--- title: Getting Started description: Create an account, make your first group and see it in Stremio in about five minutes. category: start order: 1 icon: rocket --- # Getting Started with StremShare Create an account, make your first group and see it in Stremio in about five minutes. Each step below is short, with a link to the full guide when you want the details. ## How StremShare works You collect movies and series into **groups** on this website: a group is just a named list, like "Movie Night" or "Kids' Films". One **personal add-on** serves every group you turn on, and each group shows up as a row of titles in Stremio (or Nuvio). Share a group with friends and everyone sees the same list, kept in sync as anyone adds to it. So the path is: **groups → your personal add-on → rows in Stremio**. The steps below follow it in order. ## 1. Create your account 1. On the StremShare home page, click **Create a Free Account** (on a phone the button reads **Sign up free**). 2. Choose a **Username**, enter your **Email**, then pick a password: at least 8 characters with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter and a number. 3. Click **Create Account**. Your username is how other members see you. Already have an account? Click **Sign in** instead. Forgot your password? See the [FAQ](/docs/help/faq#i-forgot-my-password). ## 2. Pick a Quick Start (optional) Right after signing up you land on **Pick a Quick Start**. Every card is a **starter pack**: a ready-made bundle of public groups (anime, comedies, what's new on a streaming service, and so on). ![The Pick a Quick Start page with a grid of starter-pack cards](/docs/help/img/getting-started-quick-start.png "Pick a Quick Start: subscribe to a pack, or explore on your own") - **Subscribe** on a card joins you to its groups and turns them on in your add-on. A banner then offers **Install your addon**, which takes you straight to [step 5](#5-install-your-add-on). - Subscribing to another pack later can swap out the groups the previous pack added. The banner tells you what changed. - If no packs are listed, **Browse all groups** takes you to [Discover](#join-public-groups) instead. - **I'll explore on my own →** skips this and takes you to your Dashboard. Carry on with step 3 to build your own group. > [!BETA] > Below the packs you may see **Let AI curate my homepage** with a **Turn it on** button. The AI Curator builds and refreshes a set of rows for you every week, with no setup. This feature is in beta. If it's greyed out with an **In beta** pill, your account isn't in the beta yet. See [AI Features](/docs/help/ai-features). You can come back to the starter packs any time from the **Welcome to StremShare** card on your Dashboard (**Browse starter packs**) while you have no groups, or by opening [Pick a Quick Start](/onboarding) directly. ## 3. Create your first group 1. Open **My Groups** in the sidebar and click **Create Group**. On a phone or tablet, tap the round **+** button at the bottom right and choose **New Group**. 2. Type a **Group Name** (up to 50 characters) and, if you like, a **Description**. 3. Click **Create Group**. ![The Create New Group window with a name and description filled in](/docs/help/img/getting-started-create-group.png "Name your group. It starts private.") A few things worth knowing: - **New groups start private.** Only people you invite can see them. You can publish a group to Discover later from its **Settings** tab. - **It's already in your add-on.** A group you create is turned on in your add-on automatically. - **Free accounts can own a limited number of groups.** The window shows where you stand (for example **3 of 50 groups**). Groups you join don't count toward it. You land on the group's page, with the tabs **Activity**, **Items**, **Smart Lists**, **Members** and **Settings**. More in [Groups & Members](/docs/help/groups-and-members). ## 4. Add movies and series On the group's **Items** tab you have three ways to fill it: **Add Content**, **Import List** and **List Builder**. On a phone or tablet, tap the round **+** button at the bottom right to reach the same three. ![The Items tab toolbar with the Add Content, Import List and List Builder buttons](/docs/help/img/getting-started-items-toolbar.png "Three ways to fill a group") ![A group page on a phone with the plus menu open, showing List Builder, Import List and Add Content](/docs/help/img/getting-started-mobile-add-menu.png "On a phone, the round + button holds the add options") ### Pick titles with Add Content 1. Click **Add Content** and search by title. You can also paste a TMDB or IMDb link, or an IMDb id. 2. Click posters to select them. You can pick several at once, and they collect in a tray. 3. Under **Add to groups**, tick every group they should go to. The group you started from is already ticked, and **New group** makes another one on the spot. 4. Click **Add N titles to M groups** (the button counts for you). ![The Add Content window with three titles selected and two groups ticked under Add to groups](/docs/help/img/getting-started-add-content.png "Select several titles, tick the groups, add them in one go") Pasted a link to a whole list (say, a Letterboxd or Trakt list)? The window spots it and offers **Open the Import flow**. > [!BETA] > Switch the search from **Titles** to **Ask** to describe what you want in plain words, like "90s heist movies". This feature is in beta. If it's greyed out with an **In beta** pill, your account isn't in the beta yet. ### Bring in a list with Import List Already keep lists somewhere else? **Import List** brings in Trakt and TMDB lists, your Stremio or Nuvio library, anime trackers (MyAnimeList, AniList, Kitsu), public Trakt and MDBList lists, JSON or CSV files, or almost any list link you paste. See [Importing Lists](/docs/help/imports). ### Describe a list with List Builder **List Builder** makes a list from filters instead of picked titles ("highest-rated sci-fi from the 90s", "what's popular on Netflix") and keeps it fresh on its own as a **smart list**. See [Smart Lists](/docs/help/smart-lists). Titles you add show up in Stremio the next time it loads that row. Adding or removing titles never needs a reinstall. ## 5. Install your add-on 1. Open **Add-on Setup** in the sidebar. The card at the top, **Your personal add-on**, holds your add-on URL. 2. Click **Install in Stremio** to open the Stremio app, or **Stremio Web** for the browser version, and confirm the install in Stremio. 3. **On a TV or another device?** Copy the URL with the copy button and paste it into Stremio's add-on search on that device. Your groups now show up as rows on Stremio's home screen and in its Discover section. ![The Your personal add-on card with the Install in Stremio and Stremio Web buttons, the more-actions menu and the Connected apps panel](/docs/help/img/getting-started-addon-hero.png "One URL serves every group you turn on") > [!WARNING] > Your add-on URL is unique to you, so treat it like a password and don't post it publicly. If it ever leaks, open **More add-on actions** (the **…** button) and choose **Regenerate URL…**. The old URL stops working, so install the new one afterwards. > [!TIP] > Link your Stremio account under **Account → Connections**. StremShare then updates the add-on in Stremio for you whenever your row lineup changes, so you never have to reinstall it by hand. The **Connected apps** panel on this card shows whether you're linked, with a **Link** or **Manage** button. **Using Nuvio?** Link your Nuvio account under **Account → Connections**, then choose **Install on your profiles** to put the add-on on the Nuvio profiles you want. See [App Profiles](/docs/help/app-profiles). ## 6. Choose what Stremio sees The **Catalogs** tab of Add-on Setup has a **Configure Groups** list with one row per group. Changes save as you make them. ![The Configure Groups list with an eye toggle, a Stream button and a row-type picker on each group](/docs/help/img/getting-started-configure-groups.png "Configure Groups: one row per group") - **The eye icon** at the right of each row turns that group's row on or off in Stremio without leaving or deleting the group. A green eye means the row is showing. - **The type picker** chooses its shape: **Both** (a movies row and a series row), **Movies Only**, **Series Only**, **Combined** (one mixed row) or **Collection**. - **Stream** (only on groups you own or contribute to) adds a button when you open a title in Stremio, so you can save it to this group without leaving the app. - **Order:** rows follow your **My Groups** order until you drag them here. Dragging reorders your add-on only, and **Reset to Groups page order** puts it back. The other two tabs hold the rest: **Watch & recommendations** (watch tracking, personalized rows, hiding what you've watched) and **Preferences** (such as **Search in Stremio**). See [Add-on Setup](/docs/help/addon-setup) and [Watch Tracking](/docs/help/watch-tracking). > [!NOTE] > Turning a row on or off, or changing its shape, changes your row lineup, which Stremio only reads when the add-on is installed. If your Stremio account is linked, StremShare handles this for you. If not, reinstall the add-on with the same URL. Details in [When changes need a reinstall](/docs/help/addon-setup#when-changes-need-a-reinstall). ## 7. Share with friends, or join public groups ### Invite friends If you own a group or are a contributor, click **Invite** at the top of the group page, then **Invite Members** on the **Members** tab. You can: - **Invite specific users** by username. They get a notification and an **Accept** button under **Invites & requests** on their Dashboard. - **Create New Invite Link** to send anywhere. A link works once by default; tick **Reusable link** so several people can use it until it expires. Pick a role for each invite. A **Watcher** can view the group and its activity. A **Contributor** can also add and remove titles, invite people as Watchers and remove Watchers from the group. Only the group's owner can invite contributors. Every member, whatever their role, can rate and review titles in the group. See [Groups & Members](/docs/help/groups-and-members) and [Ratings & Reviews](/docs/help/ratings-reviews). ### Join public groups Open **Discover** in the sidebar for public groups made by the community and StremShare editors: **For you**, **Trending this week**, **Official curators**, **Fresh starts**, **Collections** and **Browse by mood**. Click **Join** on any group and it's turned on in your add-on right away (you join as a Watcher). See [Discover](/docs/help/discover). Want your own group on Discover? Publish it from the group's **Settings** tab once it has a description, a category and at least 3 titles. ## Troubleshooting **The add-on isn't showing in Stremio.** Make sure you copied the whole URL, including the `manifest.json` part, then refresh or restart Stremio. **The rows are empty.** Check that at least one group is switched on under **Configure Groups** and that your groups have titles in them. **I changed my rows but Stremio still shows the old ones.** Reinstall the add-on with the same URL, or link your Stremio account so it happens by itself. More answers are in the [FAQ & Troubleshooting](/docs/help/faq) guide. The (?) button beside the **Add-on Setup** title also opens a short troubleshooting list. ## Related guides - [FAQ & Troubleshooting](/docs/help/faq): quick answers to common questions. - [Groups & Members](/docs/help/groups-and-members): settings, roles, publishing and ownership. - [Adding Content](/docs/help/adding-content): everything about the Add Content window. - [Importing Lists](/docs/help/imports) and [Smart Lists](/docs/help/smart-lists): bring lists in and keep them fresh. - [Add-on Setup](/docs/help/addon-setup): every setting that shapes your Stremio rows. - [Watch Tracking](/docs/help/watch-tracking): history, recommendations and hiding what you've seen. - [Templates](/docs/help/templates): save and switch whole add-on setups. - [Discover](/docs/help/discover): find and join public groups. - [Account Settings](/docs/help/account-settings): connections, password, plan and more.