jellyfin-ha-src/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

Last updated: 2026-03-04

Jellyfin Server Architecture

High-level overview of the Jellyfin server structure, layer responsibilities, and key subsystems.

Runtime

Component	Value
Framework	.NET 10 / ASP.NET Core 10
Target	net10.0
Entry point	Jellyfin.Server
Version	10.12.0 (see SharedVersion.cs)

---

Layer Diagram

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      HTTP Clients                         │
│            (Jellyfin Web, mobile apps, 3rd-party)         │
└────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ REST / WebSocket
┌────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Jellyfin.Api                            │
│   ASP.NET Core controllers, middleware, auth, Swashbuckle  │
└────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ Interfaces (ILibraryManager, etc.)
┌────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│              MediaBrowser.Controller                      │
│   Core domain interfaces — no implementation here         │
└────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ Implementations
┌────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│    Emby.Server.Implementations / Jellyfin.Server.Impl     │
│   Library manager, item repos, scheduled tasks, HTTP server│
└────────┬───────────────────────────────┬──────────────────┘
         │                               │
┌────────▼────────┐             ┌────────▼────────┐
│ Jellyfin.Data   │             │ MediaBrowser     │
│ EF Core DbCtx   │             │ MediaEncoding    │
│ SQLite via      │             │ FFmpeg, HLS,     │
│ Microsoft.Data  │             │ Trickplay        │
│ .Sqlite         │             └─────────────────┘
└─────────────────┘
         │
┌────────▼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              MediaBrowser.Model                           │
│   Pure DTOs, enums, no logic (shared by all layers)      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

Project Responsibilities

Jellyfin.Server

Entry point. Handles:

• CLI argument parsing (CommandLineParser)
• Serilog configuration (console, file, Graylog sinks)
• DI container wiring (ApplicationHost)
• ASP.NET Core host startup

Jellyfin.Api

All HTTP surface. Handles:

• ASP.NET Core controllers (Controllers/)
• Authentication middleware (Auth/)
• Swashbuckle/OpenAPI configuration
• Request/response formatting (camelCase + PascalCase JSON)
• WebSocket listeners (WebSocketListeners/)

Controllers inherit from BaseJellyfinApiController which sets default route, produces JSON, and provides typed Ok<T>() helpers.

MediaBrowser.Controller

Core domain interfaces. Key examples:

• ILibraryManager — media library operations
• IMediaEncoder — FFmpeg wrapper
• IProviderManager — metadata provider coordination
• IUserManager — user management
• IPlaybackManager — playback session tracking

No implementations live here. This keeps the domain decoupled from infrastructure.

Emby.Server.Implementations

Primary implementation assembly. Contains:

• ApplicationHost.cs — DI wiring and startup
• Data/ — SQLite queries and EF Core repositories
• Library/ — LibraryManager, LibraryMonitor
• Images/ — image processing pipeline (SkiaSharp)
• HttpServer/ — HTTP server wiring

Jellyfin.Server.Implementations

Secondary implementation assembly split from Emby.Server.Implementations. Contains newer implementations using EF Core patterns.

Jellyfin.Data

EF Core data models and DbContext. Migrations managed here.

MediaBrowser.Model

Pure data-transfer objects (DTOs) and enums. No logic. Consumed by all layers and by external clients. Changes here are API-breaking.

MediaBrowser.Providers

Online metadata providers:

• TMDB (movies, TV)
• MusicBrainz (audio)
• OMDB
• TV Maze, TheTVDB

Uses IMetadataProvider<T> interface from MediaBrowser.Controller.

MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding

FFmpeg process management, HLS streaming, keyframe extraction, subtitle transcoding, trickplay image generation.

Emby.Naming

Media file path parsing — resolves series/season/episode structure, detects extras, parses video codecs from filenames.

MediaBrowser.LocalMetadata / MediaBrowser.XbmcMetadata

Local NFO/XML metadata providers (Kodi-compatible .nfo sidecar files).

src/Jellyfin.CodeAnalysis

Custom Roslyn analyzer. Runs only in Debug builds. Enforces project-specific rules.

---

Key Subsystems

Authentication

• Session-based API keys (stored in SQLite)
• Quick Connect (pairing flow)
• Auth middleware in Jellyfin.Api/Auth/
• Policies defined in Jellyfin.Api/Constants/Policies.cs

Library Scanning

1. LibraryMonitor watches filesystem for changes
2. LibraryManager resolves paths → BaseItem subclasses
3. Emby.Naming parses filenames → metadata hints
4. IProviderManager fetches remote metadata and saves locally
5. Results persisted to SQLite via EF Core

Transcoding

1. Client requests a stream via MediaInfoController or DynamicHlsController
2. MediaInfoHelper determines if transcoding is needed (codec matrix)
3. MediaEncoder spawns an FFmpeg subprocess with computed arguments
4. HLS segments or direct stream served via AudioController / VideosController

Metrics

prometheus-net serves metrics at /metrics. Key meters:

• prometheus-net.AspNetCore — HTTP request duration/count
• prometheus-net.DotNetRuntime — GC, thread pool, JIT metrics
• Custom counters can be added via Metrics.CreateCounter(...) in any service

Logging

Serilog pipeline:

• Console sink (structured)
• File sink (rolling, default %APPDATA%/jellyfin/logs/)
• Graylog GELF sink (optional, configured via logging.json)

---

Database

SQLite database at {DataDir}/data/jellyfin.db. Accessed via:

• EF Core (Jellyfin.Data.JellyfinDbContext) for new data access
• Microsoft.Data.Sqlite direct queries for legacy paths

All EF Core operations must use async methods (ToListAsync, FirstOrDefaultAsync, etc.).

---

Test Layout

tests/
  Jellyfin.Api.Tests/                 Controller + middleware unit tests
  Jellyfin.Common.Tests/              MediaBrowser.Common utilities
  Jellyfin.Controller.Tests/          Interface contracts and helpers
  Jellyfin.MediaEncoding.Tests/       FFmpeg argument building
  Jellyfin.Naming.Tests/              File path parsing
  Jellyfin.Providers.Tests/           Provider logic
  Jellyfin.Server.Integration.Tests/  Full-stack HTTP tests + OpenAPI spec gen
  Jellyfin.Server.Tests/              Server startup and DI tests

Test stack: xUnit + AutoFixture + Moq + FsCheck. See .github/instructions/testing.instructions.md.