--- title: I switched to the media server nobody talks about, and I... description: A home lab user recounts switching a personal media library from Jellyfin to Emby, expecting a painful weekend-long migration that never materialized. Emby's... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-to-the-media-server-nobody-talks-about-and-i-don-t-regret-it-dxtthsfxj twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I switched to the media server nobody talks about, and I don't regret it | daily.dev og:description: A home lab user recounts switching a personal media library from Jellyfin to Emby, expecting a painful weekend-long migration that never materialized. Emby's... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-to-the-media-server-nobody-talks-about-and-i-don-t-regret-it-dxtthsfxj og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/DxtTHSfxJ.png og:image:alt: I switched to the media server nobody talks about, and I don't regret it 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. # I switched to the media server nobody talks about, and I don't regret it **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A home lab user recounts switching a personal media library from Jellyfin to Emby, expecting a painful weekend-long migration that never materialized. Emby's initial scan recognized existing folder structures without renaming, remote access via Tailscale carried over unchanged, and client apps just needed a new server URL. A third-party tool called WatchState was used to sync watch history since Emby has no official import from Jellyfin or Plex. Custom collections and Live TV/DVR setup had to be rebuilt manually. Overall the switch is described as worth it, with folder scanning and device compatibility being the biggest wins. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I transfer watch history when switching from Jellyfin to Emby? Emby has no official way to import play state from Jellyfin or Plex, so watched status does not carry over automatically. A community tool called WatchState is built to sync play state across Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby, and can pull continue-watching data from Jellyfin and apply it to a new Emby server, though it requires some manual setup tweaks before it runs cleanly. _Anyone weighing a self-hosted media server switch can compare real migration experiences on daily.dev._ ### Do I need to rename my media files when switching from Jellyfin or Plex to Emby? No, Emby can scan existing folders without any renaming, as long as the library already follows a reasonable naming convention like TV show folders with season subfolders and year tags for movies. Pointing Emby's library at the same folders and running the first scan matched nearly all shows and movies automatically, with only a few foreign-language titles missed due to inconsistent online metadata. _Developers running home lab media servers can track setup gotchas like this on daily.dev._ ### What doesn't carry over when migrating from Jellyfin to Emby? Custom collections and Live TV/DVR configuration do not transfer and must be rebuilt from scratch in Emby. Custom collections curated over time have to be recreated manually, and Live TV tuner setup along with channel guide data needs to be reconfigured entirely, even though the core media library scan and device client setup carry over with minimal effort. _Self-hosters planning a media server migration can find similar firsthand setup notes on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [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 - [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 - [Jellyfin finally replaced Plex for me, and the migration took less time than I expected](https://daily.dev/posts/jellyfin-finally-replaced-plex-for-me-and-the-migration-took-less-time-than-i-expected-ffqfbhbwf) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [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 - [The Corporate Creep of Plex vs. The Jellyfin Dilemma](https://daily.dev/posts/the-corporate-creep-of-plex-vs-the-jellyfin-dilemma-rp2sxtd7n) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#jellyfin](https://daily.dev/tags/jellyfin) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-to-the-media-server-nobody-talks-about-and-i-don-t-regret-it-dxtthsfxj) ```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":"I switched to the media server nobody talks about, and I don't regret it","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-to-the-media-server-nobody-talks-about-and-i-don-t-regret-it-dxtthsfxj","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-to-the-media-server-nobody-talks-about-and-i-don-t-regret-it-dxtthsfxj"},"datePublished":"2026-08-18T19:01:34.205Z","dateModified":"2026-08-18T19:06:33.137Z","description":"A home lab user recounts switching a personal media library from Jellyfin to Emby, expecting a painful weekend-long migration that never materialized. 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