Superpowers
Watch
Watch is a video player and library for the files already on your computer. It sorts them into movies, shows and series of lessons, remembers where you stopped, and can also play live TV lists, anime from your AniList, and servers or add-ons you connect yourself.
Where it is
Superpowers › Watch. To turn it off or on: Settings › Integrations › Watch, switch Enable Watch. Watch’s own settings open from Watch settings at the bottom of its sidebar.
How to use it
- Open Watch and click Choose a video folder. Watch only reads the folder: nothing is renamed, moved or uploaded.
- Wait for the scan. Movies, shows and episodes are sorted by their file names.
- Click anything to play it. Continue watching on Home brings you back to where you stopped.
- You can also drop a folder, a file or a link on the window, or paste a video link to play it.
The sections
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Home | Continue watching, series in progress, Recently added and Up next. Customize reorders or hides the shelves. |
| Movies | Files named like Movie Name (2019) or Movie.Name.2019.1080p. |
| Shows | Episodes named like S01E02 or 1x02, or inside Season 1 folders, grouped by show and season, with Play next unwatched. |
| Series of lessons | Your own folders imported as numbered lessons, with progress per lesson (see below). |
| Folders | Your library as it is on disk, with Play folder, Mark all as watched and Scan again. |
| History | What you played and when, with search and Clear history. |
| Live TV | Channels from your own TV lists, with Groups, Favorites and a Guide. |
| Anime | Search AniList and, once connected, My list with episodes you can mark as watched. |
| Add-ons | Catalogs and streams from add-ons you installed. |
| Sources | Servers, TV lists, add-ons and accounts you connect. |
| Flashcards | Cards you made while watching, with spaced review. |
Series and lessons from your own folders
Drop a folder on the window and choose to import it as numbered lessons, or use the import button on Home. Subfolders become modules, lessons are numbered in order, and PDFs and code files stay attached to their lesson. Each lesson can be marked as watched, and the series shows how much is left.
Sources
Watch comes with nothing installed: it only uses sources you add, and each one says what it sends. You can turn a source off or remove it at any time.
| Source | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Jellyfin or Emby | Your own media server: libraries, Continue watching and Next up, with progress sent back. It talks only to your server, with your login. |
| IPTV list (M3U) | An M3U or M3U8 playlist from a link or a file, with an optional XMLTV guide. |
| IPTV login (Xtream) | Server, username and password from your TV provider. |
| Add-on | Catalogs and links from an add-on that uses the open Stremio protocol, installed by its manifest URL. |
| AniList | Your anime list, and episodes marked as watched as you go. You paste an access token from AniList; it stays on this computer. |
While a video plays
The side panel next to the player (T) has the tabs Lessons, Notes, Transcript and Ask AI:
- Lessons: the other videos in the same folder or series.
- Notes: press N to write a note 3 seconds back, or set an A-B range first. Save the frame adds a picture. Export Markdown saves all notes.
- Transcript: search the video’s lines and jump to them. Make one with AI transcribes it with the AI provider you set up (see AI provider).
- Ask AI: questions about the video, answered from its transcript, with Summary, Chapters and Quiz me modes. It also needs an AI provider.
Flashcards: press ⇧CShift+C or use the card button on a transcript line to make a card. Send to Anki works when Anki is open with the AnkiConnect add-on.
Cast to a TV sends the video to a Chromecast on the same Wi-Fi. While casting, Watch opens a local link with a one-time key so only the TV can reach it.
Private mode
Private mode, at the bottom of the sidebar, stops Watch from saving anything you play to history, Continue watching or lesson progress while it is on. Turn it off to go back to normal.
Options
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Watch | Shows Watch in Superpowers. | On |
| Folders | The folders Watch reads. Remove folder only takes it out of Watch. | None |
| Private mode | Nothing you watch is added to history, Continue watching or progress. | Off |
Shortcuts
Press ? while a video plays to see the full list. Click a key in that list and press a new one to change it; Reset brings the defaults back.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space or K | Play / pause |
| J / L | Back / forward 10 s |
| ← / → | Back / forward 5 s |
| ↑ / ↓ | Volume |
| M | Mute |
| F | Full screen |
| P | Picture in picture |
, / . |
Previous / next frame |
[ / ] / = |
Slower / faster / normal speed |
| S | Skip silence |
| C | Next subtitle track |
| G / H | Subtitles earlier / later |
| B | A-B loop |
| A / D / R | Previous line / next line / repeat line |
| U | Pause after each line |
| N | Note |
| ⇧CShift+C | Flashcard from this line |
| T | Side panel |
| I | Why is it playing like this? |
| ⇧NShift+N / ⇧PShift+P | Next / previous video |
Common problems
A folder shows as offline
The folder is on a drive that is not connected, or on a network share that is down. Nothing was removed: progress and notes come back when the folder is reachable again.
A file does not play
If Watch says ffmpeg was not found, only MP4 and WebM play. Install FFmpeg in Settings › Dependencies.
A source was turned off on its own
When a server stops answering, Watch turns it off to avoid waiting and keeps its settings. Turn it back on in Sources when the server is up.
An add-on finds no streams I can play
Watch refuses torrent, magnet, usenet and P2P links. The reason is shown under each refused stream.