# Installation

Three steps to get started:

1. **Install requirements** — mpv and a few optional extras
2. **Install SubMiner** — from the AUR, or download from GitHub Releases
3. **Launch the app** — first-run setup walks you through dictionaries, the launcher, and everything else

## 1. Install Requirements

Only **mpv** is strictly required to run SubMiner. Everything else enhances the experience but is optional.

| Dependency           | Status      | What it does                                                                                                    |
| -------------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| mpv                  | Required    | The video player SubMiner overlays on. Must support `--input-ipc-server`.                                       |
| ffmpeg               | Recommended | Audio extraction and screenshots for Anki cards. Without it SubMiner still runs, but media fields will be empty. |
| MeCab + mecab-ipadic | Recommended | Part-of-speech filtering for more precise N+1, JLPT, and frequency annotations. Without it annotations still render, but POS-based filtering is less accurate. |
| yt-dlp               | Optional    | YouTube playback and subtitle extraction.                                                                       |
| fzf                  | Optional    | Terminal-based video picker in the launcher.                                                                     |
| rofi                 | Optional    | GUI-based video picker (Linux).                                                                                  |
| chafa                | Optional    | Thumbnail previews in fzf.                                                                                       |
| ffmpegthumbnailer    | Optional    | Video thumbnail generation for the picker.                                                                       |
| guessit              | Optional    | Better AniSkip title/season/episode parsing.                                                                     |
| alass                | Optional    | Subtitle sync engine (preferred). Disabled without alass or ffsubsync.                                           |
| ffsubsync            | Optional    | Subtitle sync engine (fallback). Disabled without alass or ffsubsync.                                            |
| fuse2                | Linux only  | Required to run the AppImage.                                                                                    |

### Linux

**Window backend** — you need one of these depending on your compositor:

- **Hyprland** — native Wayland support (uses `hyprctl`)
- **Sway** — native Wayland support (uses `swaymsg`)
- **X11 / Xwayland** — for X11 sessions or any other Wayland compositor (uses `xdotool` and `xwininfo`)

::: warning Wayland support is compositor-specific
Wayland has no universal API for window positioning — each compositor exposes its own IPC, so SubMiner needs a dedicated backend per compositor. Only Hyprland and Sway have native Wayland backends. If you run a different Wayland compositor (GNOME, KDE Plasma, river, etc.), both mpv **and** SubMiner must run under X11 or Xwayland. The `subminer` launcher handles this automatically when `--backend x11` is set or the X11 backend is auto-detected.
:::

<details>
<summary><b>Arch Linux</b></summary>

```bash
sudo pacman -S --needed mpv ffmpeg
# Recommended
sudo pacman -S --needed mecab mecab-ipadic
# Optional
sudo pacman -S --needed yt-dlp fzf rofi chafa ffmpegthumbnailer
# Optional: subtitle sync (at least one needed for subtitle syncing)
paru -S --needed alass python-ffsubsync
# X11 / Xwayland (required for non-Hyprland/Sway compositors)
sudo pacman -S --needed xdotool xorg-xwininfo
```

</details>

<details>
<summary><b>Ubuntu / Debian</b></summary>

```bash
sudo apt install mpv ffmpeg
# Recommended
sudo apt install mecab libmecab-dev mecab-ipadic-utf8
# Optional
sudo apt install yt-dlp fzf rofi chafa ffmpegthumbnailer
# X11 / Xwayland (required for non-Hyprland/Sway compositors)
sudo apt install xdotool x11-utils
# Optional: subtitle sync
pip install ffsubsync
# alass is not in apt — install via cargo: cargo install alass-cli
```

</details>

<details>
<summary><b>Fedora</b></summary>

```bash
sudo dnf install mpv ffmpeg
# Recommended
sudo dnf install mecab mecab-ipadic
# Optional
sudo dnf install yt-dlp fzf rofi chafa ffmpegthumbnailer
# X11 / Xwayland (required for non-Hyprland/Sway compositors)
sudo dnf install xdotool xorg-x11-utils
# Optional: subtitle sync
pip install ffsubsync
# alass: cargo install alass-cli
```

</details>

### macOS

macOS 10.13 or later. Accessibility permission is required for window tracking (see [step 2](#macos-dmg)).

```bash
brew install mpv ffmpeg
# Recommended
brew install mecab mecab-ipadic
# Optional
brew install yt-dlp fzf chafa ffmpegthumbnailer
# Optional: subtitle sync
brew install alass
pip install ffsubsync
```

### Windows

Windows 10 or later. Install [`mpv`](https://mpv.io/installation/) and [`ffmpeg`](https://ffmpeg.org/download.html) and ensure both are on `PATH`. Optionally install [MeCab for Windows](https://taku910.github.io/mecab/#download) with the UTF-8 dictionary.

No compositor tools or window helpers are needed — native window tracking is built in.

## 2. Install SubMiner

### Arch Linux (AUR) {#arch-aur}

Install [`subminer-bin`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/subminer-bin) from the AUR. The package includes the SubMiner AppImage and the `subminer` launcher.

```bash
paru -S subminer-bin
```

Or manually:

```bash
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/subminer-bin.git
cd subminer-bin
makepkg -si
```

### Linux (AppImage) {#linux-appimage}

Download the latest AppImage from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest):

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
wget https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest/download/SubMiner.AppImage -O ~/.local/bin/SubMiner.AppImage
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/SubMiner.AppImage
```

::: tip Launcher install is optional
First-run setup can install [Bun](https://bun.sh) and the `subminer` command-line launcher for you automatically. You don't need to download the launcher separately.

If you prefer to install it manually, see [manual launcher install](#manual-launcher-install-linux).
:::

### macOS (DMG) {#macos-dmg}

Download the DMG from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest), open it, and drag `SubMiner.app` into `/Applications`. A ZIP artifact is also available as a fallback.

**Gatekeeper:** If macOS blocks SubMiner on first launch, right-click the app and select **Open** to bypass the warning. Alternatively:

```bash
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SubMiner.app
```

**Accessibility permission:** Grant accessibility permission so the overlay can track the mpv window:

1. Open **System Settings** → **Privacy & Security** → **Accessibility**
2. Enable SubMiner in the list (add it if it does not appear)

::: tip Launcher install is optional
First-run setup can install [Bun](https://bun.sh) and the `subminer` command-line launcher for you automatically. You don't need to download the launcher separately.

If you prefer to install it manually, see [manual launcher install](#manual-launcher-install-macos).
:::

### Windows (Installer) {#windows-installer}

Download the latest installer from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest):

- `SubMiner-<version>.exe` — installer (recommended)
- `SubMiner-<version>.zip` — portable fallback

Make sure `mpv.exe` is on your `PATH`, or set `mpv.executablePath` in the config during first-run setup.

### From Source

<details>
<summary><b>Linux</b></summary>

```bash
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner.git
cd SubMiner
bun install
bun run build

# Optional: build AppImage
bun run build:appimage
```

Bundled Yomitan is built during `bun run build`.

</details>

<details>
<summary><b>macOS</b></summary>

```bash
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner.git
cd SubMiner
git submodule update --init --recursive
make build-macos
```

The built app will be in the `release` directory (`.dmg` and `.zip`). For unsigned local builds: `bun run build:mac:unsigned`.

</details>

<details>
<summary><b>Windows</b></summary>

```powershell
git clone https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner.git
cd SubMiner
bun install

# Windows requires building texthooker-ui manually before the main build
Set-Location vendor/texthooker-ui
bun install --frozen-lockfile
bun run build
Set-Location ../..

bun run build:win
```

</details>

## 3. Launch & First-Run Setup

Launch SubMiner and the setup wizard will open automatically:

```bash
# Linux (AUR install)
subminer app --setup

# Linux (AppImage directly)
~/.local/bin/SubMiner.AppImage --setup

# macOS — launch SubMiner.app from /Applications, or:
subminer app --setup
```

On **Windows**, just run `SubMiner.exe` — the setup wizard opens automatically on first launch.

The setup wizard walks you through:

- **Config file** — auto-created at `~/.config/SubMiner/config.jsonc` (Linux/macOS) or `%APPDATA%\SubMiner\config.jsonc` (Windows)
- **Yomitan dictionaries** — import at least one dictionary so word lookups work
- **Bun + `subminer` launcher** _(optional)_ — installs the command-line launcher into a writable PATH directory
- **Windows shortcut** _(Windows only)_ — create a `SubMiner mpv` Start Menu/Desktop shortcut

The `Finish setup` button requires a config file and at least one Yomitan dictionary. Bun and the launcher are optional and never block setup completion.

> [!TIP]
> You can re-open the setup wizard at any time with `subminer app --setup` or `SubMiner.AppImage --setup`.

### Play a Video

Once setup is complete:

```bash
subminer video.mkv
```

You should see the overlay appear over mpv. If subtitles are loaded, they will appear as interactive text in the overlay.

On **Windows**, the recommended way to play video is with the **SubMiner mpv** shortcut created during setup — double-click it, or drag a video file onto it.

### Verify Setup

Run the built-in diagnostic to confirm everything is working:

```bash
subminer doctor
```

This checks for the app binary, mpv, ffmpeg, config file, and socket path. Fix any failures before continuing.

## Anki Setup (Recommended)

If you plan to mine Anki cards:

1. Install [Anki](https://apps.ankiweb.net/)
2. Install [AnkiConnect](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2055492159) — open Anki → **Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons** → enter code `2055492159`
3. Restart Anki and keep it running while using SubMiner

AnkiConnect listens on `http://127.0.0.1:8765` by default. SubMiner connects automatically with no extra config needed.

For enrichment configuration (sentence, audio, screenshot fields), see [Anki Integration](/anki-integration).

## Updates

```bash
subminer -u
# or
subminer --update
```

SubMiner verifies AppImage, launcher, and rofi theme downloads against `SHA256SUMS.txt`. If the binary is in a protected path, SubMiner shows the exact command to run rather than elevating itself.

On Linux, `subminer -u` performs the AppImage update from the launcher process directly.

On macOS, tray update checks can also update the app automatically through Electron's built-in updater.

## How It All Fits Together

SubMiner is an overlay that sits on top of mpv. It connects to mpv through an IPC socket, renders subtitles as interactive text using a bundled Yomitan dictionary engine, and optionally creates Anki flashcards via AnkiConnect.

The `subminer` launcher handles mpv IPC socket setup automatically. If you launch mpv yourself or from another tool, you must pass `--input-ipc-server=/tmp/subminer-socket` (or `\\.\pipe\subminer-socket` on Windows) — without it the overlay starts but subtitles won't appear.

The bundled mpv plugin is injected at runtime automatically — you don't need to install it separately. It provides in-player keybindings (the `y` chord) for controlling the overlay from within mpv. See [MPV Plugin](/mpv-plugin) for the full keybinding and configuration reference.

## Platform Notes

### macOS

**MeCab paths (Homebrew):**
- Apple Silicon (M1/M2): `/opt/homebrew/bin/mecab`
- Intel: `/usr/local/bin/mecab`

Ensure `mecab` is available on your PATH when launching SubMiner.

**Fullscreen:** The overlay should appear correctly in fullscreen. If you encounter issues, check that accessibility permissions are granted.

### Windows

- The **SubMiner mpv** shortcut is the recommended way to launch playback. It starts `mpv.exe` with the right IPC socket and subtitle defaults.
- First-run setup adds only `%LOCALAPPDATA%\SubMiner\bin` to the HKCU user PATH. It does not add `SubMiner.exe` to PATH.
- IPC socket on Windows is `\\.\pipe\subminer-socket` — do not use `/tmp/subminer-socket`.
- Config is stored at `%APPDATA%\SubMiner\config.jsonc`.

## Manual Launcher Install

The `subminer` launcher uses a [Bun](https://bun.sh) shebang, so Bun must be installed. First-run setup can handle this automatically, but if you prefer to do it yourself:

### Linux {#manual-launcher-install-linux}

```bash
# Install Bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Download the launcher
wget https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest/download/subminer -O ~/.local/bin/subminer
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/subminer
```

### macOS {#manual-launcher-install-macos}

```bash
# Install Bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Download the launcher
sudo curl -fSL https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest/download/subminer -o /usr/local/bin/subminer
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/subminer
```

## Optional Extras

### Rofi Theme (Linux Only)

SubMiner ships a custom rofi theme in the release assets:

```bash
wget https://github.com/ksyasuda/SubMiner/releases/latest/download/subminer-assets.tar.gz -O /tmp/subminer-assets.tar.gz
tar -xzf /tmp/subminer-assets.tar.gz -C /tmp
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/SubMiner/themes
cp /tmp/assets/themes/subminer.rasi ~/.local/share/SubMiner/themes/subminer.rasi
```

Override with `SUBMINER_ROFI_THEME=/absolute/path/to/theme.rasi`.

Next: [Usage](/usage) — learn about the `subminer` wrapper, keybindings, and YouTube playback.