Overview
Jellyfin is a free and open-source media server used to organize and stream your personal movies, TV shows, and music libraries. TrueNAS provides a strong foundation for running Jellyfin thanks to its powerful ZFS storage backend and built-in application management through Apps (TrueNAS SCALE). This guide walks through deploying Jellyfin on TrueNAS SCALE with persistent storage, GPU support, and proper media library organization.
System Architecture
TVs, Phones, Browsers] -->|Stream| B(Jellyfin Server) B -->|Reads Media| C[Media Dataset
/mnt/tank/media] B -->|Stores Config| D[App Config Dataset
/mnt/tank/apps/jellyfin/config] B -->|Optional| E[GPU Acceleration
NVIDIA / Intel] C --> TrueNAS D --> TrueNAS
Step 5 — Enable GPU Hardware Acceleration (Optional)
If your system supports GPU acceleration (especially NVIDIA), TrueNAS SCALE allows you to pass the GPU directly into the container.
- Go to Apps → Jellyfin → Edit
- Scroll to Resources
- Select your GPU
Then enable hardware acceleration inside Jellyfin:
- Go to Dashboard → Playback → Transcoding
- Enable NVENC / NVDEC (NVIDIA), or QuickSync (Intel)
Step 6 — Finish Deployment
Click Install and TrueNAS will deploy Jellyfin automatically. Once complete, access it via a browser.
Jellyfin Setup Wizard
When you first open Jellyfin:
- Create an admin account
- Choose a language
- Add media libraries:
- Movies → /data/movies
- Shows → /data/shows
- Music → /data/music
- Select metadata options
Remote Access
For remote streaming, consider:
- Cloudflare Tunnel (recommended)
- Traefik / Nginx Proxy Manager
- VPN access (WireGuard / OpenVPN)
Avoid exposing Jellyfin directly to the internet without SSL and proper security controls.
Backups
Use Snapshot Tasks in TrueNAS to back up:
- The Jellyfin config dataset
- Your media datasets
Periodic snapshots allow you to quickly roll back accidental deletions or metadata corruption.
Conclusion
Running Jellyfin on TrueNAS gives you a powerful, flexible, and secure self-hosted media platform. With ZFS-backed storage, easy application deployment, and GPU acceleration, this setup provides a solid foundation for home media streaming in any home lab environment.