Jellyfin

A free media server for movies, shows, music and photos that streams your own library to TVs, phones and browsers, with no premium tier.

58.9k stars, 5.8k forks C# On GitHub since December 2018

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is Jellyfin?

Jellyfin organizes the media files you already own and streams them from your own server to web browsers, phones, smart TVs and streaming boxes through its client apps. It began as a community fork of Emby 3.5.2 and was ported to .NET so it runs on all major systems. This repository holds the backend server; the web interface and the apps live in separate projects of the same organization. When a device cannot play a file directly, the server converts it on the fly with ffmpeg.

Good fit if

  • You want an alternative to Plex or Emby where every feature is free and no company account is involved.
  • You keep a large library of films, series or music on a home server or NAS and watch it on several devices.

Look elsewhere if

  • You mainly listen to music and want a lighter server built only for that: Navidrome.
  • Your library is audiobooks and podcasts with progress synced between devices: Audiobookshelf.

Before you adopt it

Jellyfin is licensed under the GPL (version 2), and nothing in the repository is paywalled: every feature is free. It is run by a volunteer organization, with 46 people committing in the last 90 days. Converting video for devices that cannot play the original file takes a lot of processor power, so size the server for the streams you expect.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

Jellyfin health: is it still maintained?

94 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    573 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 1 November 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    45 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 23% of them.
    20 / 20
  • Releases
    8 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v12.4, on 26 October 2026.
    17 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 100% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 3 hours.
    20 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 7.4 of 10.
    7 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

Jellyfin license: is it open source?

Jellyfin uses GPL-2.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. December 2018First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayGPL-2.0.

How to run Jellyfin yourself

Docker
No Docker files in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: jellyfin.org or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to Jellyfin

  • AudiobookshelfSelf-hosted audiobook and podcast server 84 health · GPL-3.0 · 14.9k stars
  • NavidromeYour Personal Streaming Service 84 health · GPL-3.0 · 24.5k stars

All 3 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about Jellyfin

Is Jellyfin open source?

Yes. Jellyfin is published under GPL-2.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Jellyfin still maintained?

Its health score is 94 of 100 (actively developed). It had 573 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 1 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 26 October 2026.

How do I run Jellyfin?

The repository has no Docker files or app builds, so you build it from source. The README on GitHub has the steps.

What are the alternatives to Jellyfin?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include Audiobookshelf, Navidrome.