Both are IPTVnator, built from the same code. One runs on your machine and can talk to the rest of it; the other runs in a container and can be opened from anywhere on your network.
Install the desktop app unless you need to reach IPTVnator from other devices or cannot install software. The browser version plays all three source types, but it cannot launch MPV or VLC, download files, store an XMLTV guide or serve the phone remote.
Everything that needs to reach outside a browser tab is a desktop feature. Everything else is identical, because it is the same application.
| Capability | Desktop app | Browser version |
|---|---|---|
| M3U and M3U8 playlists | Yes | Yes |
| Xtream Codes accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Stalker and Ministra portals | Yes | Yes |
| Program guide from a portalXtream and Stalker publish their own schedule. | Yes | Yes |
| XMLTV guide filesDownloading, parsing and storing XMLTV needs the desktop runtime. | Yes | No |
| Manual EPG channel mapping | Yes | No |
| MPV, VLC and embedded MPVA browser cannot launch another application; copy the stream URL instead. | Yes | No |
| Offline downloads and recordings | Yes | No |
| Phone remote controlThe desktop app is what serves the remote page. | Yes | No |
| Search across every source | Yes | No |
| Local catalog for instant opening | Local database | Browser storage |
| Opening a playlist file from the system | Yes | No |
| Reachable from other devicesThis is the one thing the browser version does better. | No | Yes |
| Installation | Installer or package | One container you run yourself |
A locked-down work laptop, a shared computer, a tablet. The browser version needs nothing installed locally beyond a browser.
Run the container once and reach the same library from every device on your network. The container includes the backend that fetches playlists and proxies portal requests.
The browser version is the same application, so what you see there is what the desktop app looks like, minus the features that need a desktop.
The image serves the web app and the backend that fetches playlists and proxies portal requests.
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up --build -dThe application is then available on port 4333. Ports, variables, reverse-proxy notes and image tags are on the Docker page, and every detail in the docker README.
If inline playback fails in the browser, there is no external player to fall back to. Copy the stream URL and open it in MPV, VLC or IINA yourself; the desktop app is the version that automates that step.
Data lives where the app runs: the desktop app in a local database, the browser version in that browser's own storage. Moving between them means adding the sources again.
No, it is the same application built for the browser. The desktop app wraps it and adds what only a desktop can do: launching MPV or VLC, downloading files, storing an XMLTV guide, serving the phone remote and registering playlist file types.
A guide file is downloaded, parsed and stored on the device, which the desktop runtime does in a background worker and a local database. Portal schedules from Xtream and Stalker sources do work in the browser, because they come from the provider on demand.
With the Docker setup in the repository. It builds the web app and its backend into one image and serves them together; the compose file and the environment variables are documented in the docker directory.
Yes, but they do not share data. The desktop app keeps a local database on your machine and the browser version keeps its data in that browser, so sources, favorites and history exist separately in each.
Treat it as a private service. It has no user accounts, and its backend proxies requests to your providers. Run it on your own network or behind your own authenticating reverse proxy.
The desktop app, unless you specifically need access from other devices or cannot install software. It is the complete version and it is what most of the documentation assumes.
Import an M3U or M3U8 playlist into IPTVnator from a URL, a file or pasted text, keep it updated, and attach an XMLTV program guide. Covers channel groups, catch-up attributes, EPG matching by tvg-id, and the usual reasons a playlist or guide does not load.
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Why some IPTV streams do not play in IPTVnator's built-in browser players, and when MPV, VLC, or IINA is the right workaround.
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IPTVnator is a free, open-source player app. It never sells IPTV subscriptions, channels, or playlists. Here is how to recognize unofficial sites misusing the name, and where to get the real app.
Read moreOfficial downloads only
IPTVnator is a player, not a TV service. It is distributed exclusively through GitHub releases and the package managers listed on this page. Websites that sell "IPTVnator subscriptions", channel packages or "activated" copies are not affiliated with the project. How to recognize unofficial sites.