#castlab — Public Fediverse posts

If you're tired of using proprietary software and devices to cast media to your TV, did you know there is an open source protocol called #FCast?

#CastLab, an app that I maintain, works with this protocol. It is only available on #FDroid: https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab/

More about FCast: https://fcast.org/

Don't hesitate to take back control. The app also works with #Kodi and any other device supporting #DLNA.

I created #CastLab after coming back from holidays. I just wanted to cast my media to my TV and could not find a simple open source app for that, so I built one.

It has grown since: it supports #Kodi and the open source #FCast protocol. I was even surprised to see it also used to cast music to network speakers.

I will keep working on your feedback. Only on #FDroid, but it could be brought to #iOS if people are interested (through #AltStorePAL).

https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab

To everyone who appreciates my work: I do need your financial support to keep going.

The server is 56 euros/month (Hetzner changed their prices), plus around 6/month for the backup server, and also simply paying for food and bills.

Your contributions help #Fedilab, #HolosSocial, #CastLab, #UntrackMe, and the other projects I maintain alone.
That's why your support matters, it keeps me here:

https://tom79.dev/support/

Thank you for considering it if you can :)

When I started building with React Native and Expo, it became much harder to write the recipe to be available on #FDroid.

#CastLab was my first one, with the help of maintainers. The last build of #HolosSocial failed (it happens with Expo upgrades). An F-Droid maintainer warned me first on my repo. Before I could act, they made the changes to the recipe so new builds were possible, and silently closed the issue.

Just a thank you to the #FDroid team, they help users and devs alike!

#HolosSocial will soon be available on #AltStore PAL, which means no computer needed to install it. https://altstore.io/
I will also publish #CastLab on iOS through AltStore PAL.

I have no way to know exactly how an app I work on is used. But recently, I noticed that the previous release of #CastLab (1.4.0, 1.5.0 was published today) got more than 500 downloads of the APK on #Codeberg though it is also available on #FDroid. That is close to what #Fedilab does.
Quite a surprise for an app that I initially built to cast my videos and pictures after vacations and hoped it could interest others :)

#CastLab 1.5.0 is available. You can now control playback and use the seek bar directly from the casting notification and the lock screen. I also fixed an issue where casting would stop when the app went to the background, so your media keeps playing while you do other things.

Release notes: https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab/releases/tag/1.5.0

I worked on fixing the connection to the TV or device when the app is in background. I also took some time to rework the notification when casting media. I should be able to publish this update tomorrow.

#CastLab

Did you know that I also maintain #CastLab, an open source app that casts your local photos, videos and audio, plus videos from the web, to DLNA/UPnP and #FCast receivers, or to a USB-C external screen. Most smart TVs support DLNA. Screen mirroring is also supported.

You can create playlists, filter media by type and date, and extract videos from web pages.

Available only on #FDroid (iOS possible if there is interest).

https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab/

#CastLab 1.4.0 is available. This release adds a Simplified Chinese translation and improves #FCast playback, so playlists now advance to the next item automatically.

Release notes: https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab/releases/tag/1.4.0

This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum.

Welcome to this week’s The Programmer’s Fulcrum.

It’s your weekly curation of the essential news in the Open Media Network and Fediverse development communities with a focus on devastating big tech via Techno Anarchism.

As usual, we aim to provide actionable content you can use to destroy Techno Feudalism each week. It has the additional […]

The fundraiser for a new computer is still ongoing.

https://ko-fi.com/tom79

This machine is what keeps #HolosSocial, #Fedilab, #Castlab and #Fediplan moving forward on Android, iOS, and soon #Holos on macOS, Windows and Linux, from a single codebase. The current setup is reaching its limits.

Full story:
https://ko-fi.com/post/A-new-computer-to-keep-building-for-every-platform-B0B61ZONP2

Every contribution helps, and sharing helps too :). Thank you.

Fedilab has opened a nodebb forum

https://piefed.social/c/fediverse/p/2050134/fedilab-has-opened-a-nodebb-forum

Following the recommendations I got, I set up a #NodeBB forum to discuss the projects #Fedilab, #Holos, #CastLab and #Fedle.

Each category federates over #ActivityPub, so you can follow it directly from your Fediverse account: @fedilab, @holos, @castlab, @fedle.

More details: https://forum.fedilab.app/post/2

#CastLab supports #FCast because it is an open source casting protocol, built as an alternative to Chromecast and AirPlay. You install the receiver app on a TV or computer (Android TV, Linux, Windows, macOS) and cast to it from CastLab.
Unlike DLNA, which depends on your TV, FCast can be installed on any supported device. Both are open and complement each other well.

More about FCast: https://github.com/futo-org/fcast

#CastLab 1.3.0 is available.

This release adds UPnP embedded device discovery (improves detection of devices like Sonos One) with a full #FCast protocol v3 opcode support.
It also fixes casting on some receivers with special characters in filenames.

Full release notes: https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab/releases/tag/1.3.0

I will work on the #CastLab issue tracker soon.
https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab/issues

Did you know that #CastLab is an open source app that lets you cast pictures, videos and audio to your TV?

It uses the #DLNA protocol and is designed to be easy to use without any technical knowledge. It automatically detects devices, and you can cast entire albums or create your own playlists.
Available on #FDroid and soon on #Altstore

https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab

Source code: https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab

#CastLab 1.2.0 has been released on #FDroid.

This version improves device discovery by listening for network announcements from TVs that were previously missed. It also warns when a video format may not be supported by the target device.

Several casting issues have been fixed, including compatibility with Macast and PeerTube on strict DLNA devices.

https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab/releases/tag/1.2.0

Today I subscribed to an #iOS dev account. The first app available is #HolosSocial (TestFlight - @HolosSocial).
Two other apps will follow: #CastLab (https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab) and #FediPlan (https://codeberg.org/tom79/FediplanApp)

Did you know that, we also build #CastLab? An open-source app to cast your photos, videos and audio to your TV or any DLNA/UPnP and FCast device. Create playlists, filter your media and prepare your viewing sessions. No Google Cast, no cloud, just your local network.
Only available on #FDroid: https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab/

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) is live:

* Basic 2.0-alpha5 with faster UI feedback (no need for Developer mode)
* #keyboard in the news
* #aTalk brings #OMEMO 2 to #XMPP on #Android
* #Briar keeps Tor secure (no tricks)
* #CastLab w/ #FCast and more (no need to restart)
* #K9Mail #Thunderbird w/ avatars (after 7 days too)
* #LabCoat #Gitlab login
* #SessionMessenger help funding
+ 15 new apps
& 212 updates

You can read now: https://f-droid.org/2026/03/19/twif.html

One should not have to wait 24h for #FLOSS apps!

Thank you for your support through #Liberapay.
https://liberapay.com/tom79
The page does not yet reflect all current projects. #CastLab and #HolosSocial will be added.

#CastLab 1.1.0 has been published
Main additions:

#FCast protocol support, Android screen sharing, M3U/M3U8 playlists, USB-C display output, and improved #DLNA discovery (some TVs were not discovered).

More about this release: https://codeberg.org/tom79/CastLab/releases/tag/1.1.0

Already available on our custom #FDroid repo.

The next release of #CastLab will support the #FCast protocol https://fcast.org/

More about CastLab: https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab/

We received several requests to enhance #CastLab, an open source app to cast your photos, videos, and audio to DLNA/UPnP devices like your TV or Kodi.
That will be done. More about this project: https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab

#castlab is in my iconpack now

@castlab

This week, on their community news #FDroid wrote some words about #CastLab

https://f-droid.org/2025/10/17/twif.html

This week in #FDroid (TWIF) is cast live:

* #Taler real-world usage
* #Castlab to your #DLNA
* #Ente + #Tuta = <3
* #TesselGame mania
* #VirtualGamePad on Linux now
+ 8 new apps
& 189 updates

Fill the board: https://f-droid.org/2025/10/17/twif.html

#castlab #art #mastoart #fdroid

https://f-droid.org/packages/app.fedilab.castlab/

Cast gallery media to DLNA/UPnP devices with playlist support

@fdroidorg

hosted on @Codeberg

dev @castlab