datasheet SS-001 · Go · Postgres · gRPC
Go 1.26 on the backend. PostgreSQL 18 with pgvector. gRPC plugins. Hardware-accelerated transcode, and worker nodes when one box is not enough. Native apps for iOS, tvOS, macOS, Android, Android TV, and the web. It also speaks the Jellyfin protocol, so clients like Infuse, Findroid, and VidHub work out of the box.
sec. 01 — what's underneath
Most self-hosted media servers were designed around a single binary and a SQLite file. Silo bets on a stack that is typed, concurrent, scalable across hosts, and boring in all the right places.
Your catalog is a relational database you can back up, migrate, replicate, and query, not an opaque blob inside an application directory. pgvector stores the embeddings that power recommendations, so there is no second datastore to run.
Predictable memory, fast cold start, real concurrency. Transcode sessions, scanner walks, and the realtime hub are goroutines, not a thread pool you tune by hand. One static binary in one container image.
Plugins are self-contained Go binaries that speak protobuf to the host over a local gRPC socket. Out of process means a misbehaving plugin can crash without taking the server down. Capability types cover metadata, images, markers, analyzers, scheduled tasks, HTTP routes, auth, scan sources, and watch sync.
Run everything in a single container on a mini PC, or run proxy and transcode workers on other hosts that share the same Postgres and Redis. Register each node once in the admin panel and the pool balances streams across whichever nodes are healthy.
sec. 02 — what it does
What the stack actually buys you: smarter playback, profiles that fit a household, recommendations that learn, and a server that grows past one box when you need it to.
Silo picks the lightest playback path your device can handle: direct play when it can, a remux when only the container is the problem, a full transcode only when nothing else works. Hardware encoding on Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, and Apple Silicon, with HDR tone mapping when the screen needs it.
One login, many viewing profiles. Each profile gets its own watch history, content rating limit, PIN, language preferences, and library access. Child profiles are locked down by default.
When a single host runs out of headroom, run transcode and proxy workers on other machines, point them at the shared database, and register them in the admin panel. Silo sends each new stream to the transcode node with the fewest active sessions.
Styled ASS and SSA subtitles render in the browser with their original fonts and positioning intact instead of being flattened to plain text. SRT and VTT are covered too, and missing tracks can be searched across three providers.
Rows built from pgvector embeddings and what similar viewers on your server liked, not a “same genre” lookup. They surface things you'll like without burying the thing you came for.
Synchronized playback rooms for movie night over the internet. Invite guests with a link, vote on what plays next, and stay in sync without paying for the privilege. Web app today.
First-party plugins handle TMDB and TVDB metadata, TheIntroDB markers, autoscan from your downloaders, and media requests. The SDK lets anyone add providers, analyzers, scheduled tasks, and HTTP routes without touching the core server.
Intros and credits are found by audio fingerprinting across a season's episodes, not by trusting whatever chapter tags happen to be in the file. Chapter thumbnails are generated as the player needs them.
Audiobook libraries with chapters, series, and resume, plus an Audiobookshelf-compatible endpoint so apps like Plappa and the official app connect as-is. Podcast feeds sync on a schedule. Ebooks get a built-in reader for EPUB, PDF, and comics with synced progress.
New episode of something you watch? Silo tells you: in-app, browser push, iOS push, email digest, Discord, or your own webhook. A freshly seeded library never floods, season packs get batched, and you choose per episode or a daily digest.
Don't lose what you've watched when you switch servers. Import from Jellyfin, Emby, or Plex on day one, then keep everything in sync with Trakt, Simkl, or MDBList going forward.
sec. 03 — deployment shapes
Start with everything in a single container on a mini PC. When the homelab grows up, whether that is three Proxmox nodes, a couple of NUCs, or whatever the rack looks like, run a transcode and proxy worker on each host against the same database. Register each node once in the admin panel and the server routes streams across them.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ silo (MODE=integrated) │ │ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ │ │ api │ │ scanner │ │transcode │ │ │ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ │ │ └─────────────┬───────────┘ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ │ postgres + pgvector │ │ │ │ redis │ │ │ └─────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ homelab ────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ node01 node02 node03 │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ │ │ silo (api) │ │ silo: │ │ silo: │ │ │ │ postgres │ │ transcode │ ● │ trans. │● │ │ │ redis │ │ +proxy │ │ +proxy │ │ │ │ +transcode │ └──────┬───────┘ └────┬─────┘ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ └──────────────────┴────────────────┘ │ │ ▼ │ │ shared postgres + redis │ │ │ │ transcode: least-connections · proxy: round-robin │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
sec. 04 — clients
The web app ships with the server. Native apps cover every other screen worth shipping on: SwiftUI on Apple, Compose on Android. All of them are in beta and nearly feature-complete, with Dolby Vision, lossless audio, and offline downloads where the platform allows. If you would rather keep the app you already use, the Jellyfin-protocol compatibility layer means it just works.
React · TypeScript · Vite
The viewing and admin UI that ships with the server, and the reference client: every feature lands here first.
SwiftUI · AetherEngine
Native iPhone and iPad app. Direct play and HLS, Picture in Picture, offline downloads, and Now Playing on the lock screen.
SwiftUI · AetherEngine · Top Shelf
Built for the Siri Remote, with Top Shelf and focus-engine navigation. An FFmpeg-based player handles Dolby Vision profiles 5, 7, and 8 and lossless multichannel audio.
SwiftUI · AetherEngine
Native Mac app with the same playback core as iOS, including Dolby Vision and lossless multichannel audio.
Compose · Media3
Phone and tablet. Built on Media3 with a bundled FFmpeg audio decoder for TrueHD, DTS, and other tracks the platform won't decode, plus refresh-rate matching.
Compose for TV · Media3
Designed for the remote: D-pad first, big posters, fast resume. HDR and Dolby Vision output, audio passthrough, and refresh-rate matching.
Silo speaks the Jellyfin protocol on port :8096: auth,
items, sessions, and websockets, plus the Jellyfin web app if you
install it from the admin panel. Point any of these at
http://silo:8096 and sign in as usual.
Audiobook and podcast libraries are also served over the
Audiobookshelf protocol on port :13378. Point any of
these at http://silo:13378, sign in with your Silo
credentials, and listen. Progress and chapters sync.
sec. 05 — questions
:8096, so the Jellyfin-compatible clients you already use (Infuse, Findroid, VidHub, JellyCon, Streamyfin) talk to Silo without changes. You can install the Jellyfin web app from the admin panel and it is served at /web/. Silo is its own server with its own internals; the protocol is just the shared language for the clients.A self-hosted media server, built in the open. The best feedback you can send is a commit hash, a stack trace, and an opinion. The Discord is where the maintainers actually are: ask questions, report what broke, and see what is shipping next.