Installation

qast requires Python 3.8+ and ffmpeg. Optional extras add support for Chromecast, YouTube extraction, and browser capture.

Prerequisites

Python 3.8+
ffmpeg — must be on your PATH. Install via your package manager or ffmpeg.org.

Install qast

# Full install (recommended) — includes yt-dlp, Chromecast, Playwright
pip install qast[all]

# Minimal install — DLNA and Roku only, local files only
pip install qast

# From source (editable)
git clone https://github.com/richlegrand/qast.git
cd qast
pip install -e ".[all]"

Optional: browser capture

To cast rendered web pages via browser:url, install the Chromium browser binary:

python -m playwright install chromium

Skip this if you don't need browser capture.

Optional: Rust encoder

A high-performance Rust encoder is available for advanced use cases:

# Linux/macOS
cargo build --manifest-path rust/qast-encoder/Cargo.toml --release

# Windows
cargo build --manifest-path rust\qast-encoder\Cargo.toml --release

Verify installation

qast --help
qast-ui --help

Quick test

# Discover TVs on your network
qast --scan

# Cast a YouTube video
qast "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

# Cast your desktop for 30 seconds
qast screen@30

Extras breakdown

Extra	Provides	Install
`yt-dlp`	URL resolution (YouTube, 1000+ sites)	`pip install qast[ytdlp]`
`chromecast`	Chromecast protocol support	`pip install qast[chromecast]`
`browser`	Headless Chromium page capture	`pip install qast[browser]`
`all`	Everything above	`pip install qast[all]`

Created by Rich LeGrand · MIT License