Setup guide

Get it running in a few minutes

Answer two or three simple questions and we'll write your setup file for you — then walk you through starting it up and connecting your first app, one step at a time.

TimeAbout half an hour

CostThe software is free

DifficultyLike setting up Plex

Will it run on what I've got?

Anything that can stay switched on will do — Rebel IPTV mostly passes video along rather than doing heavy work on it. As a rough guide it wants two cores is plenty, 2 gb of ram, a few gb free, wired if you can. Most machines made in the last decade clear that comfortably.

A NAS — A Synology, QNAP, unRAID or TrueNAS box. It's already on all the time and already knows how to run this kind of software — the easiest home for it by a distance.
A mini-PC or old laptop — Any small machine you can leave switched on. A cheap mini-PC or a laptop you've replaced is more than enough, and it's the cheapest way to start.
A Raspberry Pi — A Pi 4 or Pi 5 works — we publish a 64-bit ARM build alongside the regular one. Use a 64-bit operating system, and boot from an SSD if you can.
A rented server (VPS) — A few dollars a month gets you a small server in a data centre. Worth it if you'd rather not leave a machine running at home. You'll need to think about who can reach it — don't leave it open to the internet.
Your everyday computer — Fine for trying it out, and the fastest way to see if you like it. Whatever you're watching on stops working when you shut the computer down.

You'll get on fine if…

You can copy text from a web page and paste it somewhere else.
You have a computer, NAS or mini-PC that can stay switched on.
You're happy to follow a numbered list carefully, even if you don't know what every word means.
You've set up something like Plex, Jellyfin or your router's admin page before — or you're willing to have a go.

It might not suit you if…

You want something you buy, log into, and never think about again. This is software you run, so it's yours to look after.
The only device you own is a phone or a tablet. You need a computer to run it on, even though you can watch on anything.
You need it working in the next five minutes. Set aside half an hour for the first time.

Step 1 of 7Getting ready

First things first — is Docker installed?

Docker is the free software that actually runs Rebel IPTV. You install it once. On most NAS boxes it's already built in.

Pick one to carry on. Not sure? Choose the second option — it takes a minute to check and saves a lot of guessing later.

Quick start (Docker)

Save this as docker-compose.yml, then run docker compose up -d:

services:
  iptv:
    image: rebeliptv/iptv:latest
    container_name: iptv
    hostname: iptv
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      TZ: "Etc/UTC"
    volumes:
      - iptv-data:/app/data
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    dns:
      - 8.8.8.8
      - 1.1.1.1
    stop_grace_period: 30s
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  iptv-data:

Bring it up with docker compose up -d.
Open the dashboard at http://your-host:8080.
Point any IPTV player at /playlist and /epg, or add the server to Plex, Emby, Jellyfin or Channels DVR as an HDHomeRun tuner by entering its address and port — then give that app your /epg URL as its guide, because the tuner carries channels only.

Stuck on a step?

Most problems have a known fix — troubleshooting is organised by what you're seeing, so you don't need to know what went wrong to find it.

Troubleshooting Read the FAQ