⚓ AnchorCast v1.6.0

Free & Open-Source AI Church Presentation Software

AnchorCast listens to your preacher, detects Bible verses in real time, and displays them on your projection screen — automatically.
Songs · Scripture · Media · Timer · Transcription · NDI — all in one free app.

🆓 Free forever. No subscription. No trial. No credit card.

🎬 Live Demos

🔥 AI Scripture Detection — verses appear the instant the preacher speaks them

🎵 Song Projection Workflow

⏱ Countdown Timer — synced to projection, no lag

📱 Wi-Fi Remote Control — control from any phone or tablet

⚡ Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/anchorcastapp-team/anchorcastapp.git
cd anchorcastapp
npm install
npm start

On Windows, double-click start.bat.

📥 Download

👉 anchorcastapp.com (www.anchorcastapp.com) — Windows & macOS installers (Python + Whisper bundled, fully offline)
👉 GitHub Releases — all versions and build variants

✨ Features

🎙 AI Transcription & Scripture

• Real-time sermon transcription — local Whisper AI (offline) or Deepgram cloud (online)
• Automatic Bible verse detection — detects direct quotes and paraphrased references as the preacher speaks
• AI context search — find verses by topic, not just reference
• Adaptive Memory — learns speaker vocabulary, accents, and correction patterns over time
• Detection Review — approve, reject, or teach custom trigger phrases for future services

🎵 Worship Tools

• Song Manager — full library with lyrics editor, auto slide formatting, and Genius lyrics search
• Import songs — paste raw lyrics for instant AI formatting, or import from compatible song library files
• Theme Designer — custom fonts, colors, backgrounds, and logos; per-category themes for Scripture, Songs, and Presentations
• Presentation Editor — 1920×1080 canvas designer with text, images, shapes, and backgrounds
• Service Schedule — drag-and-drop planner to stage verses, songs, and media in order

📺 Projection System

• Live preview + projection — operator sees the next slide while the congregation sees the current one
• Multi-monitor support — drag the projection window to any connected screen or projector
• NDI output — send to OBS, vMix, or Wirecast for live streaming
• MJPEG fallback — for any browser-based streaming client
• Logo, alerts, and live captions — overlay layers managed independently of the main display

📱 Remote Control

• Access at http://[your-ip]:8080/remote from any phone or tablet on Wi-Fi
• Live projection preview, Scripture / Songs / Media / Slides mode tabs
• Prev / Next / Clear / Go Live — full control from anywhere in the building
• PIN authentication with role-based access (admin, scripture, songs, media, monitor)

⏱ Timer System

• Countdown and count-up modes with custom title, font, color, and position
• Displayed on the projection screen — fully synced, no lag
• Flashes red when time expires and shows a closing message to the speaker
• Clock & date overlay for pre-service display
• Standalone AnchorCast Timer — installs alongside the main app as a separate shortcut

📝 Sermon Intelligence

• Live transcript — auto-saved after every session
• AI Sermon Notes — generate structured notes (title, topic, summary, all main points, key verses, applications) from the transcript with one click
• Sermon Intelligence — AI title suggestions, keyword analysis, and structure insights
• Service Archive — searchable history of every service by title, speaker, or verse
• Analytics Dashboard — cross-service stats: most-used books, quoted verses, speaker patterns

🔒 Security & Reliability

• Offline-first — works entirely without internet using local AI and local Bible data
• KJV bundled by default; import any translation (NKJV, NIV, ESV, NLT, NASB, ASV) via JSON
• Hardened security — settings API auth, PBKDF2 PIN hashing, media protocol path restriction, CSP headers (v1.4.0)
• Role-based remote access — PIN-protected operator controls, session tokens cleared on disconnect
• NDI + MJPEG — professional and fallback streaming options built in

💻 Desktop vs Web Mode

⌨ Keyboard Shortcuts

🔨 Build

Windows

npm run build:win:full     # Full installer — Python + Whisper model bundled
npm run build:win:light    # Light installer — Python bundled, model downloads on first use

macOS

# Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
npm run build:mac:full:arm
npm run build:mac:light:arm

# Intel
npm run build:mac:full:x64
npm run build:mac:light:x64

Auto-Update packages (publish to GitHub)

GH_TOKEN=your_token npm run build:update:win
GH_TOKEN=your_token npm run build:update:mac   # runs arm64 + x64

Standalone Timer

npm run build:timer

Windows: Run setup_whisper.bat before building to create the python\ folder. Place vc_redist.x64.exe in the project root for a fully offline installer. Models in a models\ folder are bundled automatically.

macOS: Set APPLE_ID, APPLE_APP_SPECIFIC_PASSWORD, and APPLE_TEAM_ID environment variables to notarize. Swap the python/ folder to the correct architecture before each build (aarch64-apple-darwin for ARM64, x86_64-apple-darwin for Intel).

🗂 Project Structure

src/
├── main.js                    # Electron main process — IPC, projection, timer, NDI
├── timer-main.js              # Standalone AnchorCast Timer entry point
├── preload.js                 # Electron IPC bridge (contextBridge)
└── renderer/
    ├── index.html             # Main operator dashboard
    ├── projection.html        # Projection output window
    ├── countdown-window.html  # Timer control window
    └── js/
        ├── app.js             # Main app logic and operator workflow
        ├── ai-detection.js    # Bible verse detection engine + Sermon Notes AI
        ├── bible.js           # Bible database + n-gram indexes
        └── electron-shim.js   # Web-mode compatibility layer

server.js              # Express web server (web mode)
whisper_server.py      # Local Whisper AI transcription server
installer.nsh          # NSIS installer hooks (VC++, models, timer shortcut)
scripts/
├── after-pack.js      # electron-builder hook — restores Python permissions on Mac
├── notarize-mac.js    # macOS code-signing afterSign hook
└── notarize-mac-cli.js  # Standalone CLI to notarize + staple DMGs after build
build/
└── entitlements.mac.plist  # macOS hardened runtime entitlements
data/kjv.json          # Bundled KJV Bible
ndi-addon/             # Native NDI SDK addon
assets/                # App icons, splash screen, demo GIFs

📋 Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Electron 33+ (desktop mode)
• Python 3.10–3.12 — optional, for local Whisper transcription (bundled in the Windows installer and macOS DMG)
• NDI 6 SDK — optional, for NDI output
• Apple Developer ID — optional, for macOS notarization (required for GitHub distribution)

🌍 Open Source & Contributing

AnchorCast is MIT licensed and open to contributions from developers, designers, church media operators, and testers.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for full guidelines and CHANGELOG.md for the full version history.

git clone https://github.com/anchorcastapp-team/anchorcastapp.git

⚠️ Disclaimer

See DISCLAIMER.md for important information regarding third-party services, AI accuracy, data privacy, and limitations of the software.

❤️ Mission

To give every church, regardless of size or budget, powerful, reliable, and free tools for worship and the Word.

Built with love for churches everywhere. ✝