Watch Movies in Your Terminal (MovieBox-Tui)

Streaming movies normally means opening a browser, dealing with multiple tabs, popups, redirects, heavy web players, and enough distractions to make simply watching something feel like unpaid labor.

But what if you could search for movies, TV shows, anime, and even live TV directly from your terminal?

Meet MovieBox TUI, a lightweight terminal application that lets you search, stream, and download media without needing to keep a browser open. It works on Windows, Linux, macOS, and even Android through Termux.

The project is open source and available on GitHub:

https://github.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-TUI

Why You Should Use MovieBox TUI

MovieBox TUI gives you most of what you would expect from a streaming interface, except everything happens inside your terminal.

You can:

• Watch movies, TV shows, and anime.
• Watch live TV using IPTV.
• Search across multiple supported sources.
• Play videos using local players such as mpv, VLC, or IINA.
• Download individual episodes.
• Download complete seasons.
• Resume interrupted downloads without starting again.
• Automatically save and organize downloaded movies and series. There is also no account or login required by MovieBox TUI itself.

What You Need

Before installing MovieBox TUI, make sure you have:

• A stable internet connection.
• A supported media player such as mpv, VLC, or IINA.
• A supported Windows, Linux, macOS, or Android system.
• Termux if you are installing it on Android.

Now we can get it running.

How to Install MovieBox TUI

Windows

Windows has an automated PowerShell installer, which saves you from manually moving executables around and arguing with your PATH.

Before installing MovieBox TUI, I recommend installing mpv as your media player. The easiest way to do this on Windows is with Scoop.

Step 1: Open PowerShell

Open PowerShell from the Start menu.

Step 2: Install mpv

If you do not already have Scoop installed, run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://get.scoop.sh | Invoke-Expression

Once Scoop is installed, add the extras bucket:

scoop bucket add extras

Then install mpv:

scoop install extras/mpv

You can confirm that mpv installed correctly with:

mpv --version

MovieBox TUI should now be able to automatically use mpv when you select something to watch.

Step 3: Install MovieBox TUI

In PowerShell, run:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui/main/install.ps1 | iex

The installer automatically downloads the correct version for your system.

Step 4: Start MovieBox TUI

Once installation finishes, open a new terminal and run:

moviebox-tui

If Windows SmartScreen warns you about an unknown publisher during installation, you may need to select More info → Run anyway.

That is it. MovieBox TUI should now open directly inside your terminal, with mpv ready to handle video playback.

Linux

Linux installation is even simpler.

Step 1: Open Your Terminal

Open your normal terminal.

Step 2: Run the Official Installer

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui/main/install.sh -o install.sh && bash install.sh

The installer downloads the prebuilt Linux version and installs it to your user binary directory.

Step 3: Run MovieBox TUI

moviebox-tui

If everything installed correctly, the interface should immediately open.

Android

This is where things become slightly more interesting, because apparently running a movie streaming TUI inside an Android terminal wasn't niche enough already.

MovieBox TUI supports Android through Termux. The current project includes Android support in its official installation script.

Official Termux Installation

Step 1: Open Termux

Make sure you are using a current version of Termux.

Step 2: Update Your Packages

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y

Step 3: Install Curl

pkg install -y curl

Step 4: Install MovieBox TUI

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui/main/install.sh -o install.sh && bash install.sh

The official installer installs the Android ARM64 binary into Termux's $PREFIX/bin directory.

Step 5: Give Termux Storage Access

termux-setup-storage

Android will ask you to allow Termux access to your files.

This is especially important if you want downloaded movies and episodes to appear inside Android's normal storage. MovieBox TUI prefers the shared Android downloads directory when it is available.

Step 6: Run MovieBox TUI

moviebox-tui

Fixing on Termux

During my testing, some Termux setups had problems when running the standard build.

Two problems in particular appeared:

• Android networking could fail because of Android-specific context requirements.
• MovieBox TUI expected a terminal width of at least 85 columns, while some phones only provided around 80.

I created a script that automatically builds a Termux-friendly version and applies the fixes.

Before Running It

You need:

• Stable internet.
• Termux.
• Storage permission.
• A media player such as mpv.
• Some patience, because the script builds the application from source.

Step 1: Update Termux

apt update && apt upgrade

Step 2: Enable Storage

termux-setup-storage

Accept the Android storage permission when prompted.

Step 3: Run the Fix Script

Paste this entire command into Termux:

pkg install -y curl && bash -c "$(curl -fsSL 'https://gist.githubusercontent.com/Llewellyn500/17c86502ac8042f97ecc91b6cb87b3f2/raw/install-moviebox-tui-termux.sh')"

The script automatically:

• Installs Rust, Git, OpenSSL, Clang, and the required build tools.
• Downloads the latest MovieBox TUI source code.
• Changes the Android networking configuration to work correctly inside Termux.
• Removes the problematic Android DNS/TLS configuration.
• Changes the minimum terminal width from 85 columns to 80.
• Builds MovieBox TUI.
• Installs the finished binary into Termux.
• Automatically launches the application when installation finishes.

So instead of manually patching source files and rebuilding everything yourself, one command handles it.

If the installation stops because of a temporary download or connection problem, simply run the command again.

Running MovieBox TUI

Once MovieBox TUI has been installed on any platform, start it with:

moviebox-tui

Inside the app, search for what you want to watch and select a stream.

If you cannot find something, press:

Ctrl + P

This switches between the available sources. Try another source and search again.

You can also press:

Ctrl + T

to open the Live TV feature. This lets you watch live TV using an IPTV link, which you can easily find here.

For a full list of controls, press:

?

inside MovieBox TUI.

Downloading Movies and TV Shows

MovieBox TUI can download movies directly instead of only streaming them.

For TV shows, you can download either:

• A single episode.
• An entire season.

Interrupted downloads are stored as partial files, allowing MovieBox TUI to continue downloading from where it stopped rather than throwing away your progress.

Completed episodes are also detected when downloading a season, so MovieBox TUI can skip files that have already finished downloading.

A Note About Season Downloads on Android

During my testing in Termux, when downloading an entire season, I first had to start the download for the first episode and choose the source.

Once that first source was selected, MovieBox TUI continued with the rest of the season.

So if you select an entire season and it appears to be waiting for something, check the first episode and select its source.

Troubleshooting

If MovieBox TUI opens but cannot play anything, first make sure you actually have a supported player installed.

The project supports players such as:

• mpv
• VLC
• IINA

If the application reports that no player is available, install one or configure MovieBox TUI to use the correct player.

You can also start MovieBox TUI with debug logging:

MOVIEBOX_LOG=debug moviebox-tui

This produces more detailed information that can help when diagnosing playback, download, or connection problems.

Conclusion

MovieBox TUI is a surprisingly capable way to search, watch, and download movies and TV shows without needing a traditional streaming website open in your browser.

On Windows and Linux, installation takes only a few commands.

On Android, Termux turns your phone into a proper terminal environment, allowing MovieBox TUI to run natively there as well. And if the normal Termux version gives you Android context or terminal-width problems, the patched installer provides another way to get it running.

Once everything is installed, all you need is:

moviebox-tui

And suddenly your terminal is doing considerably more than whoever invented the command line probably expected.

MovieBox TUI itself does not host or store media. It acts as a client for available streams, so make sure your usage and the content you access comply with the laws that apply where you live.