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Subtitles: search and download with OpenSubtitles

Beebo plays subtitles kept inside a video or in a file next to it. If you have none, it can search OpenSubtitles for you and save the file beside the video, once the owner has connected a free OpenSubtitles account.

Available now Status: Subtitle search is optional and free. The whole-library option arrived in Windows 0.1.57. Only the owner sets it up, once, on the PC.

How it works

Only the Beebo PC talks to OpenSubtitles. Phones, TVs and browsers ask your own PC, which does the searching and downloading. OpenSubtitles receives your account details and the information it needs to find matching subtitles (a fingerprint of the file, plus the title, year, season and episode). Without an account set up, Search online simply says so.

Step by step

  1. Make a free OpenSubtitles account

    Sign up at opensubtitles.com and click the link in the email they send.

  2. Create an API key

    Open the API consumers page, sign in if it asks, click New consumer, name it something like Beebo and save. Copy the API key it shows.

  3. Paste it into Beebo

    On the Beebo PC, open Settings and find Subtitle search (OpenSubtitles). Paste the API key, then type your OpenSubtitles username and password, because OpenSubtitles only lets signed-in accounts download. Click Save. The password is stored encrypted on the PC and is never sent to your phones.

    Screenshot coming. The Subtitle search (OpenSubtitles) box in Settings.

  4. Click Test

    Test checks that everything works and shows how many subtitles your account can download each day. OpenSubtitles decides that number, free accounts get a small allowance, and it resets daily.

    What you’ll see: A green tick and a message about your daily downloads.

  5. Search from the player

    Start any title, tap the gear button in the player, open Subtitles and choose Search online. Pick a result; the labels show how many people downloaded it and whether it is an exact match for your file.

    What you’ll see: The subtitle is saved in the video’s own folder, named after the video with the language added, and appears in the list. Beebo never overwrites a subtitle file you already have.

  6. Optional: fetch subtitles for the whole library

    Below the account box, Fetch subtitles for the whole library looks for films and episodes with no subtitles and fetches them in small batches. Choose a language, how many titles per run (10, 25, 50 or 100) and whether to run once a day, or click Sweep now. It stops as soon as today’s downloads run low, but it does use the same daily allowance as manual searches.

    What you’ll see: After a run: “Last run: looked at …, … needed subtitles, downloaded …” and how many downloads are left today.

What Beebo picks up from your folders

If something goes wrong

Test says it failed

Re-check the API key (paste it fresh), your OpenSubtitles username and password, and that the PC has internet. The Test button is greyed out until an API key is entered.

Search online says nothing is set up

The owner has not finished steps 1 to 4 yet. Only the owner can set this up, on the PC.

I ran out of downloads for today

OpenSubtitles limits each account per day and resets it daily. Wait, or switch the whole-library run off so it does not spend the allowance.

A subtitle is listed but nothing shows on screen

If it is a picture subtitle, the video must be converted to show it. If converting is switched off on the PC or the device cannot play the converted video, it cannot be shown. See Quality, audio and subtitles.

Quality, audio & subtitles 🔊 Sound and audio options 🖥️ Get started on Windows 🔐 Privacy in plain words FAQ

Written for Beebo for Windows 0.1.57 and the Beebo Android app 1.38, as of September 21, 2026. Found something that doesn’t match what you see? Tell us at testers@beeboentertainment.com. It is a plain email, with no form and no sign-up.