A self-hosted web front end for ani-cli. Search for an anime, pick a result, pick an episode and watch it in your browser. It autoplays the next episode and remembers, for every user, what they searched for and where they stopped watching.

Python (Flask) backend, a single static HTML page for the UI, SQLite for storage. No build step, no JavaScript tooling, and it runs fine on small or old hardware.

Features

Search by anime name, with a Sub / Dub switch.
Pick a result, then an episode, then watch it in the built-in player (HLS and MP4, subtitles when available).
Autoplay next episode, which can be switched off. The next stream link is fetched in the background while you watch, so episodes follow each other without a long wait.
Accounts: each user has their own search history and a "Continue watching" list with the last episode played and the position within it. Opening a show resumes where you left off.
Quality picker (best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p) and Previous / Next buttons.
Everything about finding shows, episodes and streams comes from ani-cli itself, so when ani-cli is updated to follow site changes, Mado benefits too.

How it works

Mado runs ani-cli non-interactively. It puts two small stand-in programs first on ani-cli's PATH:

one for fzf / rofi / dmenu, which records the menu ani-cli would show (the search results or the episode list) and then exits like a cancelled pick;
one for mpv, which ani-cli calls with the stream URL, referrer, subtitle file and title. Mado records those instead of playing anything.

The stream is then served to your browser through a small proxy (/proxy/...) that adds the Referer header the video hosts require and rewrites HLS playlists. Proxy links are signed and expire. That means you don't need mpv or fzf installed.

browser ──► Flask (app.py) ──► ani-cli ──► streaming source
   ▲             │
   └── /proxy ◄──┘     SQLite: users, search history, watch progress

Requirements

Linux (or macOS / WSL) with Python 3.9+
ani-cli on the PATH
curl, sed, grep, od and base64 (or openssl), which ani-cli itself needs
No special CPU features: everything the app installs is pure Python or baseline x86-64, so old Intel Atom machines are fine.

Install

git clone https://gitea.beepboopmachine.duckdns.org/vicentebearth/mado-anime-website mado
cd mado
./install.sh
./run.sh            # then open http://127.0.0.1:8000

install.sh creates a virtualenv in .venv, installs the Python dependencies, checks for the programs above, offers to download ani-cli if it's missing and writes a run.sh start script.

Options:

Option	What it does
`-y`	Say yes to every question (non-interactive)
`--service`	Install and start a systemd service called `mado` (run with `sudo`)
`--host ADDR`	Address to listen on (default `127.0.0.1`)
`--port N`	Port to listen on (default `8000`)
`--https`	Mark session cookies as secure (use when served over HTTPS)

Example for a home server behind a reverse proxy:

sudo ./install.sh -y --service --https --port 8000

Manual install

python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
.venv/bin/pip install waitress      # optional, sturdier than Flask's dev server
.venv/bin/python app.py

Configuration

Set these as environment variables.

Variable	Default	Meaning
`HOST`	`127.0.0.1`	Address to listen on
`PORT`	`8000`	Port to listen on
`ANIWEB_DATA_DIR`	`./data`	Where the database and secret key are stored
`ANI_CLI_BIN`	`ani-cli`	Path to the ani-cli executable
`ANIWEB_MAX_JOBS`	`4`	How many ani-cli processes may run at once
`ANIWEB_HTTPS`	unset	Set to `1` to mark cookies as secure (when served over HTTPS)

Running it publicly

Mado is meant to sit behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, ...) that terminates HTTPS. Keep these in mind:

Set ANIWEB_HTTPS=1 so the login cookie is only sent over HTTPS.
Anyone who can reach the site can register an account and use your server to run ani-cli and relay video, which costs you bandwidth and CPU. Only expose it to people you trust, or restrict access at the proxy (basic auth, VPN, IP allowlist).
Behind a proxy the app sees the proxy's address for every visitor, so its failed-login limit (10 attempts per 10 minutes) applies to everyone together.

Data and backups

Everything lives in data/ (or ANIWEB_DATA_DIR):

mado.db: SQLite database with users, search history and watch progress
secret.key: signs sessions and stream links (deleting it logs everybody out)
ani-cli-state/: ani-cli's own state directory

Copy the folder to back it up or move to another machine. Passwords are stored as salted hashes.

Troubleshooting

"ani-cli isn't installed on the server": install it, or point ANI_CLI_BIN at it. Make sure it's on the PATH of whatever runs Mado (systemd services don't read your shell profile).
Search or playback suddenly stops working: ani-cli breaks when its sources change. Run ani-cli -U to update it.
A stream won't load: press "Try again", or pick a lower quality.
Illegal instruction when starting Python: your Python build targets a newer CPU than yours. Use your distribution's Python package.

Disclaimer

Mado is a personal, self-hosted tool. It doesn't host or index any content; it relays what ani-cli finds from third-party sources. You are responsible for what you stream and for complying with the laws and terms that apply to you.

Credits

Built on ani-cli and hls.js.