Mobile App

Sofa has a native mobile app for iOS and Android built with Expo and React Native. It connects to your self-hosted Sofa server and provides the same core features as the web app.

The mobile app is not currently available on the App Store or Google Play. You'll need to build it from source.

Features

The mobile app includes:

Home — dashboard with stats, continue watching, and recommendations
Explore — trending and popular movies and TV shows, genre browsing
Search — full-text search for movies, TV shows, and people
Settings — account management, integrations, and admin controls
Episode-level tracking, ratings, and watchlist management
Media server integration management (Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Sonarr, Radarr)

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Node.js 22+
Bun runtime
Xcode (for iOS) or Android Studio (for Android)
An Apple Developer account (for running on a physical iOS device)

Steps

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/jakejarvis/sofa.git
cd sofa
bun install

Generate native projects:

cd apps/native
bun prebuild

Run on your target platform:

# iOS Simulator
bun ios

# Android Emulator
bun android

For physical devices, follow the Expo development build guide.

Connecting to Your Server

On first launch, the app will ask for your Sofa server URL:

Enter the URL of your self-hosted instance (e.g. https://sofa.example.com)
The app validates the connection by checking the /api/health endpoint
Once connected, log in with the same credentials you use on the web

The server URL is stored locally on the device. You can change it at any time from the login screen by tapping Change server.

Connection Requirements

Your server must be reachable from the device's network
HTTPS is recommended, especially when connecting over the internet
If using a self-signed certificate, you may need to trust it on the device

Authentication

The mobile app uses the same authentication system as the web app:

Email & password — standard login
OIDC / SSO — if configured on your server, the SSO button appears on the login screen

Auth tokens are stored in the platform's secure storage (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore) and scoped per server instance, so you can connect to multiple Sofa servers without conflicts.