Stremio MCP Server

A Python Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for searching TMDB, opening Stremio content on Android TV, controlling playback over ADB, and optionally accessing your Stremio library.

[!IMPORTANT] This server can control a physical Android TV and, when STREMIO_AUTH_KEY is configured, add or remove items from your Stremio library. ADB grants powerful device access. Review tool requests, keep credentials private, and disable Wireless Debugging when you are not using it.

What it does

• Searches TMDB for movies and TV shows and returns IMDb IDs.
• Opens a movie or a specific series episode in Stremio on Android TV.
• Sends navigation, playback, volume, and power commands through native ADB.
• Reads device-dependent playback title, state, position, and duration data.
• Optionally lists, searches, adds, and removes Stremio library items.

Requirements

• Android TV with Stremio installed and configured with working addons
• For modern Wireless Debugging on TV: Android TV / Google TV running Android 13 (API 33) or higher, per Google's wireless adb requirements
• Python 3.10+
• uv
• Android SDK Platform Tools (adb) — install a current release and keep it updated; use at least the wireless-debugging era of Platform Tools (30.0.0+, when adb pair landed). Prefer the latest stable from the Platform Tools page for mDNS and TLS fixes
• A free TMDB API key for title search
• Optional: a Stremio auth key for library access

Installation

PyPI package (recommended)

Run the latest published release without cloning the repository:

uvx stremio-mcp-server

To run the current release explicitly:

uvx --from stremio-mcp-server==0.2.0 stremio-mcp-server

Source checkout

Use a source checkout for development or local modifications:

git clone https://github.com/netixc/stremio-mcp.git
cd stremio-mcp
uv sync --locked
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your TV endpoint and API keys. The file is ignored by Git; never commit it.

TMDB_API_KEY=your_tmdb_api_key
ANDROID_TV_HOST=192.168.1.100
ANDROID_TV_PORT=37139
STREMIO_AUTH_KEY=
# ADB_PATH=/absolute/path/to/adb

Pair and connect the TV

This server talks to the TV through the native Platform Tools adb client, not a pure-Python ADB library. That is intentional: modern Wireless Debugging negotiates TLS (STLS) and this project needs a full shell for intents, key events, and media-session diagnostics. Pure-Python clients that only speak legacy ADB-over-TCP do not cover that path.

On the TV, enable Developer options and Wireless debugging. Menu names vary by manufacturer. Official wireless debugging for TV requires Android 13+; see Google's Connect to a device over Wi-Fi guide.

Modern Wireless Debugging displays separate pairing and connection ports (often ephemeral). Pair once, then connect with the current connection port:

adb pair TV_IP:PAIRING_PORT
# Enter the temporary pairing code shown on the TV.

adb connect TV_IP:CONNECTION_PORT
adb devices -l

Set ANDROID_TV_PORT to the connection port, not the temporary pairing port. The device must appear as device, not offline or unauthorized. Wireless Debugging ports may change after a reboot or after debugging is toggled. On newer Platform Tools and Android versions, a previously paired device may also reconnect via mDNS when it returns to a trusted network; still configure the explicit connection port when the UI shows one.

Legacy network debugging may use port 5555 (adb tcpip after USB); only use that workflow when your TV explicitly documents it. Prefer Wireless Debugging on supported TVs.

Configure your MCP client

Claude Desktop configuration file locations:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

PyPI package (recommended)

Create a private environment file from the example above, then configure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stremio": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--env-file",
        "/absolute/path/to/stremio.env",
        "stremio-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Source checkout

Replace both absolute paths:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stremio": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/stremio-mcp",
        "run",
        "--env-file",
        "/absolute/path/to/stremio-mcp/.env",
        "stremio-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart the MCP client after changing configuration. You can instead place the variables directly in the client configuration's env object, but that file must remain private.

Configuration

Features initialize independently. For example, TMDB search works without a TV connection, while direct IMDb playback does not require TMDB. Leave STREMIO_AUTH_KEY empty to disable library access.

Network bounds

Every HTTP request uses one shared async client with explicit timeouts, a bounded response size, and a bounded connection pool, so a slow or unreachable service cannot stall other tool calls or device controls. The defaults are safe; override them only when a slow link makes them too tight. An unparsable or out-of-range value is reported by variable name and replaced with the default.

Tools and effects

Library mutations require an explicit IMDb ID and content type. Search first when a title is ambiguous; title-based play otherwise uses the first matching result. Series playback requires both a season and an episode.

Library reads report found, not found, and unavailable as distinct outcomes. Mutations fail closed: add and remove abort without writing whenever the preceding read failed, returned an item whose _id is not exactly the requested ID, returned duplicate or unrequested rows, or returned an item of a different content type. This means a transient Stremio failure can never be mistaken for "this item does not exist" and overwrite existing watch state.

search reports a TMDB outage as an error rather than as "no results". When an automatic search reaches only one of the movie and TV halves, it returns the half that succeeded and appends a (partial results — …) note.

Example prompts

Search for Dune movies from 2021.
Play movie tt1375666.
Play Breaking Bad season 1 episode 1.
Pause playback.
What's currently playing?
Search my Stremio library for Severance.
Add movie tt1375666 to my library.

See the usage examples for accurate tool-level workflows and safer search-then-play examples.

Verify the setup

Test one boundary at a time:

1. adb devices -l — confirms the TV connection.
2. Ask the MCP client to list tools — should show the five tools above.
3. “Search for Inception” — confirms the TMDB key and network access.
4. “Play movie tt1375666” — confirms ADB and Stremio deep linking.
5. “List my Stremio library” — optionally confirms the Stremio auth key.

The play tool confirms that Android accepted the Stremio intent, then attempts a center key press; it does not verify the key press or guarantee that an addon supplied a stream. Stremio may show a source list that requires tv_control or a physical remote.

Troubleshooting

TV is offline, unauthorized, or unreachable

adb disconnect TV_IP:CONNECTION_PORT
adb connect TV_IP:CONNECTION_PORT
adb devices -l

• Confirm the computer and TV are on the same LAN and client isolation is disabled.
• Use the current connection port, not the pairing port.
• Accept the authorization prompt on the TV.
• If pairing is stale, forget the computer on the TV and pair again.
• On macOS, grant Local Network permission under Privacy & Security → Local Network to the adb binary itself. A reliable pattern is to start the ADB server once from a permitted GUI terminal, then let the MCP server and other tools act as localhost clients of that existing server.
• A failure reported as local_network_denied means the MCP server itself reached the TV over raw TCP while adb could not, so the network is fine: apply the two macOS steps above instead of debugging routing.
• Do not run adb kill-server or adb start-server from automated tooling: that can discard a permitted server and recreate it under a process without the required macOS permission.

Stremio opens but content does not play

• Launch Stremio manually once and sign in.
• Confirm that your Stremio addons provide streams for the title.
• Select a source with tv_control or a physical remote.
• For a series, provide both season and episode.

Search or library access fails

• Confirm the relevant key is present and has no quotes or extra spaces.
• Restart the MCP client after editing .env.
• Renew an expired Stremio key using the auth-key guide.

Limitations

• Android TV only; this server uses Android intents and ADB key events.
• Playback depends on Stremio addons and may require manual source selection.
• The automatic center press occurs after a fixed 2.5-second delay and may miss the expected control.
• Playback metadata varies by Android device, OS version, and active player.
• Modern Wireless Debugging connection ports can change.
• The host must reach TMDB, Stremio, and the TV on the local network for their respective features.

Technical notes

The server opens these Stremio deep links through ADB:

Movie:  stremio:///detail/movie/{imdb_id}/{imdb_id}
Series: stremio:///detail/series/{imdb_id}/{imdb_id}:{season}:{episode}

Playback status is scoped to Stremio's media-session block. Claimed playing is corroborated with a started media AudioTrack for the session owner so Exo-player error / stale sessions are reported as stalled instead of healthy playback. Position is estimated from Android's monotonic playback clock only while playback is live, and duration may fall back to media-extractor diagnostics.

Playback stop verifies post-conditions (no active Stremio playback). When media-session stop is ignored, the server tries pause+back and, if needed, a bounded am force-stop com.stremio.one fallback, and reports failure if the session still plays.

Development

Credential-free checks use mocks and do not contact TMDB, Stremio, or an Android device:

uv sync --locked
uv run --locked python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
uv run --locked python -m compileall -q src tests
uv build

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the contribution workflow, CHANGELOG.md for release notes, and SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting and credential-redaction guidance.

server.json is the metadata published to the official MCP Registry for io.github.netixc/stremio-mcp.

Security

• Treat STREMIO_AUTH_KEY like a password; it permits library reads and writes.
• Network failures are logged and returned as a category, host, and status code only. Configured credentials and secret-bearing query strings are stripped from every log record and every error the server returns, including tracebacks and third-party HTTP request logs.
• ADB failures are logged and returned as a bounded category with guidance only, such as unreachable, unauthorized, offline, or timeout; device endpoints, raw ADB output, and command payloads are never logged or returned.
• Treat ADB authorization as device-control access and protect ~/.android/adbkey.
• Never post .env, MCP client configuration, auth keys, device IPs, or ADB keys in issues or logs.
• Review account and device mutations before approving them in your MCP client.
• Disable Wireless Debugging and revoke credentials when they are no longer needed.

License and disclaimer

Licensed under the MIT License.

This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stremio, TMDB, or Anthropic. It does not provide media or bypass Stremio addon requirements. Use it only with devices and accounts you are authorized to control.