About this project

Popcorn Time is a complete rebuild of the original Popcorn Time application, described as a fresh start rather than a fork or patch. It is an open-source, community-driven project licensed under MIT. The application is designed for watching movies, TV shows, and more. Unlike directory platforms such as JustWatch or Reelgood that only point users to where content might be, Popcorn Time emphasizes community-built code, playing your own local files (not just following links), and sharing its growing databases publicly without monetizing discovery. A key feature is the weekly publication of its catalog as Parquet datasets, intended for developers and researchers. Technically, Popcorn Time is built as a Tauri-based application. Its user interface is written in React using TypeScript, while the backend is written in Rust. The project targets cross-platform support across desktop, mobile, and TV environments. The README notes planned features including local media playback and emphasizes goals of being modern, safer, and legal. The repository provides CI badges for TypeScript and Rust testing, links to nightly unstable releases, and documentation files such as CONTRIBUTING.md and DEVELOPMENT.md for contributors. Development is supported by sponsors including Cloudflare and DigitalOcean.