What is Unmanic used for?

Unmanic is a self-hosted tool that scans a media or file library and automatically converts, moves or processes files according to your rules. It is a good fit for converting a media collection to one video format, cleaning up DVR recordings automatically and compressing or moving old files on a schedule.

Is Unmanic open source?

Yes. Unmanic is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Unmanic/unmanic and is written mainly in Python.

Yes. Unmanic is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Unmanic?

Yes. Unmanic can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Unmanic?

Similar open-source tools in the Media & Streaming category include Bazarr, SABnzbd and MeTube. SaaS products in the same category include Channels DVR, Emby and Infuse.

Is Unmanic actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Unmanic was on 22 August 2026, and the latest release is 0.4.1, published on 14 August 2026. The project has 2.5k stars on GitHub.

Unmanic: open-source media & streaming

About Unmanic

Unmanic is a tool for keeping a file library tidy and uniform. You point it at a library, define how files should look, and it works through anything that does not match. Typical jobs include converting files into one common format, moving files after a set amount of time, or running a custom command on files based on their size.

A built-in scheduler scans the whole library for files that fail your presets and queues them for processing. A file monitor does the same check whenever a file is added or changed. A task handler runs several file operations at once, and a web interface lets you configure the library, watch progress and manage plugins.

Example uses include transcoding audio and video to a standard format with FFmpeg, removing commercials from DVR recordings, compressing older files, and triggering FileBot to rename new additions. Unmanic is written in Python, licensed under GPL-3.0, and runs on your own machine or server.

Key features

Scheduled scans of an entire file library
File monitor that reacts to new or changed files
FFmpeg-based audio and video transcoding
Task queue running several jobs at once
Web UI for configuration and progress
Plugins and custom commands per file type

Good fit for

→Converting a media collection to one video format
→Cleaning up DVR recordings automatically
→Compressing or moving old files on a schedule

Built with: Python
Tags: media-library; transcoding; ffmpeg; automation; file-management; self-hosted; python

Unmanic: questions and answers

What is Unmanic used for?: Unmanic is a self-hosted tool that scans a media or file library and automatically converts, moves or processes files according to your rules. It is a good fit for converting a media collection to one video format, cleaning up DVR recordings automatically and compressing or moving old files on a schedule.
Is Unmanic open source?: Yes. Unmanic is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Unmanic/unmanic and is written mainly in Python.
Is Unmanic free?: Yes. Unmanic is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Unmanic?: Yes. Unmanic can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Unmanic?: Similar open-source tools in the Media & Streaming category include Bazarr, SABnzbd and MeTube. SaaS products in the same category include Channels DVR, Emby and Infuse.
Is Unmanic actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Unmanic was on 22 August 2026, and the latest release is 0.4.1, published on 14 August 2026. The project has 2.5k stars on GitHub.