How to configure and access a Jellyfin media server remotely
Learn how to configure the Jellyfin media system on Windows, macOS, and Linux and access it remotely from other devices using Meshnet.
Today, many people have extensive home video libraries — footage ranging from a collection of Blu-rays to precious family recordings. Having an easy-to-use solution for managing such content is essential. Moreover, the media might be scattered across multiple devices, so the software should be capable of transmitting videos from various sources. A popular choice to address these needs is Jellyfin.
Jellyfin is an open-source media system that allows you to manage all of your media content conveniently. This free software is compatible with most operating systems. However, accessing video files on the Jellyfin server from outside the local area network (LAN) requires port forwarding or advanced networking configurations.
With Meshnet, the Jellyfin media server can be connected to the same virtual network with client devices. This configuration allows you to access digital content on the Jellyfin server remotely, without any changes to your router or firewall settings.
In this article, you'll find instructions on setting up a media library using the Jellyfin server for local and remote media. You'll also learn how to remotely watch your content using Meshnet.
To begin the setup process, you will need to configure the Jellyfin server on your host device.
Instructions on how to download and install the Jellyfin server can be found on the Jellyfin website:
Note
Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS distribution will be used as an example in this article.
After installing Jellyfin, you can control it using the web interface.
- 1.Open your internet browser and visit the following address:
http://localhost:8096 - 2.Follow the instructions provided by the initial configuration wizard to finish the setup process.
- 3.Ensure to select the Allow remote connections to this server option when prompted.
- 4.Log in with your newly created Jellyfin account.
All of the settings can be changed later on the Jellyfin dashboard, which you can access by navigating to:
http://localhost:8096/web/index.html#!/dashboard.htmlThe Jellyfin server is now active, but no media is visible yet. To display your content, add the required directories. You can add locally stored or remotely shared files to your media library. Jellyfin scans these folders automatically, and once completed, all located files will be visible on the Jellyfin home page.
Note
This guide uses a Windows PC as an example, but the process is identical on macOS and Linux. The only difference will be the path structure of the media folder directory.
To add media files stored locally on your device, follow these steps:
- 1.Open the Jellyfin dashboard.
- 2.From the menu on the left, under Server, select Libraries and click Add media library.
- 3.In the new window, select the desired content type from the dropdown list and enter a display name.
- 4.Click the plus (+) button next to Folders.
- 5.In the Folder field, enter the path to your media folder. Alternatively, you can navigate to it using the options underneath.
- 6.Click OK twice.
You can also add remotely shared media folders from your Meshnet peers to Jellyfin. However, the Jellyfin application itself does not establish connections to shared folders. As a result, you must first mount the shared folder inside the operating system.
Windows
macOS
Linux
Mount a network share
Instructions for mounting network shares on Windows can be found in the Mount a network share section of the "Configure and access shared folders on Windows" article.
Map a network share in Jellyfin
With the network share mounted, you can map it in Jellyfin.
- 1.Open the Jellyfin dashboard.
- 2.From the menu on the left, under Server, select Libraries and click Add media library.
- 3.In the new window, select the desired content type from the dropdown list and enter a display name.
- 4.Click the plus (+) button next to Folders.
- 5.In the new window, select the letter of your mounted network share.
- 6.Click OK twice.
Mount a network share
On macOS, the shared location is mounted automatically after you connect to it. To connect to a network share on macOS, refer to the Access shared folders section of the "Configure and access shared folders on macOS" article.
After mounting the shared folder, the path to it will be as follows:
/Volumes/<NameOfShare>
Example
/Volumes/MeshnetVideos
Map a network share in Jellyfin
With the network share mounted, you can map it in Jellyfin.
- 1.Open the Jellyfin dashboard.
- 2.From the menu on the left, under Server, select Libraries and click Add media library.
- 3.In the new window, select the desired content type from the dropdown list and enter a display name.
- 4.Click the plus (+) button next to Folders.
- 5.In the new window, select the path to the mounted network share.
- 6.Click OK twice.
Note
Upon restarting your Mac, you'll need to reconnect to the network share. Until that is done, the media content will be visible but unplayable.
Mount a network share
Instructions for mounting network shares on Linux can be found in the Mount a network share section of the "Configure and access shared folders on Linux" article.
Map a network share in Jellyfin
With the network share mounted, you can map it in Jellyfin.
- 1.Open the Jellyfin dashboard.
- 2.From the menu on the left, under Server, select Libraries and click Add media library.
- 3.In the new window, select the desired content type from the dropdown list and enter a display name.
- 4.Click the plus (+) button next to Folders.
- 5.In the new window, select the path to the mounted network share.
- 6.Click OK twice.
After setting up the Jellyfin server and adding the desired media content to it, you can access the server remotely.
The first method to access media content stored on a Jellyfin server is by using Jellyfin’s media player software.
Windows
Android
iOS
macOS
Linux
- 1.
- 2.Copy the server device’s Nord name directly from the NordVPN application by clicking it.
- 3.Launch Jellyfin Media Player and click Add server.
- 4.In the Host field, paste the copied Nord name, followed by
:8096. Click Connect.
- 5.Sign in to the user account created on the Jellyfin server.
All media content stored on the Jellyfin server is now accessible via the Jellyfin Media Player app.
- 1.
- 2.Copy the server device's Nord name directly from the NordVPN application by tapping it.
- 3.Launch Jellyfin.
- 4.In the Connect to server field, paste the copied Nord name and tap Connect.
- 5.Sign in to the user account created on the Jellyfin server.
All media content stored on the Jellyfin server is now accessible via the Jellyfin Media Player app.
- 1.
- 2.Copy the server device's Nord name directly from the NordVPN application by tapping it.
- 3.Launch Jellyfin.
- 4.In the Server address field, paste the copied Nord name, followed by
:8096, and tap go.
- 5.Sign in to the user account created on the Jellyfin server.
All media content stored on the Jellyfin server is now accessible via the Jellyfin Media Player app.
- 1.
- 2.Copy the server device’s Nord name directly from the NordVPN application.
- 3.Launch Jellyfin Media Player and click Add server.
- 4.In the Host field, paste the copied Nord name, followed by
:8096. Click Connect.
- 5.Sign in to the user account created on the Jellyfin server.
All media content stored on the Jellyfin server is now accessible via the Jellyfin Media Player app.
- 1.Download the Jellyfin Media Player installation file for your Linux distribution from Jellyfin’s GitHub page.
- 2.Right-click the downloaded file and select Open with other application.
- 3.Choose Software install and click Select.
- 4.Click the Install button.
- 5.Enter your account password and click Authenticate.
- 1.Copy the server device’s Nord name from the
nordvpn meshnet peer listcommand output. - 2.Launch Jellyfin Media Player and click Add server.
- 3.In the Host field, paste the copied Nord name, followed by
:8096. Click Connect.
- 4.Sign in to the user account created on the Jellyfin server.
All media content stored on the Jellyfin server is now accessible via the Jellyfin Media Player app.
You can also access the Jellyfin server through an internet browser, a method that works consistently across all devices using Meshnet.
- 1.Copy the server device’s Nord name directly from the NordVPN application.
- 2.Open your internet browser.
- 3.Paste the copied Nord name followed by
:8096/to the URL field and press Enter. Examplesecret.meerkat-andes.nord:8096/
- 4.Sign in to the user account created on the Jellyfin server.
All media content stored on the Jellyfin server is now accessible via the internet browser.