Jellyfin - Media Server Management

Overview

The jellyfin command manages Jellyfin media server instances using Podman Quadlet containers. It supports hardware transcoding and FUSE filesystem compatibility for network mounts.

Key Concept: Multi-instance support allows running multiple media libraries. FUSE compatibility enables rclone/sshfs mounts for cloud or remote storage.

Quick Reference

Action	Command	Description
Config	ujust jellyfin config <CONFIG> <CACHE> <MEDIA> [N] [GPU] [IMAGE] [WORKSPACE]	Configure instance
Start	ujust jellyfin start [N|all]	Start instance(s)
Stop	ujust jellyfin stop [N|all]	Stop instance(s)
Restart	ujust jellyfin restart [N|all]	Restart instance(s)
Logs	ujust jellyfin logs [N] [LINES]	View logs
List	ujust jellyfin list	List all instances
Status	ujust jellyfin status [N]	Show instance status
URL	ujust jellyfin url [N]	Show access URL
Shell	ujust jellyfin shell [CMD] [N]	Open shell in container
Delete	ujust jellyfin delete [N|all]	Remove instance(s) and images

Configuration

Config Parameters

ujust jellyfin config <CONFIG> <CACHE> <MEDIA> [INSTANCE] [GPU] [IMAGE] [WORKSPACE]

Parameter	Required	Description
CONFIG	Yes	Configuration directory
CACHE	Yes	Cache directory (transcoding)
MEDIA	Yes	Media library path
INSTANCE	No	Instance number (default: 1)
GPU	No	GPU type: nvidia, amd, intel, auto
IMAGE	No	Container image or tag (default: stable)
WORKSPACE	No	Optional additional mount to /workspace

Configuration Examples

# Basic installation
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin/config ~/jellyfin/cache ~/media 1

# With NVIDIA GPU for transcoding
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin/config ~/jellyfin/cache ~/media 1 nvidia

# Second instance for different library
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin2/config ~/jellyfin2/cache ~/videos 2

# With custom image and workspace
ujust jellyfin config ~/config ~/cache ~/media 1 auto "docker.io/jellyfin/jellyfin:10.8.13" /projects

Update Existing Configuration

Running config when already configured will update the existing configuration, preserving values not explicitly changed.

Shell Access

# Interactive bash shell
ujust jellyfin shell

# Run specific command
ujust jellyfin shell "df -h"

# Shell in specific instance
ujust jellyfin shell "ls /media" 2

Lifecycle Commands

Start/Stop

# Single instance
ujust jellyfin start 1
ujust jellyfin stop 1

# All instances
ujust jellyfin start all
ujust jellyfin stop all

View Logs

# Follow logs
ujust jellyfin logs 1

# Last N lines
ujust jellyfin logs 1 100

Get URL

ujust jellyfin url 1
# Output: http://localhost:8096

Port Allocation

Instance	Port
1	8096
2	8097
3	8098
N	8095+N

Hardware Transcoding

GPU Types

GPU	Flag	Transcoding
NVIDIA	nvidia	NVENC/NVDEC
AMD	amd	VAAPI
Intel	intel	QuickSync

Enable GPU

ujust jellyfin config ~/config ~/cache ~/media 1 nvidia

Verify GPU

# Check inside container
ujust jellyfin shell
nvidia-smi  # or vainfo for AMD/Intel

FUSE Filesystem Support

Jellyfin containers support FUSE mounts (rclone, sshfs) for remote storage.

Mount Before Starting

# Mount cloud storage
rclone mount gdrive:media ~/media --daemon

# Then start Jellyfin
ujust jellyfin start 1

Why Host Networking?

Jellyfin uses host networking for:

• DLNA discovery
• mDNS/Bonjour
• Chromecast

Configuration Files

File	Purpose	Location
Quadlet unit	Service definition	~/.config/containers/systemd/jellyfin-1.container
Instance config	Settings	~/.config/jellyfin/instance-1.env
Jellyfin data	Libraries, users	<CONFIG>/
Transcoding cache	Temp files	<CACHE>/

Common Workflows

Initial Setup

# 1. Create directories
mkdir -p ~/jellyfin/{config,cache}

# 2. Configure Jellyfin
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin/config ~/jellyfin/cache ~/media 1 nvidia

# 3. Start it
ujust jellyfin start 1

# 4. Access web UI
ujust jellyfin url 1
# Open http://localhost:8096

Multiple Libraries

# Movies library
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin-movies/config ~/jellyfin-movies/cache ~/movies 1

# TV library
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin-tv/config ~/jellyfin-tv/cache ~/tv 2

# Start both
ujust jellyfin start all

Cloud Storage

# 1. Mount cloud storage
rclone mount gdrive:media ~/cloud-media --daemon --vfs-cache-mode writes

# 2. Configure Jellyfin pointing to mount
ujust jellyfin config ~/jellyfin/config ~/jellyfin/cache ~/cloud-media 1

# 3. Start
ujust jellyfin start 1

Initial Configuration

First-time setup via web UI:

1. Open http://localhost:8096
2. Create admin user
3. Add media libraries
4. Configure transcoding (if GPU)
5. Set up remote access

Troubleshooting

Jellyfin Won't Start

Check:

ujust jellyfin status 1
ujust jellyfin logs 1 50

Common causes:

• Port conflict (8096 in use)
• Invalid paths
• GPU driver issues

Transcoding Fails

Check:

# View logs for transcoding errors
ujust jellyfin logs 1 | grep -i transcode

Common causes:

• GPU not passed through
• Missing codec support

Fix:

# Reconfigure with GPU
ujust jellyfin delete 1
ujust jellyfin config ~/config ~/cache ~/media 1 nvidia

Media Not Found

Check:

• Media directory exists
• Correct path in config
• Permissions

Fix:

# Verify path
ls ~/media

# Reconfigure with correct path
ujust jellyfin delete 1
ujust jellyfin config ~/config ~/cache /correct/path 1

DLNA Not Working

Cause: Network isolation

Jellyfin uses host networking, but ensure:

• Firewall allows mDNS (5353/udp)
• Same network as clients

Cross-References

• Related Skills: configure gpu-containers (GPU setup)
• Jellyfin Docs: https://jellyfin.org/docs/
• Web UI: http://localhost:8096

When to Use This Skill

Use when the user asks about:

• "install jellyfin", "setup media server"
• "jellyfin not working", "jellyfin transcoding"
• "jellyfin GPU", "hardware transcoding"
• "multiple jellyfin", "jellyfin instances"