/vlc-discord-rpc

Display what you're watching on VLC media player as your Discord status with this Node.js application.

Primary LanguageJavaScriptMIT LicenseMIT

VLC-RPC

An updated Discord rich presence for VLC media player.

This is a modified version of the Pigpog/vlc-discord-rpc project, which is no longer being actively maintained. We have updated and enhanced the project by adding new features, such as album and show covers.

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Support

If you have any issues, that may not be a bug related, or any ideas for the project stop by our Discord.

Setup

  1. Download the code from this repository, then unzip it.
  2. Install Node.js. You must use version 17.5 at the minimum due to fetch!
  3. Make an application and get your Discord Application ID.
  4. In the storage folder, make a file called config.js, and copy over the contents of example_config.js.
  5. Proceed to the next step if you would like to use spotify art, or just go to step 8.
  6. OPTIONAL: Retrieve your Spotify API key.
  7. Add both of these values in the ./Storage/config.js file under the richPresenceSettings and spotify area if you are choosing to use the album art.
  8. In ./Storage/config.js right before the spotify area, set useSpotify to true.
  9. OPTIONAL: Add your OMDb Api Key as the movieApiKey. This will allow you to display movies as movies, instead of videos.
  10. Open a terminal, move to the folder you downloaded from this repository, and run npm i then run node ..

Detached State

  1. Open VLC.
  2. Select Tools in the top menu bar.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. At the bottom left, select all.
  5. Select Main Interfaces.
  6. Check the box labelled Web.
  7. Back where we selected Main Interfaces, select the caret next to it.
  8. Select Lua.
  9. Enter a password into the Lua HTTP box. It does not matter what this is, but you will need to add it to your config.
  10. Update any needed values in your config. Change detached to true. You MUST set your own password and make sure to include it in VLC.
  11. Start VLC, then run the program as normal. image image

Note: Do not touch the port or address unless you know what you are doing! 8080 is VLC's default HTTP port.

Custom Images

URL Method

If you would like to change the default icons for pause, play, or VLC in your discord status, you will need to have a link to an image (which must end in .png, .jpg, or something similar). You can do this by using imgur, or any site of your choosing. Then, simply replace the link in the iconNames part of the config.js.

File method

To use an uploaded file instead of a link you need to do the following:

  1. Sign in to the Discord Developer Portal.
  2. Go to your application you created during setup.
  3. On the left sidebar, click Rich Presence.
  4. You should be under the Art Assets section, but if not click the Art Assets button.
  5. Add your images, and choose names for them.
  6. Go into your config.js, and under the iconNames section, set the icon to the name you choose for your image.
  7. Give it a minute or two, and then you should see it working. For other users, it may take a few hours for your images to show up. image image

Shows and Movies

If you would like to display shows and movies as such, instead of a video, you will need to use our custom metadata script.

  1. Install FFMPEG
  2. Add FFMPEG to PATH.
  3. In the vlc-rpc project folder, change directories into the Metadata folder by using cd Metdata in the terminal/console.
  4. Run node metadata.js or node metadata_folder.js. The folder option will automatically go through each file in the folder (excluding any file names including "meta") and just ask if it's a show/movie. The file will be named the original name + _meta.
  5. Fill in the prompts. For the movie name, please use the one found on IMDB (generally you do not have to worry about this).
  6. Optional: Add your movie api key to config.js. Movies will be displayed as videos otherwise.
  7. Start watching your new file in VLC.