Common questions about how RexyServer works and what to expect.
RexyServer is a free, self-hosted media library server that runs on your Mac. It scans your library, fetches rich metadata from a curated set of providers, and serves everything to RexyRead and RexyListen on every device in your house.
RexyServer is built using Apple frameworks for fast metadata processing, image handling, and audio inspection. A Mac you already own (even a Mac mini) is a perfect host. Linux and NAS support are not on the current roadmap.
RexyServer is completely free. Direct download, no subscription, no telemetry, no upsell.
App Store apps run in a sandbox that restricts the file-system access a media server needs. A direct download gives RexyServer the breathing room it needs to watch folders, write metadata into your files, and run a local server — while keeping you in full control of when and how it runs.
Inside your files. Comic metadata is written to a ComicInfo.xml inside CBZ archives. EPUB metadata is written into the OPF. Audiobook tags are written as ID3. PDF properties go into the PDF metadata block. Your library stays portable — the metadata travels with the files.
A curated set of providers, ranked by query type. Dedicated sources cover comics, manga, audiobooks, and novels, with general-purpose fallbacks for anything those don't catch. You can edit the ranking, pin specific matches, or override any field manually. The full provider list is visible in the in-app settings.
Yes, with Tailscale. RexyServer doesn't expose itself to the public internet — by design. Install Tailscale on the Mac running RexyServer and on whatever device you want to use remotely, and the two see each other as if they were on the same local network from anywhere in the world. No port forwarding, no reverse proxies, no open ports on your home router. Per-device API keys still apply, so you can grant access to one device and not another, and revoke at any time. The free Tailscale tier covers personal use.
Destructive operations — bulk delete, user removal, factory reset — require a fresh time-based one-time code from any standard TOTP authenticator app. Compromised pairing keys cannot wipe your library.
Each new client device generates a one-time QR code from the RexyServer dashboard. Scanning it sets up a per-device API key plus a pinned TLS fingerprint. The device shows up in the dashboard with a last-seen timestamp and can be revoked individually.
RexyServer includes a built-in encrypted backup system. Set a password, choose a schedule (or run manually), and your library catalog, user data, and settings are saved as encrypted .rxbk files. Restoring is one click. The encryption is AES-256 with a password you control — and never share. Lose the password and the backup is unrecoverable, which is the point: only you can decrypt it.
Every administrative action — user changes, library mutations, security events — is written to an audit log where each entry is hash-linked to the previous one. If any row is altered or deleted, the chain breaks visibly. There's a built-in verification panel that any admin can run at any time. It exists so a multi-admin household can trust that the log accurately reflects what happened, without anyone needing to constantly watch it.
Duplicate detection (find the same book twice in your library), missing-metadata sweeps (find items that still need a match), a wishlist (track items you want to add later), smart shelves (saved searches that stay current as your library grows), and a maintenance scheduler that runs background cleanup tasks while you sleep.
Yes. The admin-only Server Health dashboard shows live request activity, library statistics, item-level reading insights, and per-user activity at a glance. You can diagnose, observe, and tune without ever touching the command line.
Not currently. The RexyView project ships compiled binaries. Source-availability is something we may revisit in the future.