memby/README.md

# Memby (Android TV)

An independent Android TV client for Emby, by **ponzischeme89**. Sign in to browse your
personalised home screen, resume titles, play recent movies, and choose audio or subtitle
tracks during playback. The screensaver (Dream) code remains isolated from the client work.

## Features

- **System screensaver** via `DreamService` — auto-starts on idle once selected in the
  TV's Screensaver settings. Also previewable from the app's home screen.
- Random, cross-fading **backdrops** of Movies and Series that have backdrop images.
- **Interactive**: OK reveals Play / Favorite actions; ◄ ► change the backdrop; Back exits.
- **In-app playback** with Media3/ExoPlayer (movies play directly; a series plays its
  next-up / first episode).
- **Favorites** managed through the Emby API and shown on the home screen.

## Tech stack

- Kotlin + Jetpack **Compose for TV** (`androidx.tv:tv-material`)
- **Media3 / ExoPlayer** for playback
- Retrofit + OkHttp + kotlinx.serialization for the Emby REST API
- DataStore for persisted connection/session
- Coil for backdrop image loading

## Project layout

```
app/src/main/java/com/ponzischeme89/memby/
  MembyApp.kt                    Application; initialises the ServiceLocator
  ServiceLocator.kt              Manual DI (settings + repository)
  data/
    SettingsStore.kt             DataStore-backed connection/session state
    ServerConfig.kt              Which backend this build talks to
    EmbyRepository.kt            Content, favorites, playback; dual gateway/direct paths
    analytics/RowAnalytics.kt    Row engagement buffering
    model/                       Emby + gateway DTOs (kotlinx.serialization)
    remote/EmbyApi.kt            Retrofit interface for Emby
    remote/GatewayApi.kt         Retrofit interface for the Memby gateway
  ui/
    MainActivity.kt              Setup, profiles, home
    HomeViewModel.kt             Home state, row analytics, refresh
    HomeComponents.kt            Navigation rail, rows, cards
    MaintenanceScreen.kt         Full-screen offline state
    settings/SettingsSheet.kt    Settings panel
    screensaver/                 Shared slideshow + in-app preview host
    player/PlayerActivity.kt     Media3 playback
  screensaver/MembyDreamService.kt  System screensaver (hosts ScreensaverContent)

server/                          The Memby gateway (Go) — see server/README.md
```

## Build & install

You need **JDK 17** and the **Android SDK** (Android Studio bundles both).

Open the folder in Android Studio (Giraffe/Koala or newer) and let it sync, **or** from a
terminal:

```powershell
# Android Studio writes local.properties automatically. If building from the CLI,
# point it at your SDK first:
"sdk.dir=C:\\Users\\<you>\\AppData\\Local\\Android\\Sdk" | Out-File -Encoding ascii local.properties

.\gradlew.bat assembleDebug            # build the APK
.\gradlew.bat installDebug             # install to a connected Android TV / emulator
# Preferred for a TV already showing the Dream: clears Memby, installs, then reopens
# it so the old render surface cannot remain black. Pass -Serial when more than one
# device is attached.
.\deploy-debug.ps1 -Serial 192.168.20.3:41479
```

The APK lands in `app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk`.

## Two ways to run

The client can talk to Emby directly, or through the **Memby gateway** — a Go service in
`server/` that runs in Docker alongside Postgres and Redis and owns auth, caching, search
and the shaping of TV screens. With a gateway the launcher is one request instead of four,
and the TV holds a revocable gateway token rather than a live Emby token.

```
direct:   TV ──────────────────────────────► Emby
gateway:  TV ──► Memby gateway ──► Emby      (metadata + artwork)
          TV ─────────────────────► Emby     (video, always direct-play)
```

Which one a build uses is decided by `memby.gatewayUrl` in `gradle.properties`: set it and
the app is a thin client; leave it blank and nothing changes from the direct path below.
See [`server/README.md`](server/README.md) to run the container.

The gateway also imports Emby's catalogue into Postgres (once manually, then hourly for
new episodes), composes the home rows — including "Recommended from your watching
history" — and has an admin page at `/admin/` for imports, an offline switch, and
per-row engagement.

## Server address

Memby is built for one Emby server, so the address is baked into the APK instead of being
typed on a TV remote. Set it in `gradle.properties`:

```properties
memby.serverUrl=http://192.168.1.10:8096
```

It can also come from `~/.gradle/gradle.properties` (keeps it out of the repo) or a single
build: `.\gradlew.bat assembleDebug -Pmemby.serverUrl=http://192.168.1.10:8096`.

The value becomes `BuildConfig.EMBY_SERVER_URL`, read through
`data/ServerConfig.kt`. When it is set, the setup screen only asks for a username and
password, and the address wins over whatever a saved session recorded — so moving the
server is a property change plus a reinstall, with no user action. Leaving the property
**blank** restores the original behaviour: users type the address themselves.

## First run

1. Launch **Memby** from the Android TV launcher.
2. Sign in with your Emby username and password. (If the build has no hardwired server,
   enter its address first, e.g. `http://192.168.1.10:8096`.)
3. **Preview screensaver** to test it, or **Set as system screensaver** to open the TV's
   screensaver settings and choose "Memby Screensaver".

## Upgrading to v0.1.53

The package and install identity both became `com.ponzischeme89.memby` in this release
(previously `com.mattcohen.embyclientsname`). Android treats a new `applicationId` as a
different app, so on every TV:

1. Install v0.1.53 — it appears as a **second** Memby entry in the launcher.
2. Sign in again; the previous session does not carry over.
3. Uninstall the old app: `adb uninstall com.mattcohen.embyclientsname`.
4. Re-select Memby in the TV's Screensaver settings — the Dream's component name changed
   as well, so the old selection no longer resolves.

## Notes & limitations

- Playback uses Emby's direct stream (`/Videos/{id}/stream?static=true`). This direct-plays
  containers/codecs ExoPlayer supports (most MP4/H.264, many MKV). Server-side transcoding
  is not requested; unusual codecs may need it — a future enhancement is to call Emby's
  `PlaybackInfo` endpoint and use the returned HLS transcode URL (the `media3-exoplayer-hls`
  dependency is already included).
- Cleartext HTTP is enabled so local `http://` servers work out of the box. For an HTTPS-only
  server this is unnecessary but harmless.
- The device is remembered across sign-outs (stable `DeviceId`); credentials are cleared.
```