Questions, answered

No. Rebel IPTV hosts and stores no streams — the relay is a pass-through that pulls each feed at request time and pipes it to you. The software also ships with no channels or sources; you point it at the sources you choose.

A machine that can run Docker (a NAS, mini-PC, homelab box or VPS), and at least one channel source to import. You host the container yourself — the agent handles the rest, building your playlist, guide and dashboard.

Yes. Alongside the curated lineup you can upload your own M3U file or paste M3U playlist URLs in the dashboard. The agent validates each feed and shows only the ones that are actually online, then merges them into the same playlist and guide as everything else.

Absolutely. The curated lineup is hundreds of channels, but you don't have to take all of them — enable, disable and reorder channels in the dashboard so you keep only the ones you care about, in the order you want. Live sports can be turned off or run on their own, too.

It's a live toggle in the dashboard (Settings → Sources). In local mode — the default — the agent scrapes channels and live events directly on your own machine and serves everything itself. In relay mode ("Use Rebel IPTV playlist") it stops scraping and pulls ready-made channels, guide and events from the Rebel IPTV relay in pass-through mode, fetching each source from a region where it's reachable — so you keep watching even when those sources are blocked or geo-restricted in your country. Your lineup is the same either way.

Anything that reads a standard M3U + XMLTV: TiviMate, IPTV Smarters, VLC, Kodi, OTT Navigator and more. Media servers get two routes, and Jellyfin, Plex, Emby and Channels DVR all take either — your playlist, or your server answering as an HDHomeRun network tuner (added in 1.3.7), which gives you a proper channel grid, DVR and pause/rewind. Which is easier depends on the app: Jellyfin and Emby have an M3U tuner built in, while Plex's playlist route needs a Plex Pass, so the tuner is the smoother path there. Some players need a plugin to read a playlist at all — Kodi's PVR IPTV Simple Client is the usual example. One thing to know either way: the tuner hands over channels only, never programme listings, so on that route you always add your guide URL separately. The playlist carries its guide address inside it, so players that look for it need only the one URL.

First check "Act as an HDHomeRun tuner" is on in Settings → Connect (it is by default). In Plex, go to Settings → Live TV & DVR → Set up Plex DVR, click "Don't see your HDHomeRun?" and type your server's address and port — the same one you open the dashboard with, in the form 192.168.1.50:8080. Skip the postcode / antenna lineup step; it doesn't apply to you. Then choose "Have an XMLTV guide?" and give it your EPG URL — the tuner supplies channels but never programme listings, so without this you get a lineup with no guide. Plex matches the guide to your channels by number, so check the mapping it proposes and save. Emby and Channels DVR are the same shape but the menu differs: Live TV → Add tuner → HDHomeRun. Your server doesn't broadcast itself on the network, which is why you enter the address yourself.

Yes. Every render includes a full XMLTV guide with logos, show descriptions and poster artwork. Upcoming games from the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS are scheduled automatically as their own channels with matchup artwork and live ESPN scores. In Settings → Content → Sports you can pick which leagues to carry, turn events off entirely, or run a sports-only lineup with no live TV. You can also give a favourite team its own permanent channel that always carries their game.

Four, unless you change it — and watching the same channel on several TVs counts as one, because they share a single feed. Raise or lower it in Settings → Connect → Simultaneous streams (anything from 1 to 32). It applies however you're connected: the tuner, a playlist, or the dashboard's own player. Ask for one over the limit and you get a "stream limit reached" card that starts on its own as soon as another channel stops.

Yes. You can set a dashboard login and add more admin accounts in Settings → Access, or leave it open if it's on a network you trust. Separately, an optional API key protects your playlist and guide URLs. One thing to know: the HDHomeRun tuner endpoints can't be key-protected — the protocol has no field to carry one — so anything that can reach your server could read your channel lineup. Use the tuner on a trusted network, or connect by playlist instead, which stays key-protected.

No. The first time you open the dashboard, a short wizard walks you through choosing where your channels come from, your local market, which countries to carry, whether you want live sports, an optional playlist key, an optional dashboard login, and copying your URLs into your player. Skip it if you'd rather, and change anything later in Settings. If you run it on a box you never open a browser on, set HEADLESS to true and it skips the wizard and looks after its own updates too.

From release 1.3.0 on, when a newer version is available an Update now button appears on the dashboard and in Settings → Server. One click pulls the latest image and restarts in place, keeping your data. It needs the Docker socket mounted in your compose and the :latest image tag — see the Setup guide. You can always update manually with `docker compose pull && docker compose up -d` instead.

Most channels and events are backed by more than one source, so if one goes offline the agent falls back to another. On top of that, live validation drops any feed that's actually dead before it reaches your playlist — and if a source is blocked or unreliable where you are, relay mode can pull it through the Rebel IPTV relay instead.

Rebel IPTV is infrastructure — a relay and curation layer that hosts no content and ships with no channels. You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to access whatever sources you configure, and for complying with the laws where you live. See our Acceptable Use page for details.