Smart Transcode

Legal

Smart Transcode is copyrighted software. It is free to use as described below, and it is not open source.

Copyright © 2026 Aaron Dyck. All rights reserved.

Smart Transcode (the application, the installation package, the Docker image, the documentation, the screenshots and this website) is protected by copyright. No part of it is released under an open-source license, and no rights are granted other than those in the next section.

Terms of use

You may download, install and use Smart Transcode on your own computers and servers, for your own personal or internal use, at no charge. In return you agree that you will not:

  • copy, publish or redistribute Smart Transcode or any part of it, in any form, including the package and the Docker image, except for the copies needed to install and back up your own installation;
  • sell, rent, license or offer it as a service to others;
  • modify it, or build another product from it;
  • reverse-engineer, decompile or disassemble it, except where the law gives you that right regardless of this agreement;
  • remove or change copyright notices.

The source code is readable: Smart Transcode is written in Python and JavaScript and is installed as plain source files. You may read it to understand how the application works and to check what it does on your server. Reading it does not give you any of the rights listed above.

These terms apply to all versions. The right to use it ends if you break them. All rights not granted here are reserved. Using Smart Transcode means you accept these terms.

No warranty

Smart Transcode converts media files and replaces the originals once a new file has passed its checks. Conversion is lossy: a converted file is not identical to the original. Keep backups of anything you cannot replace, or use the optional original backups (.orig) in the audio settings.

Smart Transcode is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, and including that it will be error-free or will not lose or damage data. To the fullest extent the law allows, the author is not liable for any loss or damage of any kind, including lost or damaged files, arising from its use. You are responsible for your media, your backups and your hardware.

Make sure you have the right to convert the media you point it at.

Third-party software

Smart Transcode relies on other software, each under its own license, which this page does not replace:

  • ffmpeg does the converting. The Docker image includes Jellyfin's ffmpeg build, which is licensed under the GPL and LGPL; its source code is available there. The Linux service uses the ffmpeg already installed on your system.
  • The Docker image also contains Python, Debian packages and the open-source Python libraries the application uses, each with its own license.
  • The website loads Google's analytics script (Google Analytics) to count visits, but only if you accept it in the cookie banner, as described under Privacy. It uses no other third-party scripts, fonts or trackers.

Trademarks

Docker, Podman, NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, Sonarr, Radarr, Linux and other product names are trademarks of their owners. They are used only to say what Smart Transcode works with. Smart Transcode is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them.

Privacy

  • The application runs on your server, collects no usage data and has no telemetry. The only outside connections it makes are to Sonarr and Radarr, if you set them up.
  • This website asks whether it may use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are read. Nothing is loaded from Google and no analytics cookies are set unless you press Accept. If you accept, it sets cookies in your browser and sends Google the pages you view, along with your approximate location and your browser and device type. Your choice is kept in your browser, and you can change it at any time with Cookie choice in the page footer (Decline removes the cookies). Google processes that data under its own privacy policy. The site works the same either way. There is no advertising. Your light or dark theme choice is kept in your browser only. Like any web server, it keeps ordinary access logs (address, page and time) for running and securing the site.
  • Support happens on GitHub, which has its own terms and privacy policy. Anything you post in an issue is public.

Questions about these terms: open an issue on the support page.