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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/ShaneIsrael/fireshare/llms.txt

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Fireshare can transcode your source videos into lower-quality variants — 480p, 720p, and 1080p — so viewers can choose a quality level that suits their connection. When a viewer is detected buffering repeatedly, Fireshare will automatically step them down to a lower variant. The original source file is never touched or modified; transcoding only creates additional derivative copies alongside the original. Transcoding is disabled by default. Once enabled, it runs as part of the background library scan so new videos are processed automatically without any manual steps.

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What Transcoding Produces

When a video is transcoded, Fireshare generates up to three additional variants depending on the source resolution:
  • 480p — for viewers on slow or mobile connections
  • 720p — standard HD quality
  • 1080p — full HD quality
Source videos whose height is equal to or less than a target resolution are not upscaled. For example, a 720p source will produce a 480p variant but not a 1080p variant.
Transcoded variants are stored in your PROCESSED_DIRECTORY (/processed/derived/ inside the container). All quality options are controlled from Settings → Transcoding in the Fireshare UI, which writes to /data/config.json.

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Enabling Transcoding

Set the following environment variables to turn on transcoding: 
ENABLE_TRANSCODING=true
TRANSCODE_GPU=true   # optional — remove this line for CPU-only encoding
CPU transcoding works out of the box with no additional setup. GPU transcoding requires an NVIDIA GPU on the host and the standard (non-lite) Fireshare image. See the sections below for platform-specific steps.

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Choosing an Image

Fireshare ships two Docker image variants. The right one depends on whether you need GPU transcoding:
Standard (latest)Lite (latest-lite)
GPU transcoding (NVIDIA NVENC)✅ Supported❌ Not available
CPU transcoding✅ Supported✅ Supported
Image sizeLarger (includes CUDA libraries)Smaller
Setting TRANSCODE_GPU=true on the lite image has no effect. GPU transcoding is permanently disabled in that variant regardless of environment variables.

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Encoder Selection

Fireshare automatically selects the best available encoder at runtime. You can also set a preference manually in Settings → Transcoding.

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GPU Mode (TRANSCODE_GPU=true)

When GPU mode is enabled, Fireshare tries encoders in this order and falls back if the GPU does not support a given encoder:
PriorityEncoderHardware Requirement
1H.264 (h264_nvenc)NVIDIA GTX 1050 or newer
2AV1 (av1_nvenc)NVIDIA RTX 40 series or newer
3H.264 via CPU (libx264)CPU fallback
4AV1 via CPU (libsvtav1)Universal fallback

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CPU Mode (TRANSCODE_GPU=false)

EncoderNotes
H.264 (libx264)Most compatible, faster encoding, recommended for broad browser support
AV1 (libsvtav1)Best compression ratio, slower to encode
For the widest browser compatibility, prefer H.264. AV1 transcodes may not play in all browsers, particularly older versions of Safari.

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GPU Setup: Standard Docker

1

Use the standard image

Make sure you are using shaneisrael/fireshare:latest (not latest-lite) in your docker-compose.yml.
2

Add GPU access to the container

Add runtime: nvidia or the deploy GPU reservation block to your service definition, and set the required environment variables:
services:
  fireshare:
    container_name: fireshare
    image: shaneisrael/fireshare:latest
    runtime: nvidia
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - /path/to/data:/data
      - /path/to/processed:/processed
      - /path/to/videos:/videos
      - /path/to/images:/images
    environment:
      - ADMIN_USERNAME=your-admin-username
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-admin-password
      - SECRET_KEY=replace_with_random_string
      - DOMAIN=your.domain.com
      - ENABLE_TRANSCODING=true
      - TRANSCODE_GPU=true
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
Alternatively, pass --gpus all as a flag in a docker run command.
3

Verify GPU access

Start the container and check the logs to confirm which encoder was selected:
docker logs fireshare | grep -i encoder

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GPU Setup: Unraid

1

Install the NVIDIA Driver plugin

Open the Unraid web UI, go to Apps (Community Applications), search for NVIDIA Driver, and install it. This plugin makes the host GPU visible to Docker containers.
2

Add environment variables to the container

In the Fireshare container template, add the following environment variables:
ENABLE_TRANSCODING=true
TRANSCODE_GPU=true
NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES=all
3

Add GPU extra parameter

In the Fireshare container template, scroll to Extra Parameters and add:
--gpus=all
4

Apply and start

Save the container configuration and click Apply. Fireshare will start with GPU access enabled.

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When Transcoding Runs

Transcoding is triggered automatically during the background library scan cycle. The scan runs every MINUTES_BETWEEN_VIDEO_SCANS minutes (default: 5). When a new video is discovered and auto_transcode is enabled in Settings → Transcoding, the video is queued for transcoding on the next scan pass. You can also manually queue any individual video for transcoding from its detail or edit page in the Fireshare UI — useful if you want to immediately transcode a specific clip without waiting for the next scan.
The auto_transcode setting is stored in /data/config.json and is controlled from the Fireshare UI under Settings → Transcoding, not through an environment variable.

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