Support

Cathode is a player — it ships empty until you add a server. Open Settings → Sources → Add Source and pick your type:

• Xtream Codes — server URL, username and password.
• M3U / XMLTV — a playlist URL (and optionally an EPG/XMLTV URL for the guide).
• Jellyfin or Emby — your server address and login.
• Plex — sign in and Cathode discovers your servers.

Cathode connects to your servers directly. Your URLs and passwords are stored in the Keychain on your device — never sent to us.

On Apple TV, you can type a source in, or send all your sources from your iPhone or iPad: the TV shows an address to open on the phone, and the transfer stays on your home network, encrypted with a passphrase you type on the TV.

Yes. Cathode ships with a free demo source — a handful of live channels with a guide, and a sample Jellyfin library of films and series — so you can explore the whole interface before adding anything of your own.

Cathode plays exactly what your source hands it, so this usually means that particular stream is down at the source rather than a bug in the app. A few things to try:

• Try the channel again in a few seconds — Cathode retries automatically and will fail over to another copy of the same channel (HD/FHD/4K/SD) if one exists in your sources.
• Check the same stream plays in your provider's own player or on your server.
• If you have more than one source with the same channel, make sure both are added — failover can only reach sources you've loaded.

Still stuck? Tell us on Discord or by email with the channel name and source type.

Cathode is built on VLC, so it handles far more formats than most players. If something buffers or a track is wrong:

• Buffering is most often bandwidth between you and the server — try a lower-quality copy of the channel, or the same stream on Wi-Fi.
• Use the player controls to switch audio track or subtitles if the default isn't the one you want.
• If a specific file plays wrong every time, that's worth reporting — tell us the source type and, if you can, the format/codec.

Guide data comes from your source, not from us:

• M3U: the guide comes from an XMLTV/EPG URL — either one you add alongside the playlist, or one the playlist names itself. If neither exists, channels show without program information.
• Xtream: Cathode pulls the guide from your provider — coverage depends on what they publish per channel.
• If channel names look right but the guide is on the wrong channel, the provider's tvg-id tags are usually the cause.

For Jellyfin, Emby and Plex, your server is the source of truth — watched ticks, progress bars and Continue Watching mirror it across devices. If it's not updating, confirm you're signed in and the same item plays back on the server itself. For Xtream/M3U, progress is kept on the device.

Movies and episodes from Jellyfin, Emby and Plex can be saved to the iPhone or iPad from their detail page and watched offline. Downloads resume after an interruption; if one seems stuck, deleting and re-adding it usually clears it.

Use Settings → export a backup. The file is encrypted with a passphrase only you know, so keep that passphrase safe — without it the backup can't be restored. Import it on the new device to bring your sources across.

Cathode has no account and no backend of ours — your server URLs and passwords live in the Keychain on your device, and the app talks to your servers directly. See the full privacy policy for details.