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Get started with Beebo on Windows

This guide takes you from a fresh download to your first movie, in about fifteen minutes. You need a Windows 10 or 11 PC and some movie or TV files you already own, because Beebo does not include any.

Available now Status: This guide is for Beebo for Windows 0.1.57, which is the current download. Beebo is free to use at home.

Before you start

Step by step

  1. Download and install Beebo

    On the PC that will hold your movies, open the Get Beebo section of the home page, choose Download for Windows and run the file. It installs in one go and asks Windows for permission to make changes (an administrator prompt). Choose Yes.

    The installer also adds a Windows Firewall rule named “Beebo Entertainment” for port 47811, so phones and browsers on your own network can reach the PC. Beebo opens by itself when it finishes.

    What you’ll see: A progress bar while it installs, then the Beebo window opens on a Welcome to Beebo screen. If Windows shows a blue “Windows protected your PC” box, that is because the installer is not signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.

    Screenshot coming. The Windows installer, then the Welcome to Beebo screen.

  2. Create your owner account

    On the Get Started screen, find step 1, Create your owner account. Type a username (at least 3 letters or numbers), a password (at least 6 characters) and the same password again. Then click Create account.

    This is the username and password you will use to sign in from the Beebo app on your phone. Beebo may also show a screen called Try Beebo away from home or Sign in for away access. That screen is only for the optional away-from-home features, and it says that home viewing stays free.

    What you’ll see: Step 1 gets a green tick and the message “Account created — this is what you’ll sign in with on your phone.”

  3. Choose your movie and TV folders

    Step 2 is called Choose your library & backup folders. It lists eight folders, but only two matter today: Movies and TV Shows. Click Choose folder… under each one and pick the folder where those files already are.

    The other six (Music, Photos & camera backups, Phone folder backups, Encrypted private folders, Video inbox and Library artwork) are optional. New installations keep all of them under C:\Beebo. Changing a location does not move files that are already there.

    What you’ll see: The chosen path appears under each title, and the progress line at the top of the screen shows a tick beside Video folders.

    Screenshot coming. Step 2 of Get Started with the Movies and TV Shows folders chosen.

  4. Let Beebo find your files

    Open the Movies tab. Beebo lists what is in your Movies folder. If you add files later, open the tab and click Rescan. Extra drives work too: in Settings, click + Add another Movies folder (and the same for TV Shows).

    What you’ll see: A poster grid, or a plain list of file names if you have not added a TMDB key yet. An empty library says “No movies found yet. Drop video files into your Movies folder (set in Settings) and hit Rescan.”

  5. Play your first movie

    On the PC, click a movie’s poster in the Movies tab. Windows opens the file in your default video player.

    To watch on your phone, a browser or a TV, keep Beebo running and follow Connect your phone. Your library is served from this PC, so it needs to be on and awake while people watch.

    What you’ll see: Your video player opens and the movie starts. Nothing is copied or converted on the way.

Get posters and descriptions: a free TMDB key in 3 steps

Beebo uses your own free TMDB key to fetch posters, cast photos and descriptions. Beebo does not ship with a key, so you make one. It takes about three minutes and you only do it once. There is an illustrated version if you prefer pictures.

  1. Make a free TMDB account

    Go to themoviedb.org/signup, fill in a username, your email and a password, then open the verification email TMDB sends you and click its link.

  2. Ask for a Developer key

    Open your TMDB API page, click Create (it may say “Request an API Key”) and choose Developer, which is free. Accept the terms and fill the short form. Anything sensible works, for example the name Beebo, the website http://localhost and the description Personal home media server. Your key appears straight away as API Key (v3 auth). Copy the whole string.

  3. Paste it into Beebo

    In Beebo, open Settings, paste the key into TMDB API key / token and click Save. Either the short v3 key or the long v4 Read Access Token works. Then go to Movies and click Rescan.

    What you’ll see: posters, cast photos and descriptions start filling in.

Screenshot coming. The TMDB API page and the TMDB API key box in Beebo’s Settings.

Getting a key for your own home server is free. If you ever run Beebo commercially, TMDB may require a separate licence; see TMDB’s API terms. Beebo uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

If something goes wrong

Windows says it “protected my PC” and will not run the installer

The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows is cautious about a newly downloaded program. Click More info, then Run anyway. Only do this for the installer you downloaded from this site.

The account form says my username or password is not accepted

The messages are literal: “Pick a username of at least 3 letters/numbers”, “Use a password of at least 6 characters” or “The two passwords don’t match.” Fix the field it names and click Create account again.

My Movies tab is empty

Check that the Movies folder in Settings is the folder your files are in, put video files there and click Rescan. Beebo only looks in the folders you chose. If your files are on another drive, add it with + Add another Movies folder.

I see file names but no posters

Posters, cast and descriptions need your TMDB key (see the three steps above). After you save the key, click Rescan on the Movies tab. Without a key the cast area says “No cast info found yet — make sure a TMDB key is set in Settings.”

A movie has the wrong poster

Rescan re-checks every match from scratch, which fixes most mix-ups. For a single title, open its details and use the “Which movie did you mean?” picker to choose the right one.

My phone cannot connect

Work through Fix connection problems. The most common causes are a sleeping PC, a phone on a different Wi-Fi, or a security program blocking port 47811.

📱 Connect your phone 🔑 TMDB key, with pictures Posters and info 💾 Back up your server Beebo for Windows Short setup guide FAQ

Written for Beebo for Windows 0.1.57 and the Beebo Android app 1.38, as of September 21, 2026. Found something that doesn’t match what you see? Tell us at testers@beeboentertainment.com. It is a plain email, with no form and no sign-up.