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Setting Up a Jellyfin Server on Your Own Machine

by Jellyfin Project
Open SourceWindowsmacOSLinuxMedia Players

A completely free, open-source way to stream your own media library, no subscription involved.

Landing on 'Jellyfin server' specifically, rather than a media player, means you're setting up something that runs continuously on a home PC or NAS to stream your own collection to other devices, not just playing files locally. It's the community-run fork of Emby that stayed fully open source after Emby went commercial, so there's no account, no telemetry, and no paid tier hiding behind it. This page links the server installer, which is a different download from the Jellyfin client apps.

Jellyfin download Official build, straight from the publisher — free, no account, no bundled extras.

Server vs Client: You Need Both, Separately

Jellyfin Server is the piece that indexes and streams your media library; it needs to run continuously on a PC, mini-PC, or NAS. You'll also install a separate Jellyfin client app on whatever device you actually watch on, whether that's a phone, smart TV, or another computer.

Because the whole project is open source under the GPL, there's no premium tier, no forced cloud account, and no telemetry phoning home, which is the main reason people migrate to it from Plex or Emby.

Who ends up using Jellyfin

Home media hoarders wanting to stream their own movie collection, NAS owners, and privacy-focused users leaving Plex's paid features all set up Jellyfin.

  • Home users streaming a personal movie and TV collection to a smart TV or phone
  • NAS owners who want a media server without a forced cloud account
  • Plex or Emby users migrating away from paid subscription features

Before you install

A couple of things worth knowing about Jellyfin before you request the link: it covers Windows, macOS and Linux, so pick the right build for the machine you're setting up. And on pricing, Jellyfin is open source, so the installer is free with no trial timer, feature lock, or upsell screen to click past. It's developed and maintained by Jellyfin Project.

System requirements

  • WindowsWindows 10 or 11 (64-bit); older 7/8.1 builds usually still run but no longer get official support
  • macOSa recent macOS release — check the download page for the current minimum version, since Apple Silicon vs Intel builds sometimes differ
  • Linuxmost current 64-bit distributions; look for a native .deb/.rpm/AppImage or a package in your distro's own repository

Heavier workloads (large files, high-res media, big projects) will naturally want more RAM and a faster CPU/GPU than the bare minimum.

Quick steps

  1. Install Jellyfin Server on the machine that will stay on and hold your media files
  2. Run the setup wizard to point it at your movie and TV folders
  3. Install a Jellyfin client app on each device you want to stream to

Jellyfin: the honest trade-offs

Where it's strong
  • Completely free and open source with no premium tier or forced account
  • No telemetry or mandatory cloud dependency, everything runs locally
  • Active plugin ecosystem covers live TV, metadata, and subtitle sources
Where it falls short
  • Hardware transcoding for 4K content needs a fairly capable CPU or GPU
  • Mobile and TV client apps are less polished than Plex's equivalents

This download is pulled from the Jellyfin Project's official GitHub releases, the same build published at jellyfin.org.

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Keeping Jellyfin up to date

Since Jellyfin is open source, most Linux distributions keep it current through their own package manager. On Windows/macOS, re-running the installer from the official site (or an updater built into the app, if it has one) gets you the latest release. Sticking to the developer's own distribution channel — which is what this page links to — means you're never stuck on an old build with unpatched bugs just because a mirror site stopped updating its copy.

Want the full Jellyfin guide?

Features, install steps, alternatives and more detail live on the main Jellyfin page.

Open the full guide

Frequently asked questions

Does Jellyfin require creating an online account?

No, Jellyfin runs entirely locally with no mandatory account or cloud service, unlike some commercial media server alternatives.

Can Jellyfin Server run on a Raspberry Pi or NAS?

Yes, it runs on modest hardware including Raspberry Pi and most NAS devices, though transcoding heavy 4K files benefits from more CPU power.