Stream Sniper
A streamer you follow goes live, and it is on the television. No phone, no notification, no clicking — a small Debian box that starts on boot and puts the stream on the screen.
What it does
Point a spare mini PC at the television and give it a list of Twitch channels. It shows a clock until someone goes live, then puts them fullscreen with the ads out of the path. When the stream ends, the clock comes back.
How it behaves
One username per line in a text file, and order is priority: if two are live, the one nearer the top gets the screen. A stream already playing runs to the end, so nobody higher in the list can cut in halfway through. Edits apply at the next check, with no restart.
bash install.sh sudo systemctl start streamsniper@USER
How it works
- Put it on a small Linux boxDebian or Ubuntu. The kind of machine that lives behind the TV.
- Tell it who you followThe channels that are worth interrupting the room for.
- Forget about itsystemd starts it on boot. When they go live, it is on the TV.
What it does
Live means on-screenNot a notification you have to act on.
Starts on bootA systemd unit, so a power cut does not end the arrangement.
Streamlink and VLCStandard parts doing the standard job, rather than a bespoke player to maintain.
Debian or UbuntuRuns on the cheap box you already have spare.
MITIt is yours to change.
No account with usIt is software on your machine watching public streams.
Specifications
| License | MIT |
|---|---|
| Platform | Debian or Ubuntu |
| Needs | Streamlink, VLC, pygame |
| Starts | systemd, on boot |
Questions
- Does it work on Windows?
- It is built for Debian or Ubuntu with systemd.
- Do I need a subscription?
- To the streaming platform, whatever you already have. Nothing to us.
- What hardware?
- Anything that runs Debian and can decode video — it is meant for a small box behind the television.