Install · Usage · Receivers · Troubleshooting · Security
UniCast is an Omarchy bar widget that plays a local video on your TV over DLNA, Google Cast or AirPlay.
It is not screen mirroring: the TV fetches the file and decodes it itself, so 4K and HEVC play at full quality and the laptop stays quiet.
- One click. Every TV on your network is listed in the bar.
- Casts what you are watching. Picks up the file playing in VLC, mpv or any MPRIS player.
- Remote control. Pause, seek, volume and mute from the panel.
- Audio boost. +6 / +12 dB with a limiter, and a dialogue-first stereo downmix for 5.1.
- Subtitles. Sidecar and embedded text subtitles, on Google Cast and DLNA TVs.
- Plays as is when it can. Remuxes, and transcodes only when the TV needs it.
- LAN only. One file per cast, served to the TV alone. No cloud, no telemetry.
 |
 |
| Pick a receiver | While casting: seek, volume, boost, stop |
1. Add the widget
omarchy plugin add https://github.com/liberuum/unicast --enable2. Build the backend
Open the widget and click Build and install the backend, or run:
~/.config/omarchy/plugins/universal-cast/bin/omarchy-cast-setupSetup installs anything missing (rustup, cmake, ffmpeg) with
omarchy pkg add, asking first. It then builds the omarchy-castd daemon with
the pinned Rust release, installs it to ~/.local/bin, and starts it as a
user service. The first build takes a minute or two.
Requirements: Omarchy 4.0 with the Omarchy shell, ffmpeg, and
systemd --user. ufw is optional; if it is enabled, UniCast asks to open
the media port for each TV.
Manual build
cargo build --release --locked
install -Dm755 target/release/omarchy-castd ~/.local/bin/omarchy-castdA binary installed this way is not recorded as UniCast's: setup will not replace it and uninstall will not delete it.
- Play a video in VLC or mpv, or click Choose media to play.
- Click the UniCast icon in the bar.
- Click a TV.
- Control playback, volume, boost and subtitles from the panel.
- Press Stop to end the cast.
A TV that does not appear can be added in Settings → Add a device by IP.
| Protocol | Devices | Features |
|---|---|---|
| DLNA / UPnP | Most smart TVs, consoles, Kodi | Play, seek, pause, volume, mute, boost, subtitles |
| Google Cast | Chromecast, Android TV, Google TV, Cast-enabled TVs and speakers | Play, seek, pause, volume, mute, boost, subtitles |
| AirPlay | Apple TV and AirPlay 1 receivers | Play, seek, pause (experimental) |
If a device supports several protocols, UniCast uses the most capable one (DLNA, then Cast, then AirPlay).
UniCast finds subtitle files next to the video (Movie.srt, Movie.en.srt,
a Subs/ folder) and text tracks inside the file (MKV, MP4). Pick one in the
panel; your choice is remembered per language. Subtitles stay in sync after
seeking.
- Google Cast: switching tracks is instant.
- DLNA TVs: the TV reads subtitles when the video loads, so switching track reloads the video at the same position.
- Image-based subtitles (PGS, VobSub) are not supported. AirPlay has no subtitle support.
The TV does not show up. Make sure the TV and laptop are on the same
network. Guest networks, "AP isolation" and VPNs that route the LAN (such as
Tailscale with --accept-routes) hide devices. Try Settings → Scan the
whole network, or add the TV by IP.
The TV never starts playing. If ufw is enabled, approve the polkit
prompt that opens port 60020 for that TV.
The movie is too quiet. Turn on Audio boost (+6 or +12 dB).
Logs:
journalctl --user -u omarchy-castd -fFor more detail, set OMARCHY_CAST_LOG=omarchy_castd=debug. The media port
(OMARCHY_CAST_PORT, default 60020) and transcode bitrate
(OMARCHY_CAST_VBITRATE, default 6000 kb/s) can be changed the same way,
with systemctl --user set-environment and a restart of the unit.
# Update, then rebuild the daemon
omarchy plugin update universal-cast
~/.config/omarchy/plugins/universal-cast/bin/omarchy-cast-setup
# Remove the daemon, its service, cache and firewall rules, then the widget
~/.config/omarchy/plugins/universal-cast/bin/omarchy-cast-uninstall
omarchy plugin remove universal-castSettings in ~/.config/omarchy/cast/ are kept unless you pass --purge.
Uninstall removes only files UniCast created. Packages installed by setup
(ffmpeg, cmake, base-devel, rustup), ~/.rustup/ and
~/.cargo/registry/ are left in place, since other software may use them.
Everything runs as your user. Root is needed only for the two steps below, and each asks first.
| Files | ~/.local/bin/omarchy-castd, ~/.config/systemd/user/omarchy-castd.service, ~/.config/omarchy/cast/ (settings), ~/.cache/universal-cast/ (build), $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/universal-cast/ (socket, subtitle cache), and ~/.rustup/ / ~/.cargo/registry/ for the build |
| Packages | Setup installs any missing ffmpeg, cmake, base-devel, rustup with omarchy pkg add (root, asks first) |
| Service | omarchy-castd.service, a systemd --user unit started at login |
| Firewall | With ufw enabled, casting to a new TV runs pkexec ufw allow from <tv-ip> proto tcp to <lan-ip> port 60020 (root, asks each time). Uninstall removes exactly the rules UniCast added; your own rules are never changed. |
| Network | LAN only: SSDP/mDNS discovery, control traffic to the TV, and a media server on port 60020 that serves the TV alone |
| Config | Never edits shell.json; bar placement goes through omarchy plugin enable |
- The media server listens on the LAN address only, serves one file per cast under a random token, and answers only the TV's IP.
- Receivers must have a private or link-local IPv4 address. Data from the network is validated and never reaches a shell.
- The file you pick is opened once and served from that descriptor, so changing the path mid-cast changes nothing.
- The Rust release, crates and CI actions are pinned and checksummed.
- Setup and uninstall only replace or delete files UniCast created.
- Like every Omarchy plugin, the widget runs unsandboxed in the shell: review the code before enabling it.
Details and how to report a vulnerability: SECURITY.md.
tests/run # manifest and pin checks, fmt, clippy, tests, QML parse, scriptsThe widget talks to the daemon over a unix socket. You can send it the same commands:
omarchy-castd --client discover
omarchy-castd --client connect <tv-ip> ~/Videos/movie.mkv
omarchy-castd --client statusRelease notes: CHANGELOG.md.
Report bugs at github.com/liberuum/unicast/issues,
with the output of journalctl --user -u omarchy-castd.
MIT, see LICENSE. Not affiliated with Google, Apple, Samsung or LG. Chromecast and Google Cast are trademarks of Google LLC; AirPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc.