SyncLounge

SyncLounge is a tool to sync Plex content across multiple players in multiple locations. Watch movies and TV shows together with friends and family, no matter where they are.

This is a continuation of the original SyncLounge project, modernized with Vue 3, Vuetify 3, and Vite.

What's Different

This fork has been substantially reworked from the original:

• Vue 3 + Vuetify 3 + Vite — Migrated from Vue 2/Vuetify 2/Webpack
• Built-in web player only — External Plex client control has been removed (it no longer works reliably with modern Plex)
• Chromecast support — Cast content to Chromecast devices ($5 Google Cast developer registration required)
• Discord/social previews — Share links generate rich OpenGraph embeds with poster images and metadata
• MKV direct play — Properly handles MKV containers that Plex repackages as MP4
• Subtitle fixes — Fixed libjass subtitle rendering in Vite's ESM strict mode
• Mobile-friendly — Responsive layout improvements for small screens
• Library browsing — Sort, filter, and A-Z index for library content; lazy loading with skeleton placeholders
• Server management — Enable/disable servers with visibility toggles; all servers searchable by default

How It Works

SyncLounge keeps multiple viewing sessions in sync using a WebSocket server as a relay between clients. Users join a room, and the host controls playback — play, pause, seek, and content changes are synced to everyone in the room. If the host plays something new, SyncLounge searches each user's available Plex servers for a matching copy.

Features

• Synchronized playback across the internet
• Built-in web player optimized for sync accuracy
• Chromecast casting support
• Autoplay — automatically finds matching content across your Plex servers
• Library browsing with sorting, filtering, and A-Z quick navigation
• Search across all connected Plex servers
• Chat with room members
• Password-protected rooms
• Shareable invite links with rich social previews
• Configurable sync flexibility and sync method (clean seek / skip ahead)

Running

Docker

docker run -p 8088:8088 ghcr.io/chrisae9/synclounge:latest

Docker Compose

services:
  synclounge:
    image: ghcr.io/chrisae9/synclounge:latest
    ports:
      - 8088:8088
    restart: unless-stopped

Node.js

npm install
npm run build
node server.js

Listens on port 8088 by default. All paths are relative, so you can use a reverse proxy at any subdirectory or subdomain without additional SyncLounge configuration.

Configuration

Configuration can be set via environment variables matching the keys in config/defaults.js. Nested objects and arrays are passed as JSON strings:

AUTHENTICATION='{"mechanism":"plex","type":["server"],"authorized":["MACHINE_ID"]}'
SERVERS='[{"name":"My Server","location":"Mothership","url":"https://myserver.com"}]'

Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
    default upgrade;
    ''      '';
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name synclounge.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8088;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_socket_keepalive on;
        proxy_redirect off;

        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $server_name;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
    }
}

Development

npm install
npm run serve   # Vite dev server with HMR
npm run build   # Production build to dist/
npm test        # Run tests

Chromecast

Chromecast support requires a Google Cast developer registration ($5 one-time fee) and a published receiver app. The receiver app ID is configured in the SyncLounge settings.

Credits

Originally created by samcm, ttshivers, and contributors.

Continued by chrisae9.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.txt.

SyncLounge is in no way affiliated with Plex Inc.