A spin-off of Last Showing, for Plex
Home
Showing
A film a week from your own Plex library, picked for you.
Most of us have a Plex library full of films we meant to watch. Home Showing picks one for each week, four weeks ahead, from the ones you haven't seen. It uses the same taste model as Last Showing, and it knows Christmas films belong in December and horror in October.
Vibe coded, tested by hand. I built Home Showing with AI coding tools and use it for my own film nights. Not affiliated with Plex.
This week
Fri 16 Oct to Thu 22 OctThe Hollow Lantern
- Fri 23 OctA Small Inheritance4.1★
- Fri 30 OctNight of the Long Field4.0★
- Fri 6 NovThe Signal Box4.2★
The problem
Hundreds of films, nothing to watch
A big library makes choosing harder, not easier. You scroll, give up, and put on something you've seen before.
Home Showing makes the choice ahead of time, like a cinema programme for your living room. You know what Friday's film is, it suits the time of year, and if it doesn't suit tonight you can swap it.
How it picks
A new week starts each Friday. This week's film stays put; the weeks after are pencilled in.
- Step 1Only films you haven't seen
Anything in your Letterboxd diary, ratings or watched list, or already played in Plex, is left out.
- Step 2Scored for you
Last Showing's taste model predicts your rating for each film, with the reasons for and against.
- Step 3The time of year
Christmas films rise from late November, horror in October, summer films in summer. Out of season they're held back, so no summer film in January.
- Step 4Variety
Neighbouring weeks avoid the same director, overlapping genres and two very long films in a row.
Where you see the plan
| Place | What's there |
|---|---|
| Phone app | A web app you install from Chrome, showing this week and the next three. It keeps the last plan it saw when you're away from home. |
| Discord | One pinned message that edits itself when the plan changes, with Swap this week, Not for me and a Play in Plex link |
| Calendar | A feed with one event a week, which keeps its identity when you swap, so you don't get duplicates |
Watched is noticed by itself, from Plex or your Letterboxd diary. A film you didn't get to carries over to the next week while it's still in season. Swap puts a different film in that week, and Not for me means never again. Both can be undone.
What else it does
- Plans from 1 to 8 weeks ahead
- Seasonal lifts for Christmas, Halloween, summer, winter, New Year, Valentine's, Easter and Bonfire Night, with a setting to make them stronger or weaker
- Best match first: a Christmas film lands in the week before Christmas, not the first free week
- Extra weight for films on your Letterboxd watchlist and likely 4.5★ favourites
- Limit it to some of your Plex libraries
- A setup page that says whether Plex, Last Showing and Discord are working, and why not
- Its own Discord bot if you want one, or shares Last Showing's
- An optional password, and a JSON feed of the schedule for other apps
Coming soon
Home Showing isn't released yet. I'm living with it for a few weeks first, to get the picks, the seasons and the phone app right.
When it's ready, the code will be on GitHub under the MIT licence. It will run in Docker on your own computer next to Plex, and it needs Last Showing running too, because that's where its taste predictions come from.
What it needs
| Service | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Plex | Your film library and what you've played |
| Last Showing | Predicted ratings from your Letterboxd taste, and your diary |
| Discord (optional) | The pinned weekly message and its buttons |
No TMDB key of its own: Last Showing looks films up for it.
Questions
How do I decide what film to watch from my Plex library?
Home Showing decides for you, a week at a time. It picks films from your Plex library that you haven't seen, scores them against your Letterboxd taste, and plans one per week, four weeks ahead.
Does it suggest Christmas films at Christmas?
Yes. Christmas films rise from late November and peak in December, horror in October, and summer and wintry films in their seasons. Out of season they're held back.
Do I need Last Showing?
Yes. Home Showing gets its predicted ratings and your Letterboxd diary from Last Showing, so it needs Last Showing running on the same computer.
What if I don't watch this week's film?
It carries over to the next week while it's still in season, up to twice, then rests for a couple of months.
Can I change a pick?
Yes. Swap puts a different film in that week, and Not for me removes a film for good. Both can be undone.
Does it work with Jellyfin or Emby?
No. It reads your library from Plex.
Can I get it?
Not yet. It's coming soon, as free, open-source software (MIT licence) that runs on your own computer.
Is Home Showing affiliated with Plex?
No. It's an independent hobby project.
Was Home Showing written with AI?
Yes, it's vibe coded: written with AI coding tools, then tested by hand on a real Plex library.