In this blog post I will take you through how to install Jellyfin on Unraid. Thanks to the Apps tab and its use of Docker in Unraid it is very simple to install apps in general and in this case Jellyfin.
I am sure that with the ever increasing cost of Plex as well as unsure privacy of your data with Plex that the Jellyfin user base is expanding.
Personally I think the client UI of Android Plex app is great and I love looking up the details of the actors in such an easy way. There are definite downsides to Jellyfin as far as the client side apps and functionality go but dollar cost and privacy issues are also important. At least as the consumer you can pick your own poison.
The great thing on Unraid is you can still choose to use both concurrently if you choose to do so.
Anyway back to the tutorial.
Things to consider
A bit of planning can go a long way especially as copying, renaming and moving files can be a very long and time consuming process.
File Naming: Generally speaking, for Jellyfin there are four main file naming conventions to follow. Basically if you want Jellyfin to accurately pull movie, tv show, music and music videos meta data, the more closely you follow the recommended naming convention, the more accurate the meta data will be. Read up on these:
Media Folder Structure: While Jellyfin has no recommended folder structure most tutorials point to having the following structure. Keep in mind you do not need to follow this structure as Jellyfin is pretty flexible.
Suggested Folder Structure: The common structure shown in many online tutorials is having a top folder called "media" and three sub-folders below this comprising of:
- TV Shows
- Movies
- Music
Now from a practical perspective if you have a lot of video files unless you have an incredible amout of free time you are not going to try and emulate this structure. Copying and moving video files just takes too much time.
Setting up a so-called perfect folder structure is probably only going to happen in (1) a migration process or (2) if you are setting up your NAS for the first time. Thankfully Jellyfin can easily work with whatever folder structure you already have in place.
Jellyfin Step By Step Installation Instructions
Step 1: In Unraid go to the "Apps" tab and in the Search box type [Jellyfin] then click on the "binhex-jellyfin" Install button.
Note: If the binhex-jellyfin is not available try another repository noting that there are always some differences between repositories.
Step 2: Keep "default settings" for:
- Web Interface
- /config
Step 3: Add a "path" to one or more folders one at a time.
HINT: If all of your media, ie, movies, tv shows, music, etc are beneath a single folder (as per the Suggested Folder Structure) you will only have to add one single "path".
However, if your media is NOT under a single folder you will have to add more than one media "path".
Don't worry though as adding media "paths" is easy.
Click on "Add another Path, Port, Variable, Label or Device".
Enter data in pop-up form. In this example we have a folder on the network called "movies" so we will add a "Path" to the container called "movies". You can choose the folder and name as appplicable to your own network setup.
Enter:
- Name
- Container Path
For "Host Path:" use the dropdown to find the relevant folder on your own network drive and select it.
Then enter the:
- Default Value
- Access Mode
- Description
The click on the "Add" button.
If all of your media (movie, tv show, music files, etc) is contained below the folder you just added (ie, a sub-folder or other nested folder) you do not need to add any more "paths" to your media.
WARNING: However, if some of your media is contained in a totally different network path or share that is NOT beneath the "path" you just added then repeat the above process as many times as required to make sure Jellyfin will be able to find the media you want to add to the Jellyfin front-end clients.
Click on the "Apply" button.
The Jellyfin app will be installed on Unraid as per user settings. A screen similar to below will appear. Click on the "Done" button.
Step 4: Add Media Libraries
Step 3 was essentially setting up high level mappings so the "back-end" of Jellyfin knows where your media files are stored.
Step 4 is essentially creating mappings that your front-end application (browser link or Jellyfin App for your smart tv, Apple or Android phone) uses to see your media. To create these mappings it required knowledge of where your media data is (the role of step 3).
Step 4.1: Open the Jellyfin Web UI in Unraid
Step 4.2: Click on the Hamburger icon.
Step 4.3: Click on "Dashboard".
Step 4.4: Click on "Libraries --> "Libraries" --> "Add Media Library".
Step 4.5: In the "Add Media Library" form click on "Content type" and a drop-down will appear. Click on the option best representing the type of media contained in the folder that you will select.
Step 4.6: Enter the name you want your client app to see for the folder(s) that you will be adding. For example, if it is for movies you might want to call it "Movies".
If the folder is more specific, say only Kids movies, you could call it "Kids Movies" of just "Kids". Whatever the case, just remember that the name you input here is the name that the client app will use.
Step 4.7: Add one or more of the media folders from your NAS using the drop-down that you want accessible to your user using the "name" you just entered.
Click on the "+" sign next to "Folders".
In the drop-down add one or more folders that will use the library "name" you input in Step 4.6. Then click "ok" button.
In "Library Settings" select your "Preferred download language" and "Country/Region".
Keep the remainder of options at the Default settings then click "Ok" button.
Congratulations! You've created your first "Library" in Jellyfin. Replicate this process as many times as required depending on how many libraries you need to create.
Note: The library will show the path if your library is mapped to a single folder. If the library has links to multiple folders it will indicate the number of folders referenced (refer to image below).
Step 5: Test that Jellyfin is working.
Step 5.1: Click on the Jellyfin icon.
The Jellyfin homepage will appear with the library or libraries you have added. Unfortunately they will have a non-user icon that you will be able to fix in Step 6.
However, our goal at this stage is to "test" that Jellyfin is working.
Step 5.2: Click on the "library" icon to open the media in the library. The media in your library will appear.
Step 5.3: Click on one of your movies and it should start playing!
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Step 6: (optional) Update Library icon to a user-friendly image.
Step 6.1: Click on the "Home" button.
Step 6.2: Hover your mouse over the media library and then click on the "hamburger" icon.
Step 6.3: Click on the "Edit Images" option.
Step 6.4: Click on the "+" sign.
Step 6.5: Select an image to represent your media library. For "Image Type" select "Backdrop" then click on "Upload".
Step 6.6: Click on the Jellyfin icon.
Step 6.7: The default media library icon has been replaced with the image you selected. Great!
Next Steps
Congratulations you have successfully installed Jellyfin on Unraid and created as many libraries as required for your client apps to view the media.
Access your media away from home: It is now worth considering how you want to consume your media using Jellyfin. Do you want to use it away from home, eg, while on the train or on holiday in another country?
Multiple users: Do you want to make your media available to friends or family from their home, mobile device or smart tv?
Setup remote access to Jellyfin: If you are only going to use Jellyfin from your home you are almost done.
However, if you want to make your media accessible remotely or want to share it with friends and family we recommend reading our blog post on how to setup Jellyfin using NGINX and DuckDNS.
Use Case: Using Jellyfin only at your home
If you will only be using Jellyfin in your home then it's pretty easy to set everything up so you can run Jellyfin on your SmartTV, mobile device or computer.
High Level Process
- Set up Users
- Set up Client apps
Step 1: User Setup
Click "Home" --> "Dashboard".
Click on "Users" then the "+" sign to add a user. Note: Any existing users will appear in your list of Users.
Input the name of the user and a password.
Option 1: If you want the user to have access to all your media libraries then click on the "Enable access to all libraries" option.
Option 2: However, if you only want the user to have access to a subset of your media libraries then select the relevant libraries then click "Save".
Keep the remainder of the settings at Default settings then click the "Save" button.
Your user has been created and added to the list of Users.
Add as many users as required using this process.
Step 2: Set up Client Apps
There are essentially two ways for users to access Jellyfin:
Web-browser
This is the simplest and probably quickest however the downside is that it may have the worst graphical user interface espcially if using a browser on your smart tv or Android/Apple device.
Pre-requisite:
IP Address of Jellyfin App Make sure you know the IP address of the Jellyfin app. This is the web address used to access Jellyfin in your web-browser (see image below).
In this example, the:
- IP address of Jellyfin is: 177.168.1.114.
- the Port is: 8096.
Step 1: In your web-browser input the IP address including the port used to access Jellyfin on your home network.
The Jellyfin login screen will appear. Enter the details from one of the Users you have setup. Enter [User], [Password] and click on the "Sign In" button.
Assuming you have input your user details correctly, you will successfully have logging into the Jellyfin home page and your libraries will be shown.
Application for your Smart Device
You are also able to access Jellyfin on your local network by using an app on your smart device, smart tv, Android or Apple mobile phone, etc.
Depending on the device, go to your app store, search for Jellyfin and install the application.
This example uses an Amazon Firestick but a similar approach will apply for all smart devices.
Step 1: Find app in App store and click Install.
Step 2: Enter the IP address inclding the port in the following screen:
Step 3: Click on "Add account" button.
Enter your user details and you will successfully log into Jellyfin. Note: This is a bit fiddly with the Amazon Firestick but you will get there in the end.
The Jellyfin app will open on your Amazon Firestick. You're done!!!
Repeat the process for any of your other smart devices.
For your information I have also personally installed the official Jellyfin Android app on my mobile phone as well as an alternative Android app called Findroid.
Please support this channel: Have I saved you minutes, hours or even days of scouring the internet to find an actual working solution.
It takes me time and effort to both find a working solution and then write everything up. Please consider buying me a coffee so I can keep producing useful content, especially if I've made your life easier. Cheers!
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