Jellyfin — Open Source Media Server

Note

This guide covers deploying Jellyfin as a companion to Plex, pointing at the same media library in read-only mode so neither server can interfere with the other.

Why Jellyfin Alongside Plex?

Plex and Jellyfin serve the same core purpose but have different trade-offs:

	Plex	Jellyfin
Cost	Free + Plex Pass for HW transcoding	Fully free and open source
HW Transcoding	Plex Pass required	Free via VA-API
Mobile apps	Polished	Good, improving
Remote access	Built-in relay	Needs reverse proxy
Metadata	Excellent	Very good

Running both on the same library (with Jellyfin in read-only mode) lets you compare them and give users a choice.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Existing media library (this guide assumes /mnt/nfs/data/media_stack/)
• Pangolin reverse proxy stack running

Compose Setup

The key detail is mounting the media library as read-only (:ro). This ensures Jellyfin cannot write NFO files, artwork, or any other files into the Plex library.

compose.yaml

services:
  jellyfin:
    image: linuxserver/jellyfin:latest
    container_name: jellyfin
    environment:
      - PUID=${PUID}
      - PGID=${PGID}
      - TZ=${TZ}
      - UMASK=${UMASK}
    volumes:
      - /mnt/nfs/docker/docker/jellyfin:/config
      - /mnt/nfs/data/media_stack:/data/media_stack:ro
    ports:
      - 8096:8096
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri
    networks:
      - proxy
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    restart: always

networks:
  proxy:
    external: true

.env

PUID=1027
PGID=65536
TZ=Europe/Copenhagen
UMASK=022

Caution

The :ro mount is important. Without it, Jellyfin will write metadata (NFO files, posters) directly into your media directories, which can confuse Plex and pollute your library.

Initial Setup

1. Start the stack and navigate to http://your-host:8096
2. Create your admin account
3. Set the server name (e.g., “Sørens Mediehus”)
4. Add media libraries using these paths:
   • Movies: /data/media_stack/radarr/movies
   • TV Shows: /data/media_stack/sonarr/tv
   • Anime: /data/media_stack/sonarr/anime
5. Let the initial library scan complete

Hardware Transcoding

Jellyfin supports free hardware transcoding via VA-API (no subscription required, unlike Plex Pass).

In the Jellyfin dashboard:

1. Go to Dashboard → Playback → Transcoding
2. Set Hardware acceleration to Video Acceleration API (VA-API)
3. Set the VA-API device to /dev/dri/renderD128
4. Enable the codec formats you want (H.264, HEVC, etc.)

Note

Verify /dev/dri exists on your host: ls -la /dev/dri. You need an Intel CPU (7th gen+ for Quick Sync) or AMD GPU. The /dev/dri:/dev/dri device passthrough in the compose handles the rest.

Reverse Proxy (Pangolin)

The Pangolin route for jellyfin.falseviking.uk is already configured, pointing at jellyfin:8096 over TCP.

To add a Homepage widget, get your API key first:

1. Jellyfin dashboard → Administration → API Keys
2. Create a new key
3. Add it to /opt/stacks/homepage/.env as HOMEPAGE_VAR_JELLYFIN_KEY=<your-key>
4. Recreate the homepage container: docker compose -f /opt/stacks/homepage/compose.yaml up -d

Naming Conventions vs Plex

Both Plex and Jellyfin support the same base naming format for movies and TV:

• Movies: Movie Title (Year)/Movie Title (Year).mkv
• TV: Show Name/Season 01/Show Name - S01E01 - Title.mkv

However, some Plex-specific tokens will be ignored by Jellyfin:

Feature	Plex	Jellyfin
Edition tags	{edition-Director's Cut}	Not supported
ID disambiguation	{tmdb-xxxxx}	[tmdbid=xxxxx]
Special features folders	Full support	Partial

Since Radarr and Sonarr do the renaming, avoid Plex-specific tokens in your naming format if you want full compatibility with both.