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Windows Quick Start

Required Tools and Resources​

  • A Windows 10/11 PC
  • A user account with admin privileges
  • An internet connection
  • A public IP address
  • A text editor (Notepad will work but Notepad++ or VSCode is recommended)
  • A browser that isn't Internet Explorer

Before you begin​

  • Connect your PC with ethernet instead of Wi-Fi
  • Set your PC to never go to sleep automatically (Guide)
  • Show file extensions in Explorer (Guide)
  • Setup auto login for your user account if you haven't already (Guide)
  • Make your media files accessible on this computer by this user
  • Install latest updates (Guide)
  • Setup remote access (optional). Popular options include Teamviewer, AnyDesk, RustDesk, Google Remote Desktop and Parsec

Notes​

  • How to open a Terminal from current location in Explorer
    • Windows 10
      • Right click on blank space while holding down Shift
      • Click Open PowerShell window here
    • Windows 11
      • Right click on blank space
      • Click Open in Windows Terminal or Open in Terminal

Install Jellyfin​

Install​

  1. Download installer exe and sha256sum from the official repo. The files to download are installer/jellyfin_x.y.z_windows-x64.exe.

    Windows Download Page

  2. Run and follow the installer. Select Basic Install when prompted. Do NOT select Install as a Service as it will break certain functions.

    Install Option

  3. Close the installer after the install completes.

    Installation Complete

    Installation Complete

  4. Look for a Jellyfin icon in your system tray. If it isn't present, search for Jellyfin Tray App and run it. No windows will popup after running this application.

    Jellyfin Tray App Search

    Jellyfin Tray App

  5. Allow Firewall Access when Prompted

    Windows Firewall Prompt

    Windows Firewall Prompt

  6. Open a browser and go to http://localhost:8096 to finish the setup process. Leave the Enable automatic port mapping option unchecked. Jellyfin's automatic port mapping feature uses UPnP, which can be a security risk and may not work on some networks. (Click here for more about UPnP and security)

    Set up Remote Access

    Remote Access Setup Page

Hardware Acceleration​

Read the dedicated Hardware Acceleration page for how to configure hardware acceleration.

Reverse Proxy​

A reverse proxy is a server that sits in front of other services and forwards client requests to those services according to predefined rules. They are usually used to help increase security, performance and reliability. Some popular options are Apache, Caddy, Haproxy, Nginx and Traefik. We are using Caddy in this guide for its simplicity. Info on other reverse proxy solutions can be found at Running Jellyfin Behind a Reverse Proxy.

Router Settings​

  1. Press Win + R, enter control and click OK to open Control Panel

    Run Control

  2. Navigate to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center

  3. Click on the Internet Connection under Connections

    Ethernet Connection

  4. Click Details in the popup and note down the IPv4 Address and IPv4 Default Gateway values. The IPv4 Address is the LAN IP address of your Jellyfin server and the IPv4 Default Gateway is usually your Router.

    Network Connection Details

  5. go to https://ipv4.icanhazip.com and note down the IP address

  6. Go to the IPv4 Default Gateway IP in a browser (for this example, http://192.168.50.1/) and Login to your router. If you do not have the credentials, look for them on the bottom of your router or online with the model number of your router

  7. Most Routers will show a WAN IP in the index. Check if the WAN IP matches the IP you noted down in step 5. If it doesn't, you do not have a routable IP address. In this case, you should stop following this guide and look for other options for remote access.

    ASUS router settings page

    ASUS Router Settings Page

  8. Assign your Jellyfin host a static local IP. The option is usually under LAN and named DHCP Server or DHCP. If you assign a different IP than what it currently has, you may need to reconnect the internet of this PC for settings to apply properly. In this case, I am assigning 192.168.50.142 to my PC.

    Static DHCP

  9. Find Port Forwarding settings in your router. This setting is usually under WAN, Firewall, Security or NATand usually named Port Forwarding or Virtual Server. Port Trigger is NOT the setting you are looking for.

  10. Forward ports 80 and 443 to the IP you assigned previously

    Port Forwarding

Install Caddy​

  1. Go to the official Caddy server download page

  2. Choose Windows amd64 for the platform and click download. Leave the standard features checkbox checked. You do NOT need any extra features.

    Caddy Download

  3. Create a new folder under C:\Program Files and name it caddy. Confirm the operation if prompted.

    Create Caddy folder

  4. move the downloaded exe file to the folder and rename it to caddy.exe. Confirm the operation if prompted.

    Place Caddy exe

  5. go to This PC in Explorer, right click on blank space and click on properties

    This PC Right Click Menu

  6. Click Advanced System Settings. it will be after Device Specifications on Windows 11, or in the left sidebar on Windows 10

  7. Click on Environment Variables in the popup and doubleclick on Path under the User variables for user in the second popup

    Environment Variables

  8. Click on New in the popup and enter C:\Program Files\caddy, then click OK on the bottom right. DO NOT change the other entries as messing with them can result in broken programs and/or a broken system.

    New PATH value

  9. Click on OK for the other 2 popups to save and apply settings

  10. Reboot to make sure settings apply properly

Test if HTTP is routable​

  1. Open a terminal and run caddy respond --body test --listen :80

    Caddy Terminal

  2. Allow access if prompted by Windows Firewall

  3. Your IP may have changed while making the changes in your router. Go to https://ipv4.icanhazip.com to get your current public IP address

    My IP

  4. Attempt to access http://<your IP here> using another internet connection on another device such as your mobile data. For this case, the IP has changed to 1.171.xxx.xxx so I will be accessing http://1.171.xxx.xxx using my mobile data on my phone.

  5. The page should look like the picture below. If it doesn't look this way or fails to connect, your ISP may be blocking incoming http connections or your IP is not routable. In this case, you should stop following this guide and look for other remote access options.

    test success ios

    Screenshot taken on iOS using Safari

  6. Press Ctrl + C in the terminal to exit Caddy, then close the terminal.

DDNS​

  1. Login to DuckDNS on the top right at the DuckDNS homepage

  2. Add a new domain in the middle. I am using jellyfintest12345.duckdns.org for this example but you can use anything as long as it hasn't been taken

    duckdns dashboard

  3. Download the latest Windows C# client zip from its Github releases page

  4. Create a new subfolder under C:\Program Files and name it duckdns

    duckdns folder

  5. Unzip the downloaded file and move the DuckDNS.exe into the folder. Confirm the operation if prompted.

    duckdns exe

  6. Run DuckDNS.exe

  7. Enter the Domain you just created and the Token from your DuckDNS dashboard, change interval to 5m and click on OK

    duckdns client interface

  8. Make sure that no errors appeared and there is a yellow duck in your system tray. If the duck is red, check your configuration.

  9. hit Win + R, enter taskschd.msc and click OK

    run task scheduler

  10. Click on Create basic task on the right panel.

  11. Enter a descriptive Name and a description, one that you can identify in the future and click next

  12. Choose When I log on for the Task Trigger and click Next

  13. Choose Start a program for the Action

  14. Enter C:\Program Files\duckdns\DuckDNS.exe in the Program/script field

    create duckdns task

  15. Check Open the Properties dialog checkbox and click Finish

    finish wizard

  16. Go to the Settings Pane in the dialog and uncheck the Stop the task if it runs longer than checkbox, then click OK

    duckdns task properties

Reverse Proxy with Caddy​

  1. Create a text file named Caddyfile (Remove the .txt suffix) on your computer. This file is temporary and can be anywhere. You will be asked to confirm if you want to change the file extension, click Yes.

    file extension change confirmation

  2. Open the file in a text editor and paste in config from below depending on your needs. Replace <your (sub)domain here> with the domain you just created with DuckDNS.

    • if you want your jellyfin instance behind the bare domain (subdomain.example.com / jellyfin.example.com):

      <your (sub)domain here>

      reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8096

    • if you want your jellyfin instance under a subpath (example.com/jellyfin):

      <your (sub)domain here>

      redir /jellyfin /jellyfin/
      reverse_proxy /jellyfin/* 127.0.0.1:8096

  3. Save the file and close the text editor

  4. Copy this file to your caddy folder (the one you created in the Install Caddy section which should be C:\Program Files\caddy). Confirm the operation if prompted.

  5. If you have chosen to use a subpath for Jellyfin, go to your Jellyfin dashboard (open http://localhost:8096 on your server, click the 3 bars on the top right then select Dashboard) and go to the Networking menu on the side bar. Then enter the subpath you have chosen to use and save. Then restart the Jellyfin server (Stop then start the server from the system tray icon)

    Networking Settings

  6. Open a terminal in the caddy folder and run caddy run. If there are errors, check your configs and try again. Keep this window running.

  7. Go to http://<your (sub)domain here> or http://<your (sub)domain here>/jellyfin in a browser to test if it is working. You should be able to see the Jellyfin Login Page.

  8. hit Win + R, enter taskschd.msc and click OK

    run taskschd

  9. Click on Create basic task on the right panel.

  10. Enter a descriptive Name and a description, one that you can identify in the future and click next

  11. Choose When I log on for the Task Trigger and click Next

  12. Choose Start a program for the Action

  13. Enter "C:\Program Files\caddy\caddy.exe" in the Program/script field, run in the arguments field and "C:\Program Files\caddy" in the Start in field, then click Next. The parenthesis are required as the path contains a space.

  14. Check Open the Properties dialog checkbox and click Finish

    create caddy task

  15. Go to the Settings Pane in the dialog and uncheck the Stop the task if it runs longer than checkbox, then click OK

    caddy task propeties

  16. Reboot to test configuration. There will be a Terminal window open after bootup. This is normal. Keep this window open.

    running caddy terminal

External References​