A modern desktop app for ripping, encoding, and organizing physical media into your home media library.
Zac the Ripper takes physical DVDs, Blu-rays, and UHD Blu-rays and turns them into organized, encoded files ready for Jellyfin, Plex, or Kodi. It wraps MakeMKV and FFmpeg in a clean UI with automatic disc detection, TMDB metadata lookup, hardware-accelerated encoding, and one-click export to your media libraries.
Built for home media collectors who want a streamlined workflow from disc to library without juggling CLI tools.
- Disc ripping — DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD Blu-ray extraction via MakeMKV with automatic disc detection
- MakeMKV deadlock recovery — Detects the known v1.18.3 hang bug and automatically falls back to FFmpeg VOB extraction
- Hardware-accelerated encoding — VideoToolbox (macOS), NVENC, QSV, and VAAPI support alongside software x264/x265
- Three encoding presets — H.264 (streaming), HEVC (modern compression), FFV1 (lossless archival)
- Context-aware encoding — Automatic BT.601 → BT.709 color conversion for DVDs, deinterlacing, HDR passthrough, UHD → 1080p downscaling
- Media library export — One-click pipeline: rip → encode → fetch TMDB metadata → organize with NFO files and artwork into Jellyfin/Plex/Kodi folder structure
- Extras handling — Featurettes, behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes organized into standard subfolders
- Multi-disc sets — Track and organize box sets across multiple discs
- Live preview — Stream disc content via MPV before ripping
- Job queue — Queue multiple rip and encode jobs with real-time progress, speed metrics, and persistent history
- Push notifications — ntfy.sh integration for job completion/failure alerts
- Read error tracking — Monitors hardware errors during rip and reports damage severity
Operating system: macOS (primary), Linux, Windows
Required tools:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| MakeMKV | Disc decryption and extraction |
| FFmpeg | Encoding, VOB fallback ripping, media analysis |
Optional tools:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| lsdvd | DVD structure detection (VTS mapping) |
| mpv | Disc preview playback |
Runtime:
- Node.js 24+ (managed via asdf
.tool-versions)
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/Hank-tha-Cowdog/Zac-the-Ripper.git
cd Zac-the-Ripper/v2
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Launch with hot reload
npm run dev
# Production build
npm run buildNote: If
better-sqlite3fails to compile, setPYTHON=/usr/local/bin/python3before runningnpm install.
Zac the Ripper follows Electron's main/renderer process split. The main process owns all disc I/O, encoding, and database access. The renderer is a React SPA that communicates exclusively through typed IPC channels.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Main Process (Node.js) │
│ │
│ Services Database IPC Handlers │
│ ├─ MakeMKV ├─ SQLite ├─ disc │
│ ├─ FFmpeg │ (better- ├─ rip │
│ ├─ FFmpeg Ripper │ sqlite3) ├─ encode │
│ ├─ FFprobe ├─ Settings ├─ jobs │
│ ├─ Disc Detection ├─ Jobs ├─ settings │
│ ├─ Job Queue ├─ Discs ├─ library │
│ ├─ Kodi Output ├─ Output Files ├─ tmdb │
│ ├─ TMDB └─ Kodi Meta ├─ preview │
│ ├─ Notify └─ ... │
│ └─ MPV Player │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘
│ IPC (preload bridge)
┌──────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┐
│ Renderer Process (React) │
│ │
│ Pages Stores Hooks │
│ ├─ Dashboard ├─ AppStore ├─ useIpc │
│ ├─ Rip ├─ JobsStore ├─ useDisc │
│ ├─ Progress ├─ DiscStore │ Detection │
│ ├─ History └─ Terminal ├─ useJob │
│ ├─ Settings Store │ Progress │
│ └─ Preview └─ ... │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
zac-the-ripper/
├── v2/ # Active Electron + React app
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── main/ # Electron main process
│ │ │ ├── main.ts # Entry point, window creation
│ │ │ ├── preload.ts # IPC bridge (window.ztr API)
│ │ │ ├── services/ # Core business logic
│ │ │ │ ├── makemkv.ts # MakeMKV wrapper + deadlock detection
│ │ │ │ ├── ffmpeg-ripper.ts # FFmpeg VOB fallback extraction
│ │ │ │ ├── ffmpeg.ts # Encoding with progress
│ │ │ │ ├── ffprobe.ts # Media analysis
│ │ │ │ ├── disc-detection.ts # Drive polling + disc info
│ │ │ │ ├── job-queue.ts # Multi-phase job orchestration
│ │ │ │ ├── kodi-output.ts # NFO generation + folder structure
│ │ │ │ ├── tmdb.ts # Metadata + artwork fetching
│ │ │ │ ├── notify.ts # ntfy.sh + desktop notifications
│ │ │ │ └── mpv-player.ts # Preview playback
│ │ │ ├── ipc/ # IPC handler modules (12 modules)
│ │ │ ├── database/ # SQLite schema, migrations, queries
│ │ │ ├── encoding-presets/ # FFV1, H.264, HEVC argument builders
│ │ │ └── util/ # Logger, platform helpers
│ │ ├── renderer/ # React frontend
│ │ │ ├── App.tsx # Router setup
│ │ │ ├── components/
│ │ │ │ ├── layout/ # Shell, sidebar, header, terminal
│ │ │ │ ├── dashboard/ # Active jobs, drive status, stats
│ │ │ │ ├── rip/ # Disc selection, track picker, modes
│ │ │ │ ├── progress/ # Job cards, pipeline view, logs
│ │ │ │ ├── history/ # Job history table + detail modal
│ │ │ │ ├── settings/ # Encoding, paths, library config
│ │ │ │ ├── preview/ # MPV playback controls
│ │ │ │ ├── setup/ # MakeMKV installation wizard
│ │ │ │ └── ui/ # Design system components
│ │ │ ├── stores/ # Zustand state (app, jobs, discs, terminal)
│ │ │ └── hooks/ # IPC wrappers, disc detection, job progress
│ │ └── shared/ # IPC channel constants, app config
│ ├── package.json
│ ├── electron.vite.config.ts
│ ├── electron-builder.yml
│ └── .tool-versions # Node 24.11.1 (asdf)
├── legacy/ # Archived v1 scripts
│ └── python-cli/ # Original Python/Tkinter CLI (April 2024)
├── 00_media/ # Repo assets (screenshots, banners)
└── README.md
Best compatibility across devices. Supports hardware acceleration on all major platforms.
| Setting | Software (libx264) | VideoToolbox | NVENC | QSV | VAAPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | CRF 18 | q:v 65 | cq 18 | global_quality 18 | qp 18 |
| Preset | slow | - | p7 | - | - |
| Audio | Passthrough | Passthrough | Passthrough | Passthrough | Passthrough |
Smart behaviors:
- SD sources (DVDs): BT.601 → BT.709 color conversion with PAL/NTSC detection
- Interlaced content: yadif deinterlace before color conversion
- UHD sources: Lanczos downscale to 1080p (software scaler for chroma accuracy)
Better compression than H.264 with 10-bit HDR support. Same hardware acceleration options.
- Detects 10-bit/HDR content and uses
main10profile - Preserves HDR metadata (color primaries, transfer characteristics, mastering display)
- Software libx265 uses
x265-paramsfor full HDR metadata passthrough
Mathematically lossless preservation of the original disc content.
- FFV1 level 3, 24 slices, CRC error detection per slice
- Auto-detects 10-bit content for proper pixel format
- FLAC audio (lossless)
- Every frame is a keyframe for frame-accurate seeking
The export pipeline runs as a single job with three phases:
Phase 1: Extraction (0-50%)
├── MakeMKV rips selected titles to temp staging
├── FFmpeg VOB fallback if MakeMKV deadlocks (DVD only)
└── Concurrent: TMDB metadata + poster/fanart download
Phase 2: Encoding (50-90%)
├── FFprobe analyzes source streams
├── Main feature encoded (HEVC/H.264)
└── Extras encoded to library subfolders
Phase 3: Library Organization (90-100%)
├── Generate movie.nfo with TMDB metadata
├── Copy poster.jpg + fanart.jpg
├── Copy to additional libraries (Jellyfin + Plex + Kodi)
└── Clean up temp staging directory
Output folder structure (compatible with Jellyfin, Plex, and Kodi):
Movies/
└── Pulp Fiction (1994)/
├── Pulp Fiction (1994).mkv
├── movie.nfo
├── poster.jpg
├── fanart.jpg
├── Featurettes/
│ └── Behind the Scenes.mkv
└── Behind The Scenes/
└── Making Of.mkv
MakeMKV v1.18.3 has a known deadlock bug where the process hangs after "Using direct disc access mode" with 0% CPU usage. This can occur during both the disc-open phase and mid-rip. Zac the Ripper detects and recovers from this automatically:
- Health monitoring — Checks CPU usage every 15 seconds via
pswhenever MakeMKV has been silent for 30+ seconds, regardless of rip phase - Deadlock detection — Three consecutive 0% CPU readings (~45 seconds of silence) triggers kill
- Stall timeout — 5-minute absolute timeout as a safety net
- FFmpeg fallback — On DVD deadlock, automatically switches to VOB extraction:
- Detects VIDEO_TS directory and VTS file structure
- Maps selected titles to their VTS files (via lsdvd or duration heuristic)
- Concatenates VOB files with FFmpeg concat protocol
- Own stall detection: 3-minute timeout if FFmpeg stops producing progress (e.g., disc I/O hang)
- Post-rip validation (stream check + duration tolerance)
- Disc polling suppression — Drive polling is paused during the entire extraction phase (MakeMKV + FFmpeg fallback) to prevent concurrent disc access conflicts
The legacy/python-cli/ directory contains the original v1 Python/Tkinter scripts from April 2024. These are archived for reference and are not actively maintained. The experimental/ subdirectory has viewer prototypes.
All rights reserved. License TBD.