhoc mode, any web browser address redirects to 192.168.50.1

  mkv to mp4 re-encoding now makes a converting file and then renames the mp4 file on complete conversion and then removes the mkv file for /var/lib/minidlna directory. good if a power loss and the re-encoding kicks off again. it tidies up and converting files and starts over.

  a few other tweaks and performance optimisations.

  This new version can be installed by :-
  
  
  

  wget -qO main.zip https://github.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip -o main.zip && cd mini-pi-media-server-main && unzip -o pi-setup*.zip && cp -rf pi-setup ~/ && cd ~ && rm -rf mini-pi-media-server-main main.zip && cd ~/pi-setup && chmod +x ./*.sh && sudo ./mini-pi-setup.sh

• Full list of what this media server does

  diddy • 01/06/2026 at 23:16 • 0 comments

  1. Media Server Core

  The Mini‑Pi Media Server provides a complete media ecosystem:

  • DLNA streaming via MiniDLNA (videos, music, photos)
  • Multiple simultaneous clients supported (4 tested)
  • Samba file sharing for easy drag‑and‑drop media management
  • Unified media folder used by DLNA, Samba, and the web UI

  This makes the Pi behave like a tiny NAS and media hub, even in a car or offline environment.

  2. Web Interface & Customization

  The built‑in web UI is lightweight but surprisingly capable:

  • Custom backgrounds using images or MP4s placed in the DLNA “pictures” folder
  • Animated backgrounds supported
  • Live system indicators:
    • System Load LED (green/amber/red)
    • CPU temperature warning above 75°C
    • Disk usage percentage
    • Media counts (videos, music, photos)
    • Wi‑Fi connection status
    • USB sync status pop‑ups
    • Server sync status pop‑ups

  Everything updates automatically, giving users a clear view of what the server is doing.

  3. Automated Media Syncing

  This is one of the most powerful parts of the system.

  Nightly Rotational Sync (if configured)

  • Runs at a user‑defined time (e.g., 1am) every night
  • Pulls down new MP4/MKV files from a NAS / server
  • Syncs only files newer than a user‑defined retention window (e.g., last X months)
  • Keeps the library fresh without manual intervention

  USB Auto‑Sync

  • Plug in a USB drive → automatic import begins
  • Web UI shows live sync progress
  • Ideal for offline setups or quick media transfers

  4. Intelligent Transcoding & Remuxing (if enabled)

  This is where the project really steps into “appliance” territory.

  Smart MKV → MP4 Pipeline

  • Runs the night after the sync job
  • Detects whether video/audio already match target formats
  • Remuxes when possible (no re‑encode)
  • Re‑encodes only when necessary

  Performance

  • Pi Zero 2W: ~8 fps using hardware encoding (2 threads)
  • Pi 5: ~50 fps using software encoding (2 threads)

  Concurrency Guard

  • If an encode job is still running at midnight, a new one will not start
  • Prevents overload, SD wear, and UI lag

  This pipeline is fully automated and requires no user input.

  5. Network Intelligence

  The server is designed to always be reachable:

  • Wi‑Fi fallback mode If Wi‑Fi doesn’t connect within 50 seconds, the Pi automatically switches to AP mode. If configured
  • Perfect for car installations or travel where home Wi‑Fi isn’t available.

  6. Server Administration

  A “Manage Server” button in the web UI opens Cockpit, giving users:

  • File browser
  • Service management
  • OS updates
  • Logs and monitoring
  • User management

  This makes the system fully maintainable without SSH.

  7. One‑Command Installer

  The entire system can be rebuilt in minutes using a single command that:

  • Downloads the latest GitHub release
  • Extracts and installs / upgrades everything
  • Sets up services and cron jobs
  • Prepares the web UI

  This makes the server effectively stateless — if the SD card dies, just flash Pi OS Lite, run the command, and re‑sync your media.

  8. Design Philosophy

  The Mini‑Pi Media Server is built around:

  • Low power usage
  • Automation
  • Reliability
  • Ease of recovery
  • Customization
  • Zero‑maintenance operation

  It behaves like a mini NAS + DLNA server + sync engine + transcoding appliance, all running on a Pi Zero 2W.

• Version 3.8 is now available on Github

  diddy • 01/06/2026 at 18:32 • 0 comments

  Version 3.8 is now up for grabs

  What is new 

  tidied up the index file listing for 'HOME' and 'Main Directory' links for easier viewing on lighter backgrounds
  Disk space free now shows How many Music, Pictures and Video files exist and also will show a warning if the cpu temp hits above 75C
  USB syncing now shows in the web page title bar and when complete a ding sound will happen
  Added a system Load LED - green = unstressed, Amber = Moderate load and Red = Under heavy load
  Also included a license file for people to use freely and modify if they wish

  • • the download can be ran on a raspberry pi by :-

      wget -qO main.zip https://github.com/diddy-boy/mini-pi-media-server/archive/refs/heads/main.zip && unzip -o main.zip && cd mini-pi-media-server-main && unzip -o pi-setup*.zip && cp -rf pi-setup ~/ && cd ~ && rm -rf mini-pi-media-server-main main.zip && cd ~/pi-setup && chmod +x ./*.sh && sudo ./mini-pi-setup.sh
      

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