medialab Server

Our Jellyfin-based media server, free and open source (GPL-2.0): your libraries, users and apps stay, and medialab plugins fit in better.

medialab Server: Jellyfin 12.2 with the medialab additions, here with a library of public-domain films and a demo series1 of 7

medialab Server is our variant of Jellyfin 12.2. It keeps Jellyfin's data, libraries, users and apps: the Jellyfin apps for Android, iOS, TV and the web connect to it exactly as they do to official Jellyfin. What it adds is a better home for plugins, ours first.

It is free: no price, no license key and no trial. It is free software under the GPL-2.0, like Jellyfin, and its source code is public.

Install

In a container (Docker, Compose, Unraid, Portainer, Kubernetes; amd64 and arm64, Ubuntu included): the image ghcr.io/cristiancasapu/medialab-server, built from the same signed packages. See Install medialab Server in a container; the build files are public in medialab-server-docker.
With apt on Debian 12 (bookworm), amd64 or arm64: the medialab-server and medialab-server-web packages replace jellyfin-server and jellyfin-web and keep your data in place. See Install medialab Server with apt. The packages need Debian 12 libraries, so on Ubuntu use the container.

At the first start, the Jellyfin database is upgraded to the 12.2 format, which an older Jellyfin cannot open again: make a backup first.

MediaLab TV is included

Since 12.2-ml.8, the TV app is part of the server, free: no plugin and no separate subscription on medialab Server.

TVs without a Jellyfin app open https://<server>:8096/web/tv/ in their own browser and get the Netflix-style interface: Continue Watching, Next Up, libraries, My List, live TV, title pages, search with the on-screen keyboard and profiles.
Its own player, with audio tracks, subtitles, resume and Skip intro / recap / credits.
Settings in the users' menu → MediaLab TV – admin: name, logo (PNG/SVG), colors, language, access path and Turnstile.
Installing over a version that had the jf-tvapp plugin, the server takes over its settings, logo and Turnstile key and no longer loads the plugin; the same addresses keep working.
On official Jellyfin, MediaLab TV remains the jf-tvapp plugin.
Automatic quality uses SpeedTest when it is installed and licensed; without it, the TV measures the network itself.

Source code and license

medialab Server is based on Jellyfin and Jellyfin Web, by the Jellyfin contributors, and stays under their license, the GPL-2.0. The source code of every version, with a tag for each release (package 12.2+mlN+deb12 = tag v12.2-ml.N = image tag 12.2-ml.N), is public: medialab-server and medialab-server-web. The version history is in the changelog.

Our plugins for Jellyfin work on official Jellyfin and on medialab Server; see Jellyfin plugins. "Jellyfin" is a trademark of the Jellyfin project; medialab Server is independent and not endorsed by it.

What medialab Server adds

Compared with official Jellyfin 12.2, with the same data, libraries, users and apps:

Verified – medialab. The server checks the signature of our plugins and shows you that the files are exactly the ones we published. A plugin changed after publishing is flagged.
Built into the interface. Plugins can add buttons and links to your users' menu (for example "TV", "Share") with no manual web configuration.
Priority by default. medialab plugins come first where it matters: Live TV tuners, guide sources and subtitle providers. The order stays yours: you can change it at any time.
The medialab.works catalog included, installing without extra confirmations.
Updates from the web UI, no terminal (with Self-Update by MediaLab): check, update and roll back from the dashboard; if a new version fails to start, the server rolls back on its own with your data intact.
The same Jellyfin, up to date. medialab Server follows the stable Jellyfin 12.x releases every week; a new version is published only after it passes every test, including the tests of our plugins.

Jellyfin apps (Android, iOS, TV, web) connect exactly as they do to official Jellyfin.

To install it, run the container image (guide) or, on Debian 12, the apt packages, which replace jellyfin-server and jellyfin-web and keep your data in place (guide).

medialab Server is free software (GPL-2.0), based on Jellyfin. The source code is public: medialab-server and medialab-server-web.

Requirements

A container (Docker, Compose, Unraid, Portainer, Kubernetes) on amd64 or arm64, Ubuntu included; image ghcr.io/cristiancasapu/medialab-server

Or Debian 12 (bookworm), amd64 or arm64, with the apt packages from apt.medialab.works, which replace jellyfin-server and jellyfin-web and keep your data in place

Free software (GPL-2.0), based on Jellyfin