Foundry Lite

Beta

Your old PC is faster than your router. We made it a media server.

Open-source media streaming server that turns any x86 machine into a live TV and network appliance. No cloud dependency, no subscriptions, no data collection. Your hardware, your channels, your rules.

Download ISO (Free)Buy Preloaded ($149)View on GitHub
Foundry IPTV multiview - 4 live channels streaming simultaneously

Features

Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

All features run locally on your hardware. No cloud, no accounts, no telemetry.

Live TV Grid

Tier 1

Auto-fill channel grid that adapts to any screen size. Category tabs, search, and instant tune-in. Works on Fire TV, phones, tablets, and laptops.

EPG Guide

Tier 1

Full electronic program guide with 24-hour timeline, now/next indicators, and genre filtering. Sourced from XMLTV feeds you configure.

Multiview

Tier 1

Watch 2-4 channels simultaneously in a split-screen layout. One tap to swap audio focus. Perfect for sports or news monitoring.

AI Search

Tier 1

Natural language search across your channel library. "Find soccer games on right now" or "show me news channels in Spanish." Runs locally with Ollama.

VPN Routing

Tier 2

Per-channel WireGuard routing. Route specific channels through specific exit nodes while keeping the rest on clearnet. Managed from the admin UI.

Ad Blocking

Tier 2

DNS-level ad blocking via AdGuard Home integrated into the server. Block ads across every stream without per-device configuration.

Setup

Three steps to live TV

1

Flash the ISO

Download the Foundry Lite ISO and flash it to a USB drive. Boot any x86 PC from it. The installer takes under 10 minutes and wipes the target drive.

2

Add your channels

Point the admin UI at your M3U playlist URL and XMLTV EPG source. Foundry pulls and indexes everything automatically. Add as many sources as you want.

3

Watch on any screen

Open the web UI on any device on your network. Fire TV Silk browser, phone, tablet, laptop. No app to install. Bookmark it and you're done.

Pricing

Two tiers. No surprises.

The ISO is always free. Preloaded means we flash it, test it, and ship it ready to plug in.

FeatureTier 1$149 preloadedTier 2$199-249 preloaded
Live TV Grid
EPG Guide
Multiview (2-4 streams)
AI Search (Ollama)
Web UI (all devices)
M3U + XMLTV import
VPN Routing (WireGuard)-
Ad Blocking (AdGuard)-
Multi-WAN / Failover-
LAN Gateway Mode-
HardwareDual-core, 4GB RAMQuad-core+, 8GB+ RAM
ISO DownloadFreeFree

Tier 2 · Household upgrade

Turn Tier 1 into a household network appliance with one toggle.

Tier 2 is the same Foundry Lite box, with the household networking features switched on in the setup wizard. Not a different product; the upgrade path within Foundry Lite.

Setup wizard prompts

  • • Enable network-wide VPN (WireGuard, BYO provider)?
  • • Enable network-wide ad blocking (AdGuard)?
  • • Act as the LAN gateway / run DHCP?
  • • Configure multi-WAN failover?

Answer yes to any of these and the wizard flips the box into Tier 2 mode. Answer no and it stays a pure media server.

Preloaded Tier 2 hardware

  • • Quad-core+ CPU, 8GB+ RAM (enough for VPN + DPI)
  • • Dual-NIC so it can sit between your modem and WiFi router
  • • Wizard is run once on first boot, re-runnable from the admin UI
  • • $199–$249 preloaded; ISO is always free

Home/Office is a marketing toggle: same SKU, same box. Pick Tier 2 if you want one device to handle both media and the household network.

Setting this up for someone else? See docs for IT providers or the support plans.

Sustainability

The most powerful thing on your network used to be someone else's junk.

A $50 off-lease office PC from eBay has more CPU, more RAM, and more I/O than the $300 “smart” router you bought last year. Foundry Lite turns e-waste into infrastructure.

SpecConsumer Router$50 eBay PC
CPUDual-core ARM 1.8GHzQuad-core x86 3.4GHz+
RAM512MB-1GB8-16GB DDR4
Storage128MB flash256GB SSD
Ethernet1Gbps1Gbps
Concurrent streamsN/A10-20+
VPN throughput50-100 Mbps500+ Mbps
Price$200-400$30-80

Open Source

Free as in freedom. Free as in beer.

The entire codebase is MIT licensed. Download the ISO, flash it yourself, and run everything Tier 2 does on your own hardware. The preloaded option exists for people who value their time more than the $149.

Self-Install (Free)

  • Download ISO from GitHub releases
  • Flash to USB with Balena Etcher or dd
  • Boot target machine, run installer
  • Configure channels in web admin
  • Full source code access, modify anything
  • Community support via GitHub Issues + Discord

Preloaded ($149+)

  • Tested hardware shipped ready to plug in
  • Pre-configured with your channel sources (if provided)
  • Burn-in tested for 24 hours before shipping
  • Email support for 90 days
  • Tier 2 hardware includes VPN + ad blocking pre-configured
  • Same open-source software, zero lock-in

LLM Setup Prompts Included

Every release includes Claude/ChatGPT-ready setup prompts in the docs folder. Paste them into your AI assistant of choice and it will walk you through installation, network configuration, channel setup, and troubleshooting step by step. No Linux experience required.

Hardware

What to look for

Any x86_64 PC from the last 10 years works. Here are the sweet spots.

Tier 1 - Media Server

$30-80
CPUDual-core x86_64 (Intel i3/i5 4th gen+)
RAM4GB minimum, 8GB recommended
Storage64GB SSD (128GB recommended)
Network1x Gigabit Ethernet
Use caseLive TV, EPG, multiview, AI search

Best Pick

Dell OptiPlex 7050 SFF - $40-60 on eBay, i5-7500, 8GB, silent, fits behind a TV

Tier 2 - Network Gateway

$60-150
CPUQuad-core x86_64 (Intel i5/i7 6th gen+)
RAM8GB minimum, 16GB recommended
Storage128GB SSD (256GB recommended)
Network2x Gigabit Ethernet (or USB 3.0 NIC)
Use caseAll Tier 1 + VPN, ad blocking, LAN gateway

Best Pick

HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF - $60-90 on eBay, i5-7500, 16GB, dual NIC models available

Community

Built in the open. Join the conversation.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Foundry Lite.

Is this legal?
Yes. Foundry Lite is a media server that plays M3U playlists and XMLTV program guides you provide. What you stream is your responsibility. Many legal M3U sources exist: free ad-supported TV (Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, Plex), antenna recordings via HDHomeRun, and paid streaming subscriptions. We do not provide, host, or index any content.
Where do the channels come from?
You provide them. Foundry Lite plays any standard M3U playlist URL and XMLTV EPG feed. You paste the URLs into the admin UI. Sources include free streaming playlists, paid subscriptions, HDHomeRun antenna devices, and custom playlists you build yourself.
What hardware do I need?
Any x86_64 PC from the last 10 years. Tier 1 (media server only) needs a dual-core CPU, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage. Tier 2 (VPN + ad blocking + gateway) needs a quad-core, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and ideally two Ethernet ports. A $40-80 off-lease Dell OptiPlex or HP EliteDesk from eBay is the sweet spot.
Can I run this in Docker instead of flashing an ISO?
Yes. The core services (web UI, stream proxy, EPG indexer) are available as Docker images. You lose the OS-level VPN routing and ad blocking from Tier 2, but Tier 1 features work fully in Docker on any Linux host. See the GitHub wiki for Docker Compose instructions.
What devices can I watch on?
Anything with a web browser. The UI is a responsive web app served from the Foundry box on your LAN. Fire TV (Silk browser), Android phones/tablets, iPhones/iPads, laptops, desktops, and smart TVs with built-in browsers all work. No app installation required. Bookmark the URL and you are done.
What does Tier 2 add over Tier 1?
Tier 2 adds VPN routing (per-channel WireGuard exit nodes), DNS-level ad blocking via AdGuard Home, multi-WAN failover, and LAN gateway mode where the Foundry box becomes your network's default gateway. Tier 2 requires beefier hardware (quad-core, 8GB RAM, dual NIC) and is ideal for users who want a single box replacing both their media server and their network appliance.
Do I need a VPN subscription?
Only if you want Tier 2 VPN routing. The server integrates with any WireGuard-compatible VPN provider (Mullvad, IVPN, Proton VPN, etc.). Tier 1 works entirely without VPN. You can add VPN later by upgrading to Tier 2 software, which is also free to self-install.
Does it phone home or collect telemetry?
No. Zero telemetry, zero analytics, zero outbound connections except the ones you configure (your M3U sources, EPG feeds, and optional VPN). The source code is MIT licensed and fully auditable. The admin UI runs entirely on your LAN with no cloud dependency.
Does it work on Fire TV Stick?
Yes. The Fire TV Silk browser connects to the Foundry server on your LAN. The web UI is server-rendered specifically to work well on low-powered devices like Fire TV. Open Silk, type your server's IP, bookmark it, and you have a full streaming experience with remote-friendly navigation.

Your next media server costs $50 on eBay.

Stop paying monthly fees for services you can host yourself. Foundry Lite is free, open source, and runs on hardware that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

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