Tater Tube Retro

Retro Setup

Choose the Steam Deck/Linux installer or a ready-to-flash Raspberry Pi image, then configure modules from Settings inside Tater Tube.

Steam Deck & Linux

Install Tater Tube into Steam in one pass.

On Steam Deck, switch to Desktop Mode first. Download and open Install-Tater-Tube.desktop, approve the execution prompt, and leave it open while the full release downloads. The installer runs without sudo and asks Steam to add Tater Tube to the non-Steam library.

Download one-click installer Full Steam setup guide

1. Desktop Mode

On Steam Deck, press the Steam button, choose Power, then Switch to Desktop.

2. Run Installer

Download and open Install-Tater-Tube.desktop, then approve the prompt to run it.

3. Launch in Steam

Let the installer finish, return to Gaming Mode, and open Tater Tube from the non-Steam library.

Raspberry Pi

Flash the image for your display.

Choose the NTSC, PAL, or Pi 5 HDMI image. The Pi boots directly into Tater Tube as a dedicated appliance.

Choose a Pi image

1. Download

Open the latest GitHub release and choose the NTSC, PAL, or Pi 5 HDMI image for your display.

2. Flash

Use Raspberry Pi Imager, Balena Etcher, or dd to write the `.img.xz` to an SD card.

3. Boot

Connect the display, audio, remote receiver, and network, then boot directly into Tater Tube.

The Tube backend

Use Tater Tube Server for Tube TV, Stream, and Local libraries.

Install the native app on an Apple Silicon Mac, or run the Docker image on a NAS, PC, or Linux host. It handles the shared Tube TV schedule, Newznab Stream, local media folders, music, player pairing, activity history, and optional hardware transcoding.

Server setup Server downloads

Normal update path

Existing installs update from inside Tater Tube.

On Steam Deck, Linux, or Pi, use Settings, System, Check For Updates. The Pi updater also refreshes appliance helpers, runtime packages, RetroArch cores, Moonlight, Bluetooth support, boot splash, IR, fan control, and display setup.

SSH update fallback

bash <(curl -fsSL https://github.com/TaterTotterson/Tater-Tube/releases/latest/download/install.sh)

Tater Tube boot screen — The image boots into Tater Tube and keeps SSH available for recovery.

Player Web Setup

Configure Pi-side modules from another device.

Open http://tatertube.local:24024/setup from a phone or computer on the same network. Pair The Tube to its server first, then configure VoD, Public Access, Tape Deck, Game Center, PC Link, local commercials, and custom VoD channels.

The Tube

Enter the server address and short-lived pairing PIN. Tube TV, Stream, Local, server music, guide data, and TaterText then arrive from the server.

Server URLPairing PINFirst Module

Player Commercials

Create local commercial categories for Public Access and VoD TV Mode. Tube TV commercials are managed separately by Tater Tube Server.

VoDPublic AccessNo Repeat

Custom VoD Channels

Build named TV Mode channels from Plex, Emby, or Jellyfin movies and series. Custom channels appear first and can use a specific commercial category.

MoviesSeriesCategories

Server Web UI

Build The Tube from `http://SERVER-IP:8080`.

Use the server UI to pair and name players, add Newznab and NNTP providers, scan local movies, series, and music, configure transcoding, upload Tube TV commercials, create channels, choose logos, and inspect the TV Guide and Activity history.

1. Add Libraries

Add native folder paths on macOS, or map folders into Docker, then configure Local Media and scan metadata.

MoviesSeriesMusic

2. Build Tube TV

Enable automatic channels or create your own from genres, movies, series, seasons, and episodes.

Custom ChannelsCommercialsLogos

3. Pair Players

Create a setup PIN, enter the server URL and PIN on each Pi, and give every box a room name.

Short-Lived PINNamed Players