--- title: Emby doesn't have watch parties, so I found a community... description: Emby lacks a native watch party feature, so the author set up an open-source community project called Emby Watch Party by Oratorian. It runs as a self-hosted... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Emby doesn't have watch parties, so I found a community solution that actually works | daily.dev og:description: Emby lacks a native watch party feature, so the author set up an open-source community project called Emby Watch Party by Oratorian. It runs as a self-hosted... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/QhFcfYAFI.png og:image:alt: Emby doesn't have watch parties, so I found a community solution that actually works og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Emby doesn't have watch parties, so I found a community solution that actually works **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Emby lacks a native watch party feature, so the author set up an open-source community project called Emby Watch Party by Oratorian. It runs as a self-hosted proxy in front of the Emby server rather than as a plugin, proxying the video stream to enable synchronized viewing. Friends join using only a room link and a display name — no Emby account required. The setup uses Tailscale to keep Emby off the public internet and Caddy for HTTPS termination. Each participant gets an independent stream with their own subtitle, audio, and quality controls, removing the usual friction around language preferences during group viewing. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Does Emby have a built-in watch party or synchronized viewing feature? Emby does not ship with a native synchronized viewing feature. Open requests for this exist on Emby's community forums. A community-built workaround called Emby Watch Party, created by Oratorian, fills the gap by running as a separate self-hosted proxy in front of the Emby server rather than as a plugin installed inside it. _Self-hosters tracking Emby feature gaps and community workarounds share findings on daily.dev._ ### Do friends need an Emby account to join an Emby Watch Party session? Friends do not need an Emby account to join. Only the host logs in with Emby credentials to create the room and pick content. Guests join using just the room URL (which includes a code) and choose a display name — no server credentials required. Each participant gets an independent stream with their own subtitle, audio, and quality controls. _Developers running media servers for friends find setup tips like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [This self-hosted alternative to Plex and Jellyfin works way better than I expected](https://daily.dev/posts/this-self-hosted-alternative-to-plex-and-jellyfin-works-way-better-than-i-expected-ev85di1sl) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [After using Jellyfin for years, this lesser-known open-source alternative finally won me over](https://daily.dev/posts/after-using-jellyfin-for-years-this-lesser-known-open-source-alternative-finally-won-me-over-yv5ae3uix) · XDA Developers · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [I switched to the media server nobody talks about, and I don't regret it](https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-to-the-media-server-nobody-talks-about-and-i-don-t-regret-it-dxtthsfxj) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [In the rush from Plex to Jellyfin, everyone forgot the media server that sits right in the middle](https://daily.dev/posts/in-the-rush-from-plex-to-jellyfin-everyone-forgot-the-media-server-that-sits-right-in-the-middle-er14hoaxe) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Self-Host Weekly \(7 August 2026\)](https://daily.dev/posts/self-host-weekly-7-august-2026--4qzgawlmm) · selfh.st · 10 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#tailscale](https://daily.dev/tags/tailscale) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Emby doesn't have watch parties, so I found a community solution that actually works","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi"},"datePublished":"2026-08-07T19:02:08.816Z","dateModified":"2026-08-07T19:02:40.113Z","description":"Emby lacks a native watch party feature, so the author set up an open-source community project called Emby Watch Party by Oratorian. It runs as a self-hosted...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ef35c0e0fdbc1d4af308663dc2b47834?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ef35c0e0fdbc1d4af308663dc2b47834?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"self-hosting,tailscale","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Emby doesn't have watch parties, so I found a community solution that actually works"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/emby-doesn-t-have-watch-parties-so-i-found-a-community-solution-that-actually-works-qhfcfyafi#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Emby have a built-in watch party or synchronized viewing feature?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Emby does not ship with a native synchronized viewing feature. Open requests for this exist on Emby's community forums. A community-built workaround called Emby Watch Party, created by Oratorian, fills the gap by running as a separate self-hosted proxy in front of the Emby server rather than as a plugin installed inside it. Self-hosters tracking Emby feature gaps and community workarounds share findings on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Do friends need an Emby account to join an Emby Watch Party session?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Friends do not need an Emby account to join. Only the host logs in with Emby credentials to create the room and pick content. Guests join using just the room URL (which includes a code) and choose a display name — no server credentials required. Each participant gets an independent stream with their own subtitle, audio, and quality controls. Developers running media servers for friends find setup tips like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```