# jellyfin-server

Jellyfin media **server** in an unprivileged Incus container on `nuc`.

- Image: `images:ubuntu/24.04`, Jellyfin from the official repo (repo.jellyfin.org)
- IP: `192.168.0.5` (LAN bridge) — web UI/API on `http://192.168.0.5:8096`
- iGPU render node (`/dev/dri/renderD128`) passed for QSV/VAAPI hardware transcoding
- Media library: host `/srv/media` — since 2026-08-30 an **NFSv4 mount
  from `nas`** (`192.168.0.4:/media`, dataset `tank/media`), mounted at
  `/media` in the container with **`shift=false`** and `readonly=true`.
  See [nas/nas-install.md](../nas/nas-install.md) §8.
- Port 8096 additionally proxied to the host address (`web` proxy device)

## Install script

Run as root on the Incus host: `MEDIA_DIR=/srv/media ./install.sh`

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Adapted from:
# https://forgejo.benoit.jp.net/benoitjpnet/Laminar/src/branch/main/cfg/jobs/jellyfin.run
set -euxo pipefail

CNAME="${CNAME:-jellyfin-server}"
IMAGE="${IMAGE:-images:ubuntu/24.04}"
MEDIA_DIR="${MEDIA_DIR:-/srv/media}"   # host directory containing your media library

[ -d "$MEDIA_DIR" ] || { echo "MEDIA_DIR=$MEDIA_DIR does not exist on the host"; exit 1; }

incus launch "$IMAGE" "$CNAME"

# Wait until the container has working DNS/network
for i in $(seq 1 30); do
    incus exec "$CNAME" -- getent hosts repo.jellyfin.org >/dev/null 2>&1 && break
    sleep 2
done

incus config set "$CNAME" environment.DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
incus exec "$CNAME" -- timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Paris
incus config set "$CNAME" environment.DEBCONF_NONINTERACTIVE_SEEN=true

# --- Jellyfin from the official repository -----------------------------------
incus exec "$CNAME" -- apt-get update
incus exec "$CNAME" -- apt-get upgrade -y
incus exec "$CNAME" -- apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl gnupg ca-certificates
incus exec "$CNAME" -- mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
incus exec "$CNAME" -- bash -c 'curl -fsSL https://repo.jellyfin.org/jellyfin_team.gpg.key | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/jellyfin.gpg'
incus exec "$CNAME" -- bash -c 'cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jellyfin.sources <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://repo.jellyfin.org/ubuntu
Suites: noble
Components: main
Architectures: amd64
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/jellyfin.gpg
EOF'
incus exec "$CNAME" -- apt-get update
incus exec "$CNAME" -- apt-get install -y jellyfin

# Optional: OpenCL runtime, only needed for HDR tone-mapping during transcodes
incus exec "$CNAME" -- apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends intel-opencl-icd || true

# --- iGPU render node for hardware transcoding (QSV/VAAPI) -------------------
RENDER_GID="$(incus exec "$CNAME" -- getent group render | cut -d: -f3)"
incus config device add "$CNAME" igpu gpu gid="$RENDER_GID"
incus exec "$CNAME" -- usermod -aG render,video jellyfin

# --- Media library (read-only is fine unless you let Jellyfin save NFO/artwork
#     next to the files) --------------------------------------------------
# NOTE: shift=true requires idmapped-mount support on MEDIA_DIR's filesystem —
# fine on local fs (ext4/btrfs/xfs), NOT supported on CIFS/NFS mounts.
incus config device add "$CNAME" media disk source="$MEDIA_DIR" path=/media shift=true

# --- Expose the web UI/API on the host's LAN address -------------------------
incus config device add "$CNAME" web proxy listen=tcp:0.0.0.0:8096 connect=tcp:127.0.0.1:8096

incus config set "$CNAME" boot.autostart=true
incus restart "$CNAME"

echo "Done. Open http://<host-ip>:8096 to run the setup wizard."
```

## Media over NFS (2026-08-30)

The library moved to `nas` when the 4 TB left nuc's USB enclosure. The
container keeps the same path, so everything below still applies — only
the mount underneath `/srv/media` changed.

```sh
# nuc host: /etc/fstab
192.168.0.4:/media /srv/media nfs4 ro,_netdev,soft,timeo=100,retrans=3 0 0
```

`shift=true` **cannot** be used: idmapped mounts are not supported on
NFS (nor CIFS). Per the troubleshooting note below, dropping the shift is
enough for a read-only library — the export uses `all_squash` so files
carry synthetic world-readable ownership:

```sh
incus stop jellyfin-server                 # shift cannot be hot-applied
incus config device set jellyfin-server media shift=false
incus config device set jellyfin-server media readonly=true
incus start jellyfin-server
```

⚠️ Two traps:

- **Boot ordering.** Add `remote-fs.target` to nuc's
  `/etc/systemd/system/incus.service.d/after-zfs.conf`, or the container
  starts against an empty mountpoint and Jellyfin shows an empty library
  (and may prune the library metadata).
- **`soft` is deliberate.** A hung nas should fail Jellyfin's reads, not
  wedge nuc's processes in uninterruptible sleep the way the suspended
  `usb4t` pool did ([usb4t-dropouts.md](usb4t-dropouts.md)).

`transmission-bt` is no longer on nuc — it moved to nas and writes to
the dataset locally ([nas/transmission-bt.md](../nas/transmission-bt.md)),
so nuc's mount is read-only and there is exactly one writer.

## ⚠️ Real-time monitoring does not work over NFS (2026-08-31)

Libraries have `EnableRealtimeMonitor=true` and Jellyfin reports
`SupportsLibraryMonitor: true`, but **new files never appear on their
own**. Jellyfin watches with inotify, which only reports changes made
through the local mount; transmission writes them on **nas**, so nuc's
NFS client sees nothing. Jellyfin looks healthy and silently misses
everything until a scan.

This is a regression from the 2026-08-30 storage move — before it,
transmission and jellyfin-server shared one local dataset on nuc and
inotify fired normally.

**Fix in place:** transmission calls Jellyfin's `/Library/Refresh` when a
download completes — see
[nas/transmission-bt.md](../nas/transmission-bt.md). Downloads appear
within seconds; if nuc is powered off the request fails harmlessly and
the scheduled scan catches up.

Manual scan (UI): Dashboard → Scheduled Tasks → **Scan Media Library**.
By API:

```sh
curl -X POST -H "X-Emby-Token: <key>" http://192.168.0.5:8096/Library/Refresh   # expect 204
```

Diagnosing "my download is not in Jellyfin", in order — the first three
were all fine when this was hit, which is what made it confusing:

```sh
ls /export/media/downloads/                                   # on nas: file there?
incus exec jellyfin-server -- ls /media/downloads/            # visible through NFS?
incus exec jellyfin-server -- find /var/lib/jellyfin/root -name '*.mblink' -exec cat {} +   # in a library path?
incus exec jellyfin-server -- cat /var/lib/jellyfin/data/ScheduledTasks/*.js | grep -o '"Name":"Scan Media Library".*'  # when did it last scan?
```

⚠️ **nuc's mount is read-only.** Reorganising finished downloads into
`/media/movies` or `/media/tv-shows` can no longer be done from nuc — do
it on nas under `/export/media/`.

## First-run configuration

1. Run the setup wizard; add libraries pointing at `/media/...`.
2. Dashboard → Playback → Transcoding:
   - Hardware acceleration: **Intel QuickSync (QSV)** (fallback: VA-API),
     device `/dev/dri/renderD128`.
   - Enable hardware decoding for the codecs you use; Alder Lake-N does
     H.264/HEVC/VP9/AV1 decode and H.264/HEVC encode.
   - Enable "Low-Power" encoders only if GuC/HuC is loaded (see below).

## Troubleshooting / notes

- **`Failed to setup device mount "media": idmapping abilities are required
  but aren't supported on system`** — the media source is on a filesystem
  without idmapped-mount support (CIFS/NFS). Either move the media to a
  local fs, or drop the shift (`incus config device set jellyfin-server
  media shift=false`; on CIFS files are world-readable synthetic ownership,
  enough for a read-only library). Hot-applying `shift` on a running
  container fails — stop it first.
- **QSV "low-power" encode fails** — Alder Lake-N needs GuC/HuC firmware
  submission. On the **host**:
  `echo 'options i915 enable_guc=3' > /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf`,
  `update-initramfs -u`, reboot; verify with `dmesg | grep -i 'guc\|huc'`.
  Or just untick the low-power options.
- GPU check: `incus exec jellyfin-server -- ls -l /dev/dri`.
- Pin a version with `apt-get install jellyfin=<ver>+ubu2404` for
  reproducibility; keep major versions in sync with the client's JMP.
- To bake a reusable image instead: run the script, then
  `incus publish jellyfin-server --alias jellyfin-server-<ver>`.