What is sharebox?

ShareBox is a PHP-based media server for streaming videos and sharing files by link, without the overhead of traditional media servers. It skips library scanning, uses SQLite instead of a database server, and requires no viewer accounts. Video transcoding happens on-the-fly via ffmpeg with three automatic modes: direct play for H.264/MP4, remux for H.264/MKV, and full transcode for HEVC/AV1. GPU acceleration works with Intel VAAPI, NVIDIA NVENC, and Raspberry Pi V4L2M2M. The UI includes a poster grid using TMDB metadata, a custom player with subtitles and quality options, a PDF reader, an audiobook player, password-protected share links with expiry, and an admin dashboard. It runs on minimal hardware — 256 MB RAM or a Raspberry Pi 4 — and deploys via Docker Compose, a one-line installer, or manual setup.

Should you self-host sharebox?

sharebox scores 38/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #48 of 54 in Media Streaming. It has 28 GitHub stars.

It shipped 2 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v5.1.0, came out on 20 June 2026. New versions land roughly every 4 weeks.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in JavaScript.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Jellyfin (88/100, 58 737 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See sharebox vs Jellyfin side by side.