StremThru

StremThru is not a "traditional" Stremio Addon - it's a collection of tools to add enhanced functionality to existing addons, and so can be used in a variety of ways, the most notable being:

Add additional debrid providers to other addons (public and private)
"Proxystream" from other addons, to avoid simultaneous-IP-use bans (private only)
Browse / search your own debrid catalogue in Stremio (public and private)
Re-order / temporarily deactivate your addons (public and private)

Get Elf Hosted StremThru!

Screenshot of StremThru

How do I access StremThru?

StremThru will be available from your dashboard (https://<username>.elfhosted.com>), or directly, at https://<username>-stremthru.elfhosted.com

How do I use StremThru?

Initial Setup (private instance)

Tip

The following is only required for private, ElfHosted instances

Setup STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH

STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH is your StremThru instance's user and password list, and is only required if you want to do proxy streaming.

You can serve multiple, different users from StremThru, or simply use a common user/password for all streaming.

Users are defined by using ElfBot to set the STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH environment variable, as in the following example, creating a user batman with password supermanisaweenie

elfbot env stremthru STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH=batman:supermanisaweenie

Or, a more comprehensive example, defining passwords for users batman, spiderman, and lexluthor:

elfbot env stremthru STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH=batman:supermanisaweenie,spiderman:ppmjforever,lexluthor:iwishihadhair

Note

StremThru will briefly restart after applying the env var.

Record your credentials (you'll need them later).

The credentials are then used in StremThru-compatible addons (including StremThru itself), to authorize access to your debrid providers (below)...

Setup STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH

Separately from your users, StremThru thinks of debrid providers as "stores". RealDebrid is a "store", AllDebrid is a "store", etc.

STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH is how you tie your users to your debrid providers.

Once again, a simple example for user batman with RealDebrid API key abcdef123456...

elfbot env stremthru STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH=batman:realdebrid:abcdef123456

And a more complicated example, where batman uses RealDebrid with API key abcdef123456, spiderman uses AllDebrid with API key ghijkl56789, and lexluthor uses TorBox with API key 98765dcba:

elfbot env stremthru STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH=batman:realdebrid:abcdef123456,spiderman:alldebrid:ghijkl56789,lexluthor:torbox:98765dcba

Note

StremThru will briefly restart after applying the env var.

Store

StremThru includes a catalogue addon, which makes your debrid library available in both the Discover and the Search sections of Stremio.

To install the catalogue addon, visit https://stremthru.elfhosted.com/stremio/store/ (or the equivalent on your private StremThru instance), pick your Store Name, and enter the appropriate token.

Tip

Picking StremThru as your Store Name will require your chosen user/pass combination from STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH (i.e., batman:supermanisaweenie) - in the backend, this combination is used to look up your debrid provider credentials (STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH). Unless you have unusual requirements (using public StremThru store with a private StremThru instance, for example), this is unnecessary.

Install the addon, and then find it in Stremio under Discover, or as a provider of search results.

Wrap

Adding extra debrid support to existing addons (public & private)

StremThru can "wrap" an addon which serves direct torrents (i.e. not debrid links), using its own knowledge of your debrid provider to download and serve the torrent.

To wrap an addon, go to the original addon, configure it with your preferred options, as if you wanted direct torrents (no debrid provider), and copy the installation URL (ending in .manifest.json).

Tip

If the installation URL starts with stremio://, you'll need to change it to https:// before it'll work with StremThru

In the case of a default TorrentIO installation, this URL would be https://torrentio.strem.fun/manifest.json

Go to https://stremthru.elfhosted.com/stremio/wrap/ (or the equivalent on your private, ElfHosted instance), and paste the URL into Upstream Manifest URL, as illustrated below:

Choose your debrid provider from Store Name, and enter the appropriate API token.

Tip

Using "StremThru" as a 'Store Name' is not necessary if you're wrapping with an existing debrid provider, and you don't want to do proxy-streaming. For proxy-streaming support, see the next section.

Click the Install button to add the wrapped addon to Stremio, or (after clicking) copy the manifest URL and paste it into Stremio manually.

That's it! When Stremio searches the wrapped addon, StremThru will request torrents from the original addon, and use your configured debrid provider to provide cached/uncached links for Stremio to consume.

Adding proxystreaming support to existing addons (private)

With one variation, the process above can be used to provide "proxy streaming" support to existing addons. When adding proxystreaming, you'll need to have configured STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH and STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH as described above, and you'll need an ElfHosted private instance.

Proceed with "wrapping" the addon as described above, but for Store Name, choose StremThru, instead of the actual debrid provider.

In Store Token, enter your chosen user/pass combination from STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH (i.e., batman:supermanisaweenie) - in the backend, this combination is used to look up your debrid provider credentials (STREMTHRU_STORE_AUTH), and to generate the streaming link, which will appear, to the provider, as coming from the source IP of your StremThru instance.

You can now use the "wrapped" addon across multiple devices in multiple locations at once, and avoid inadvertent account bans for simultaneous source IP streaming.

Tip

Use this process with multiple addons (or multiple STREMTHRU_PROXY_AUTH users) to combine all streaming from your StremThru instance

Sidekick

StremThru also includes "Sidekick", a simple interface to the Stremio API, which allows you to re-order your existing addons, or even temporarily disable them (say, if they're under maintenance) without uninstalling them.

To use Sidekick, it's currently required that you pass your Stremio username/password to the addon. Other authentication mechanisms (tokens, etc) are coming in future updates. Users with concerns re the security of the credentials should review the source code, or avoid using Sidekick.

To launch Sidekick, visit https://stremthru.elfhosted.com/stremio/sidekick/, or the equivalent URL on your private instance.

How do I get support for StremThru?

For general use of StremThru, refer to the official site or to one of the links below.
For specific support re your ElfHosted configuration / account, see the ElfHosted support options!

StremThru resources

StremThru (official site)

What users say..

Here's what some of our ~~users~~friends say..

I am new here, but today I learned realized that Elfhosted is one of the best free and open source software communities I've seen, and FOSS communities have been at the center of my life since the 90s (Perl, PHP, Symfony, Drupal, Ethereum, etc.). Great open software built by great people who care = great community, and that is something special.

You've done an amazing job @Funky Penguelf with the platform you provide and this place has an awesome mix of active community caretakers and software creators that I've seen here so far like BSM, Spoked, LayeZee and other elf vengers. Keep up the energy, productivity and community and take time to enjoy it and appreciate each other!

@skwah (Discord)

I self host and share a fully automated ‘arr stack with Plex. Been doing so for around 4 years. Also recently got into real debrid and hosting a Comet and Annatar for Stremio. The amount of time and head banging I’ve put into it is in the hundreds to thousands of hours. From setting it up to keeping it running smoothly. Let’s not forget the cost of my server and how much it cost to keep it running.

Anyway I wanted to see what ElfHosted was about to compare. Yeah I had the whole thing setup in just a few hours. It also passes the headache of maintaining it to ElfHosted. Will I keep it no because nerdy things and maintaining my server are my hobby and quirky passion project. Will I recommend it to my friends who don’t have the money up front to buy a server, the knowledge to maintain it or desire.

Just my server alone was $2k. Power cost to keep it on yearly is $250ish, annual memberships to RD, Usenet and indexers are around $100. Then whatever a value my free time at. Which is currently at minimum my hourly pay at work or more. Yeah so take the monthly cost of all that and compare to ElfHosted Ultimate Stream package at $39 monthly, add RD to the cost and get nearly all your time back is incredibly cheap.

Lastly it seems like a lot of people forget how quickly an ultimate cable package used to cost. Or how quick paying for every stream service would add up to. Which when using ElfHosted with RD is essentially and more what you get. Quick hint it’s far above the asking price.

/u/MMag05. (Reddit)

As a happy Elfhosted customer—who also self hosts MANY things across about 10 severs (dedicated, VPSes, and VMs running on Synology), I wouldn’t switch to self hosting the services I get from Elfhosted. They just work with very little effort configuring things, and the support the owner and his team provides is second to none. Plus I love being part of a fledgling—but quickly growing—enterprise.

/u/jatguy. (Reddit)

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I just love the simplicity and the fact that things just work. For years I've ran a home server and between the constant maintenance and always upgrading harddrives, it became apparent I wanted to make it easier on my self. Enter ElfHosted.

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@.theycallmebob. (Discord)

I’ve been using this service for a while now, and honestly, it’s a game-changer compared to anything else I’ve tried for managing my media library. The support is fantastic—super quick, and if the staff aren’t around (which rarely happens), the community steps up right away. I can’t imagine going back to any other platform.

Before this, I had my own setup with a NUC, NAS, and tools like Sonarr and Radarr. It worked pretty well for a while, and my internet speed was high enough to stream without any buffering. But in the end, it wasn’t worth the time or headache of managing all the storage and keeping everything running smoothly.

Now, with this service, everything runs smoothly in 1080p+ with no buffering issues. The interface is really easy to use, which makes managing everything a breeze. Plus, having a whole community of smart people available for guidance is a huge bonus.

I was sold from the start, which is why I quickly upgraded from a 1-month to a 3-month subscription, and I’m planning to switch to a 1-year plan soon. This service totally pays for itself, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. It’s been really impressive.

@seapound (Discord)

Best possible options for anyone looking for the do-it-all option along with the best customer service ive experienced in this space so far. Id rate it a 6 if I could but its limited to 5/5...

@hashmelters (Discord)

(responding to a Reddit thread re the cost of ElfHosted vs mainstream streaming / self-hosting):

I didn't know that the goal of this project was to compete with large companies running/renting entire DCs. I was under the impression that the goal of this project was to manage the updating of almost selfhosted applications on a shared platform with other users. Basically, be my sysadmin for me.

That being said, paying for services is the 'easy button'. There is a real world cost incurred for the time saved. Time is money. Time is the most valuable currency that exists. Once time is spent, it's forever lost, one cannot retrieve it again (yet). In my mind, there are 3 options for use of time with respect to: mainstream, selfhosting, elfhosted.

mainstream - my time is valuable and I don't want curated content and I don't care what content that I have the ability to consume. I only like what's popular.

elfhosted - my time is valuable, I want my own curated content without being forced to browse past the same damn entry 500 times just to find out that I can't watch the movie I want because it's not available in my current location or was removed last week from mainstream providers.

selfhost - I care about costs and I have nothing but time to waste or I want to learn about the backend of the systems involved. I'll pay for my own VPS/homelab, electricity, manage the OS, manage app updates, figure out how to make the apps talk nice to each other, create my own beautiful frontend.

I know how much my time is worth, does that reddit poster know how much their time is worth? Without knowing what you are worth, you can't make effective capital expenditures with respect to the time it will take to recoup the capital.

I know I don't need elfhosted at all for my use case. I choose to stay with elfhosted because it's my 'easy button'. It's an efficient capital expense for the amount of time it saves me managing my own hardware, apps and saves me electricity costs. I'm also in a situation where I don't have upload bandwidth from my home to serve HD content to myself remotely. If I lived back in a city, I would still be here. My time is worth $$/hr.

@cobra2 (Discord)

"Just wanted to check in here and let @Darth-Penguini and anyone/everyone else know...WOW. I have been struggling with storage for years, maintenance of Docker containers, upkeep, all of it. Elfhosted is so freeing. It's an amazing service that I hope to be a member of for a long, long time!"

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"I just have to say, I am an incredibly satisfied customer. I had been collecting my own content for nearly 20 years. Starting off with just a simple external HD before eventually graduating to a seedbox with 100TB of cloud storage attached and fully automated processes with Sonarr and Radarr . However, the time came when the glory days of unlimited Google Drive storage ended. I thought my days of having my full collection at my fingertips via :plex: were behind me, until I found Real-Debrid and ElfHosted.

Now I essentially have the exact same access to content as I had before, but even better. Superior support and community involvement. Content is available almost immediately after being identified. A plethora of tools at my fingertips that give me more control and automation than ever before. Wonderfully well done and impressive! I am looking forward to being a customer for a very long time! Massive kudos to @funkypenguin 🤟

@BSM (Discord)

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Zestyclose_Teacher20 (Reddit)

"thanks for the help and must say this is the best host I every had for my server 🙂 10/10 🙂 All other places I have try have I got a lot buff etc. Your host can even give me full power on a 4K Remux on 200GB big movie file . That's damn awesome 😄"

@tjelite (Discord)

"What an amazing support system these guys have Chris and Layzee i think it was! Both are very patient with me even though I am a newbie at all this. Very thorough and explained everything step by step with me

I couldn’t ask for anything better than the service I have received by these guys! Happy happy client❤️"

@dead.potahto (Discord)

"Very happy customer. Great service"

@ronney67 (Discord)

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@ed.guim (Discord)

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@alon.hearter (Discord)

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@dead.potahto (Discord)

"@BSM went above and beyond to make sure I had all the one on one support needed with my sub. Thank you for your patience! Elfhosted continues to be Elftastic !!"

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"really enjoying the service from elfhosted. The setup is really easy from the guides on the website. And the help on the discord channel is really quick."

@jrhd13 (Discord)