I’m back on Ubuntu. I’m trying to use JellyFin as a Media Server. I have no issue installing through the Terminal or Snap. However it’s impossible to ever get Ubuntu to read the file system. Or to get JellyFin to read the Ubuntu file system. I know it has something to do with Root and user and file protections. This is very difficult to do. I attempted to do a CHMOD command or something similar and it always ends up ruining the overall Ubuntu install and I always end up re-installing the entire OS. Does anyone have an easy to follow guide. Let me know if you need additional info? Greatly appreciate, Rich H
Welcome @brevardo to Ubuntu Discourse and to Ubuntu in general. Your post was moved to its own thread as it was out of place where you posted it. Feel free to change the title.
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Have you followed the instructions from the maintainer (linked from the app store page) ?
Following these instructions it should have access to all non-hidden files in your homedir as well as everything mounted under /media (i.e. removable devices like USB sticks) and /mnt (other local partitions)
Given this is a snap (and thus sandboxed) you will not get access to other places on the file system than the above directories (though you can use bind mounts into /mnt if you want to make other places available)
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Okay. Thanks Ogra. This is very helpful! I’ll spend some time on this and hopefully I’ll be able to get through it. I may need to stop back here though if I get stuck. lol I’ll follow back up with yo shortly. Thanks again, Rich H
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Update: Here’s what I now have. Not sure how I got here. I’m getting this in the Terminal. What should I run next or what do you recommenced as I still can’t see any media on my desktop to load into JellyFin Media Server “You should see the service as ‘active (running)’ above. If not, use Contact | Jellyfin to find us for
So it looks like I finally do have JellyFin up and running on my old Dell compter using Ubuntu. The only issue is it still seems impossible to simply creat a new folder called “NewFolder1” I save three Mp4 files to the folder which I have saved to the Ubuntu Desktop. JellyFin doesn’t see this folder or the files however it will see a Lexar USB stick that I just happened to have inserted into a USB port. Do I need to move the “NewFolder1” to a different place? see attached
Okay. I think I have a good understanding. Is using a Bind Mount into /mnt a fairly simple process?
Unfortunely I guess I’m not going to make this work. Ubuntu is way too complicated. I was hoping I could just follow a few easy steps. The last time I put in a chmod command in the Terminal it somehow interfered with LivePatch and I had to end up re-installing a brand new Ubuntu install disk.
Regarding bind mounting, see this answer on askubuntu:
There are several approaches, and each has pros and cons.
If you use a Snap package and a separate Media partition, then…
Pro: The community maintaining that Snap has done a great job keeping it up to date for years.
Con: You must indeed learn how to bind-mount so the software is allowed to see your data.
If you use the upstream Deb package, then…
Pro: Your data can be almost anywhere.
Con: You are responsible for maintaining and ensuring security updates occur regularly.
Neither approach is “better.” It’s a matter of which approach you feel most comfortable maintaining.
I’ve used Jellyfin for almost a decade. Easy to install, easy to maintain, reliable. Good stuff.
I dont use any snaps so can’t comment on Jellyfin run in that way.
However, it is easy to add the jellyfin repos to Ubuntu so it will be updated along with all other packages when you update your system which I assume you do regularly.
See Linux | Jellyfin for how to do this.
I’ve been using jellyfin for some while now on both my Xubuntu-24.04 and Mint-Xfce-22.3 systems having added those repos and it is a brilliant media-server removing all the continuous attempts of both Emby and Plex for me to pay for certain things which are all free and open-source on Jellyfin.
Thanks Ian! I think this is probably the way I may want to go. If I already have JellyFin on my system and it’s installed with SNAP. Are you saying I need to remove that install and then I can re-install using the Deb package option. Is the Deb option something i can do with the Terminal?
Whoa, hang on.
You have a decision to make, don’t be hasty about it.
A) Take the time to learn how bind-mounts work, so you can keep using the Snap conveniently.
…or…
B) Take the time to learn how deb-based package management works so you can maintain your setup and avoid damaging your system. (Your system uses the same deb-based package management. The wrong command ran ruin your week)
The answer to that is part of learning to use deb-based package management. It involves using more cryptic commands and more learning than bind-mounts.
You must pick which you want to take the time to learn. I learned both, to great benefit. The third path (avoid learning) is not recommended, and usually ends in a lot of frustration.
Yes. You have a very good point. I think I’m leaning towards, “take the time to learn how bind-mounts work,” I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again as your feedback has me feeling optimistic again. Rich H