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Run your own tofa server

One command on most machines. Every path ends the same way: tofa running at localhost:33333, waiting for you to claim it with your account.

Recommended

Docker

One line on any machine with Docker, whether that is a Linux box, a NAS, or Docker Desktop. It writes a compose file for a single container that manages everything itself, including its own database, asks where your media lives, starts the server, and points you at the claim page.

curl -fsSL https://get.tofa.tv/docker | sh

It is a short, readable script. Open get.tofa.tv/docker in a browser first if you want to read it before you run it.

Or write the compose file yourself

One container runs and manages everything, including its own database. Point the media volume at your own folder, then run docker compose up -d from the same directory.

docker-compose.yml
services:
  tofa:
    image: ghcr.io/tofatv/tofa:beta
    container_name: tofa
    init: true
    restart: unless-stopped
    # Shares your machine's network, so home devices connect directly.
    network_mode: host
    volumes:
      # Everything tofa keeps: database, backups, cache, logs.
      - tofa-data:/data
      # Your media. Left of the colon is the folder on this machine.
      - /mnt/media:/media

volumes:
  tofa-data:

Using Portainer, Unraid's Docker tab, or your NAS's container app instead? The image is ghcr.io/tofatv/tofa:beta. It is public, so there is nothing to log into, and it runs natively on x86-64 and ARM including Apple silicon.

Other ways in

Linux, without Docker

tofa also installs natively. It downloads the latest build for your machine, sets tofa up as a system service, and opens the claim page. It asks for your password once because it creates a dedicated tofa user, puts the server in /opt/tofa, and registers it with systemd. The server itself never runs as root, and the download is verified against a published checksum before anything is installed.

curl -fsSL https://get.tofa.tv | sh

macOS

On an Apple silicon Mac, download tofa, open it, and drag it into Applications. On first launch tofa moves into the menu bar, starts your server in the background, and opens the claim page. From then on it starts with your Mac and nothing sits in your Dock. The terminal one-liner above works here too. On an Intel Mac, use the Docker path instead.

Download for Mac

Windows

Windows has its own installer, so you do not need Docker. tofa lives in your system tray and starts when you sign in. Everything it needs comes with it, including its own database, and your library and settings live in C:\ProgramData\tofa.

Download for Windows

We do not sign our Windows builds yet, so Windows will warn you that the publisher cannot be verified. That is expected during the beta: choose More info, then Run anyway. We publish a .sha256 file next to the installer if you want to check the download first.

NAS and Unraid

Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, and Unraid all run the Docker path above. On Unraid, add a container with repository ghcr.io/tofatv/tofa:beta; on Synology and QNAP, paste the compose file into Container Manager or Container Station. Two things worth getting right: keep tofa's data folder on your fastest storage, because tofa runs its own database in there, and if your NAS runs containers as a specific user, set PUID and PGID to that user's ids. tofa fixes up its own data folder and never changes ownership of your media.

Then claim it

  1. Open http://localhost:33333. If tofa runs on another machine, use that machine's address on your network instead, like http://192.168.1.50:33333.
  2. Sign in with your tofa account and claim the server. A brand new server only accepts a claim from its own local network. If the only way you can reach it is from somewhere else, the installer prints a one-time link carrying a setup token that works from anywhere, and the server prints the same link in its logs on every start while it is unclaimed.
  3. Add a library and point it at your media. tofa scans, matches, and fills in artwork on its own. Open any tofa app, sign in with the same account, and your server is there.

The full documentation

Hardware transcoding, database backups, remote access and port forwarding, the Unraid walkthrough, and everyday commands. It lives behind your beta account, so sign in with the same one you claim your server with.

Open the docs

Need an account first?

tofa is in closed beta. If you signed up, your invite is waiting: create your account, then claim the server you just installed.

Create your account