macOS
Apple Silicon and Intel builds
To run the application, add it to the trusted list: settings → privacy and security
New in v1.6.0 — CLIP semantic search
MediaChips
your media library with ease
MediaChips is a desktop app for organizing, tagging, and browsing local media. Supported file types: videos, images, audio, and text. Add any metadata — tags, actors, ratings, favorites, bookmarks, dates, and more. Everything stays on your machine: no accounts, no cloud, no data collection.
Download
v1.8.1
Windows
64-bit only
To work correctly, administrator rights are required
Linux
AppImage for 64-bit systems
Make the AppImage executable: chmod +x MediaChips*.AppImage
Docker
Container image for NAS and servers
Features
Browse
- Browser layout — tags sidebar, inspector panel, compact control deck, and docked filters
- Collapsible sidebar with icon rail for library links, tag categories, settings, and tracked folders
- Videos, images, audio, and text in one library — displayed as cards with the chips you assign
- Zip galleries — import images from zip archives; path tags from folder and zip paths
- Similar media wall and “More like this” visual-hash neighbors on the media list
- Customizable cards: colors, sizes, chip layout, and aspect-ratio presets
- Grid multi-select with keyboard range and shift selection; drag media cards out to the desktop
- Create playlists and open files in the built-in or system player
- Tabs to work with media and tags without losing context
- Multiple databases for separate collections or projects
- Configurable home page with widgets and stats
Preview modes
More than a static thumbnail — preview your library without opening every file.
Grid / storyboard
A 3×3 frame grid on each card for a quick visual overview of the whole video.
Timeline preview
Scrub with the cursor and see the exact frame at each position on the timeline.
Inline video preview
Play video directly on the card while you browse the library.
Big preview mode
Expand a card into a large preview for a closer look — size is configurable.
Sound in preview
Optional audio on hover, with a customizable delay before playback starts.
Card sizes up to XXL
Scale cards from compact to extra-large — pick the view that fits your workflow.
Video Player
A full playback workspace — not just a preview window.
Timeline markers
Mark favorites, bookmarks/chapters, or any library tag on the timeline — no separate Marks flag.
Clip Studio
Select, export, and reveal clips; reels and multi-select for markers and playlists.
Auto chapters
Scene and silence detection with readable chapter titles — review and edit before you keep them.
Play clips by tag
Compile matching marker segments into a playlist from a tag page and play them back-to-back.
Person timeline
Seek and play face appearances on performer tag pages.
Smart playlist
Shuffle, loop, and step through next/previous items while you watch.
Playback controls
Speed from 0.25× to 2×, picture-in-picture, and fullscreen. Prefers direct play before live transcode.
Timeline hover preview
See a frame preview when hovering over the playback bar.
Detached player
Open the player in a separate window and keep browsing your library.
Set frame as cover
Pick the current frame and use it as the video thumbnail.
Bookmark notes
Add descriptive text to timeline bookmarks — perfect for notes on specific moments.
Filter & Sort
- Filter by any parameter or tag — including nested chip fields
- Build a playlist mix from filters or CLIP from the filter bar and global search
- Collapsible inspector and compact filter chips with unified sort and group-by controls
- Folder path filters — browse library paths and match media under a selected folder
- Exact “only these tags” condition for precise chip-set matching
- Save and load filter presets; drag-and-drop to reorder filter rows
- Quick filters, favorites, multi-parameter sorting, and pinned-meta sort
- Negative tag conditions and regular expressions for string fields
- Quick filter by tag from the card menu or floating action button
Automation
Add a folder — tags pull in from paths, missing files are tracked, and bulk edits stay fast.
Path tag parser
Extract tags from file paths library-wide — including path-regex into array meta fields, with preview and multi-OS presets.
Post-add smart wizard
One-click Enhance now — path tags, grids, faces, CLIP index, chapters, neighbor-tag suggestions, organize, and TPDB scrape.
CLIP semantic search
Describe a scene to find media; Find scene jumps near the matching timeline tile. Query auto-translate for UI languages.
ML path tag parser
Semantic matching suggests tags from path segments using a local ML model.
Quick Add Tags
Create tags in bulk from words found in file paths.
Face recognition
Detect faces in videos, enroll people from tag photos, match and auto-tag — with optional gender filter, all on-device.
Video object recognition
Get tag suggestions from video frames via a local CLIP model — runs entirely on your machine.
Library health score
See a health score with a safe fix queue and snoozeable alerts.
Watched folders
Detect new files and mark videos that disappeared from watched folders.
Duplicate check on import
Catch duplicates while adding files — fast size checks plus background content hashing.
Media merge
Keep one item and remap linked metadata; review duplicates in Database settings.
Bulk editing
Edit multiple items or file paths at once.
Organize by tag
Move files on disk into folders based on the tags you assign.
Fingerprints & duplicates
Hybrid fingerprints / oshash for dedup, plus a scoped duplicate finder with visual grid fingerprinting.
Scrapers & sync
Adult and TMDB scrapers; Stash and Jellyfin bidirectional sync; Plex and Emby library import.
Chips
- Built-in types: tags, ratings, favorites, bookmarks, text, dates, numbers, colors
- Custom types: actors, places, studios, genres — anything you need
- Chip recipes — installable meta/chip presets for common library setups
- Rich chip profiles: images, colors, countries, text, numbers, and nested chips
- All Tags page — manage categories and move tags in bulk; mixed tag input UX
- Tag pages auto-switch full/minimal layout from hero images; image carousel and TPDB photo slots
- Person timeline appearances on performer pages; path-regex tags into array meta fields
- Merge tags within a category or merge whole categories with same-name auto-merge
- Virtual folder tags with inheritance — organize by folder structure without moving files
- Auto-color tags from cover art; pinned-tag scrape actions for TMDB/TPDB
Other features
Extra tools that make everyday media management faster and more flexible.
Global search
Press / to search media and tags via names, assigned tags, synonyms, bookmark notes, and CLIP scene descriptions.
Text & audio
In-app text preview and search; audio covers from ID3 tags.
List grouping
Group media and tags by letter, rating, folder, codec, resolution, pinned meta, and more.
Plugin system
Install plugins from folder or zip — scrapers and library imports extend the core app.
In-app changelog
Read release notes from update notifications, after updating, and in version history.
Backup & restore
Create, restore, import, and export full database backups — library and previews together.
8 languages
Interface available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, German, French, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese.
Quick action button
Floating shortcuts for filters, toolbar customization, and scroll to top.
Customization
Colors, card sizes, chip layout, navigation visibility, and persistent interface zoom.
Multiple databases
Keep separate libraries for different collections or projects.
Tabs
Work with media and tags in separate tabs without losing context.
File operations
Move, delete, or open the folder containing a file right from the app.
Password protection
Restrict access to your library when you need extra privacy.
SFW mode
Safe-for-work interface mode for shared or public screens.
In-app documentation
Contextual help in settings and dialogs — no need to leave the app.
Home page widgets
Configurable home page with stats and quick-access widgets.
Open source
Built in the open — inspect the code, trust the app, and shape it for your workflow.
View on GitHubThe app is completely transparent — full source code on GitHub.
It does not collect your data and does not send it anywhere. Your library stays local.
Developers can fork the project and add features for their own workflow.
Share
Your library on any screen at home — phone, tablet, TV, or another computer.
Any device on LAN
Open your library in a browser on any device on the local network.
Mobile UI
Responsive layout with bottom navigation for comfortable browsing on small screens.
AutoConnect
The app finds a MediaChips server on your network — no need to type an IP manually.
Docker / NAS
Run MediaChips in Docker for network storage setups with browser mount UX.
Desktop + web
Run the full app on macOS, Windows, or Linux, and share the same library to the browser.
Customer Reviews
Real feedback from users on AlternativeTo