# OfflineAcademy
A self-hosted, LAN-first video course library for private learning.
Turn a local folder of course videos into a clean learning dashboard with progress tracking, bookmarks, tags, categories, and optional AI-generated quizzes.
---
## Table of Contents
- [Why OfflineAcademy?](#why-offlineacademy)
- [Feature Highlights](#feature-highlights)
- [Screenshots](#screenshots)
- [Tech Stack](#tech-stack)
- [Quick Start: Docker Hub](#quick-start-docker-hub)
- [Other Deployment Options](#other-deployment-options)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Course Folder Structure](#course-folder-structure)
- [Data & Persistence](#data--persistence)
- [Updating](#updating)
- [Backup](#backup)
- [Security Notes](#security-notes)
- [Support the Project](#support-the-project)
- [License](#license)
---
## Why OfflineAcademy?
Most online course platforms assume cloud storage, user accounts, subscriptions, and constant internet access. OfflineAcademy is built for a different workflow:
- You already have course videos stored locally.
- You want a clean interface to browse, watch, and resume lessons.
- You want progress tracking without uploading your learning data anywhere.
- You want a private LAN app that works from your desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone.
- You want optional quiz practice without turning the app into a cloud product.
OfflineAcademy is designed for **single-user local/LAN deployments**: home servers, NAS boxes, mini PCs, Docker hosts, homelabs, and personal workstations.
---
## Feature Highlights
### Course Library
- Scan a local course directory and build a browsable library.
- Display course cards with progress, metadata, tags, categories, and quick actions.
- Pin/favorite important courses.
- Rename courses from the UI.
- **Delete from library** to hide/archive without deleting files.
- **Delete from disk** when you intentionally want to remove course files.
- Unified action menus across dashboard and course pages.
### Video Learning Experience
- Browser-based playback for local video files.
- Resume playback from the last watched position.
- Track lesson progress automatically.
- Continue watching card for the most recent lesson.
- Mobile-friendly controls and responsive layout.
- Playback speed controls.
- Fullscreen and picture-in-picture support where supported by the browser.
- Keyboard shortcuts overlay.
### Bookmarks & Learning Notes
- Bookmark lessons for later review.
- Store bookmark notes alongside lessons.
- Revisit saved moments without hunting through folders manually.
### Course Organization
- Add custom tags to courses.
- Add categories to courses.
- Filter and search the course library.
- Keep all organization metadata local to the app/database.
### AI Quiz Practice
- Generate module-level practice quizzes.
- Supports QuizAPI and The Trivia API.
- Per-video quiz topic overrides.
- Clear or regenerate quizzes from course actions.
- Smart skip logic for low-value quiz targets:
- introductions
- footnotes
- appendices
- bonus lectures
- modules without useful quiz topics
- Graceful fallback handling when providers rate-limit or lack matching categories.
### Offline & Local-First Design
- No accounts.
- No user profiles.
- No required cloud storage.
- Local SQLite database via Prisma.
- Offline-capable PWA behavior through service worker caching.
- Machine-scoped settings from the app UI.
### Deployment-Friendly
- Docker Hub image for the fastest install.
- Docker Compose support for repeatable local/LAN deployment.
- Local Node.js deployment for development or customization.
- Portable folder mounts for courses and database.
- Suitable for trusted LAN/homelab environments.
---
## Screenshots
### Dashboard
Browse courses, continue the most recent lesson, filter your library, and see learning stats at a glance.
### Course Page
View course progress, modules, lessons, and quick actions from a focused course detail page.
### Watch Page
Watch lessons with progress tracking, course navigation, and bookmark notes in one place.
### Settings
Configure the course directory, quiz provider, auto-fetch behavior, and API key from the local settings page.
---
## Tech Stack
```text
Frontend Next.js 14, React 18, TypeScript
Styling Tailwind CSS, Radix UI
Database SQLite
ORM Prisma
Runtime Node.js
Deploy Docker Hub / Docker Compose recommended; local Node.js supported
```
---
## Quick Start: Docker Hub
Docker is the recommended way to run OfflineAcademy.
It avoids local Node.js setup, uses the published image, and keeps your courses/database mounted outside the container.
### Prerequisites
- Docker
- Docker Compose
- A folder containing your course videos
### 1. Create an app folder
```bash
mkdir -p offlineacademy/My_Courses offlineacademy/prisma
cd offlineacademy
```
### 2. Download the Docker Compose file and environment template
```bash
curl -fsSL -o docker-compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicetry247/offlineacademy/main/docker-compose.hub.yml
curl -fsSL -o .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nicetry247/offlineacademy/main/.env.example
```
### 3. Create the SQLite database file and set bind-mount permissions
```bash
touch prisma/dev.db
chmod -R a+rX My_Courses
chmod 664 prisma/dev.db
```
Docker bind mounts keep the host filesystem permissions. Creating `My_Courses` and `prisma/dev.db` before `docker compose up` prevents Docker from creating them as `root`, and the `chmod` commands make the course folder readable by the container.
### 4. Start OfflineAcademy
```bash
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
```
Open:
```text
http://localhost:6767
```
For another device on your LAN, replace `localhost` with your server IP:
```text
http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:6767
```
### Docker Hub Image
OfflineAcademy is published on Docker Hub:
```text
https://hub.docker.com/r/nicetry247/offlineacademy
```
Available tags:
```text
nicetry247/offlineacademy:latest
nicetry247/offlineacademy:1.0.0
```
Direct pull:
```bash
docker pull nicetry247/offlineacademy:latest
```
---
## Other Deployment Options
### Build locally from source with Docker
Use this if you want to modify the app and build your own image locally.
```bash
git clone https://github.com/nicetry247/offlineacademy.git
cd offlineacademy
cp .env.example .env
mkdir -p My_Courses prisma
touch prisma/dev.db
docker compose up --build -d
```
### Local Node.js development
Use this for development, debugging, or source-level customization.
#### Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+ recommended
- npm
- A folder containing your course videos
#### 1. Clone the repository
```bash
git clone https://github.com/nicetry247/offlineacademy.git
cd offlineacademy
```
#### 2. Create your environment file
```bash
cp .env.example .env
```
Edit `.env` if needed:
```env
DATABASE_URL="file:./dev.db"
COURSES_ROOT="./My_Courses"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="http://localhost:6767"
QUIZAPI_KEY=""
```
#### 3. Install dependencies
```bash
npm ci
```
#### 4. Prepare the database
```bash
npx prisma generate
npx prisma db push
```
#### 5. Add courses
```bash
mkdir -p My_Courses
```
Place your course folders inside `My_Courses`.
#### 6. Build and run
```bash
npm run build
npx next start -p 6767
```
### Custom Course Folder
You can store courses anywhere on the host. Update your Compose file and map your folder to `/app/My_Courses` inside the container:
```yaml
volumes:
- /path/to/your/courses:/app/My_Courses
- ./prisma/dev.db:/app/prisma/dev.db
```
Examples:
```yaml
# Linux
- /mnt/media/courses:/app/My_Courses
# macOS
- /Users/you/Videos/Courses:/app/My_Courses
# Windows with Docker Desktop
- C:/Users/you/Videos/Courses:/app/My_Courses
```
#### Docker bind-mount permissions
On Linux, Docker bind mounts use the host folder's existing permissions. If the folder does not exist before `docker compose up`, Docker may create it as `root`, which can make course scanning fail or force manual `chown` later.
Recommended setup:
```bash
mkdir -p My_Courses prisma
touch prisma/dev.db
chmod -R a+rX My_Courses
chmod 664 prisma/dev.db
```
If your course files were copied as `root` or live on a restrictive mounted disk, make them readable by the container:
```bash
chmod -R a+rX /path/to/your/courses
```
If you enable features that write quiz cache files into course folders, the container also needs write access to the mounted course directory. One option is:
```bash
sudo chown -R 1001:1001 /path/to/your/courses
```
For scan-only use, read access is usually enough.
### Publishing to Docker Hub
Maintainers can publish manually:
```bash
docker login
docker build --no-cache -t nicetry247/offlineacademy:latest .
docker tag nicetry247/offlineacademy:latest nicetry247/offlineacademy:1.0.0
docker push nicetry247/offlineacademy:latest
docker push nicetry247/offlineacademy:1.0.0
```
You can also automate Docker Hub publishing later with GitHub Actions. To do that, add repository secrets for:
```text
DOCKERHUB_USERNAME
DOCKERHUB_TOKEN
```
Then add a workflow that builds and pushes `nicetry247/offlineacademy:latest` on pushes to `main` and version tags like `v1.0.0`.
---
## Configuration
| Variable | Required | Purpose | Example |
|---|---:|---|---|
| `DATABASE_URL` | Yes | SQLite database path | `file:./dev.db` |
| `COURSES_ROOT` | Yes | Course folder path inside the app/container | `./My_Courses` |
| `NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL` | Recommended | Public app URL used by metadata and links | `http://localhost:6767` |
| `QUIZAPI_KEY` | Optional | QuizAPI key for quiz generation | `qa_...` |
Settings can also be managed inside the app at:
```text
/settings
```
---
## Course Folder Structure
OfflineAcademy works best when courses are organized as folders containing module folders and video files.
```text
My_Courses/
└── Example Course/
├── 01 - Introduction/
│ └── 01 - Welcome.mp4
├── 02 - Core Concepts/
│ ├── 01 - Lesson One.mp4
│ └── 02 - Lesson Two.mp4
└── 03 - Practice/
└── 01 - Lab Walkthrough.mp4
```
Supported video extensions include common browser-playable formats such as `.mp4`, plus additional local media formats depending on browser support.
---
## Data & Persistence
OfflineAcademy stores app data locally.
```text
SQLite database prisma/dev.db
Course files My_Courses/ or your configured course mount
Environment .env
Quiz cache Course/module folders where generated
```
Important user data:
- watch progress
- bookmarks
- bookmark notes
- course metadata
- tags and categories
- quiz records/cache
- local app settings
---
## Updating
### Local Node.js
```bash
git pull
npm ci
npx prisma generate
npx prisma db push
npm run build
npx next start -p 6767
```
### Docker
```bash
git pull
docker compose up --build -d
```
---
## Backup
Back up these items regularly:
```text
prisma/dev.db Main SQLite database
.env Local configuration and optional API key
My_Courses/ Your source course library, if not backed up elsewhere
```
A simple backup can be as easy as copying `prisma/dev.db` somewhere safe before updates.
---
## Security Notes
OfflineAcademy is designed for trusted local networks and personal/homelab use.
Before exposing it to the public internet, add:
- HTTPS
- reverse proxy authentication
- network access controls
- regular database backups
- careful handling of `.env` and API keys
Do not commit `.env`, local databases, course files, or private API keys.
---
## Support the Project
If OfflineAcademy saves you time, feeds your homelab brain, or keeps your course chaos under control, consider fueling the next round.
Support OfflineAcademy on Ko-fi →
---
## License
OfflineAcademy is released under the **MIT License**.
You are free to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the software, subject to the terms of the MIT License.
See [`LICENSE`](LICENSE) for the full license text.