Android app

The Android app gives Credenza a home-screen icon, full-screen video and the system back gesture. Inside, it is the same app you use in a browser, loaded from your own server. Your libraries, settings and watch progress are all on the server, and the app stores only the addresses of the servers you connect to.

The same app also runs on televisions. See Android TV.

Get early access

The Android app is in early access and is published on Google Play as a beta called Credenza (Beta). To join, ask in the Credenza Discord and you’ll be sent the way in.

Connect to your server

The first time you open the app, it asks Where is your server?. Enter your server’s address under Server address and tap Connect.

You reach the server…	Enter something like
On your home network	192.168.1.10:8080
Through a domain with HTTPS	media.example.com

A few rules the app follows when it reads the address:

• Without http:// or https://, it tries https:// first. If nothing at that address speaks HTTPS, it tries http:// instead. If you type a scheme yourself, only that one is tried.
• Only the host and port are kept. Anything after them, such as /dashboard, is dropped, so enter the address your server itself is served from.
• Plain HTTP is allowed, because a server at home is usually reached that way.

Before saving the address, the app checks that a Credenza server answers there. If it doesn’t, it tells you why and doesn’t save the address:

Message	What it means
No such host. Check the address for a typo.	The name didn’t resolve to anything.
The server did not answer in time. Is it running, and are you on the same network?	Nothing responded within about eight seconds. The server is down, or your phone is on a different network, such as mobile data.
Something answered, but it is not a Credenza server	Something is running at that address, but it isn’t Credenza. Check the port.
That address redirects elsewhere.	Enter the final address the server is served from, not one that forwards to it.
The server answered code.	Credenza answered with an error. Check the server status page.

Self-signed certificates

If your server uses HTTPS with a certificate Android doesn’t trust, such as a self-signed one, the app shows an Untrusted certificate dialog. It lists the certificate’s SHA-256 fingerprint, who it was issued to and by, and when it expires. Compare the fingerprint with your server’s certificate before you tap Trust this certificate.

Once you trust it, the app remembers that certificate for that one host. If the server later presents a different certificate, the app stops trusting it and says so. This is deliberate, because a swapped certificate can mean someone is intercepting the connection. If you replaced the certificate yourself, enter the address again to review and trust the new one.

Sign in

After connecting, you see your server’s normal sign-in page. Enter your Username and Password, and tick Remember me on this device to stay signed in. Accounts are made by an administrator. See Accounts and access.

Sign in with a code instead

If you’re already signed in on a computer or another phone, you can skip typing your password:

1. Under the sign-in form, tap Sign in with a code. The app shows an eight-character code such as K7QD-M2XW.
2. On the device you’re signed in on, open <your server>/link, or choose Sign in a device… from the account menu, and type the code under Code.
3. Check the screen that asks Sign in on a phone? and select Approve.

The app then signs in by itself and stays signed in. The code lasts about five minutes, and Use a password takes you back to the form. Only approve a code you can see on your own phone. See Sign in from another device for the rest of what’s worth knowing.

Using the app

• The app fills the whole screen. Android’s navigation bar is hidden, and Credenza’s own tab bar sits at the bottom. The back gesture still works, and swiping up from the bottom edge brings the system bar back for a moment.
• Back closes things before it leaves. If a menu or dialog is open, Back closes it. Otherwise it goes to the previous page.
• Films turn to landscape when they go full screen, even if auto-rotate is off. Games keep portrait on a phone, so the on-screen controller fits under the game.
• Links to other websites open in your browser, not inside the app.

Everything else works as it does in a phone browser.

Use more than one server

The app can remember several servers. To switch, or to add another:

• open the Account tab and choose Switch server…, or
• if you aren’t signed in yet, tap Switch server under the sign-in form, or
• long-press the app icon on your home screen and choose Switch server, or
• tap Switch server on the Cannot reach your server screen.

The Choose a server screen lists every server you’ve connected to, most recent first, with Current next to the one you’re using. Tap one to connect, or enter a new address under Add another server. Forget removes a server from the list. It changes nothing on the server itself.

Switching server doesn’t sign you out. Each server keeps its own sign-in, so switching back takes you straight in. If you open the list and then press Back, you return to where you were.

When the server can’t be reached

If your server stops answering while you use the app, you see Cannot reach your server and the reason. Press Try again once the server is back, or Switch server to go somewhere else.

Which version you have

The foot of the account menu shows two version numbers: the server’s and the Android app’s. They’re independent, and they update separately. Both are also under Settings → User → About. When you report a problem, include both.

The app’s privacy policy is linked from the Privacy policy button at the bottom of the server screen.