this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
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Plex has paywalled my server! (lemmy.giftedmc.com)
submitted 1 day ago by haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I tried testing a movie from my home server in plex through firefox and repeatedly got this message, even after reloading.

I knew that they had paywalled the apps on mobile and streaming from outside the network but now they have also blocked watching your own movies through your own hardware.

I do get the point that making software should be able to sustain people but I dont see the move of plex as a fair thing to do. Yes, they have made great software but taking your home server hostage feels like the wrong move.

Even a pop up that says "we need you to donate please" would have been fine. make it pop up before every movie, play donation ads before any movie but straight up disabling the app is kinda cruel.

Anyway, i have switched to jellyfin and it is insanely good. please give it a try. you can run it alongside plex with not issues (at least i had none) and compare the two.

In any case, good luck. Let me know if you need help.

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[–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Actual answer for 3:

  • put jellyfin behind a proper reverse proxy. Ideally on a separate host / hardware firewall, but nginx on the same host works fine as well.
  • create subdomain, let's say sub.yourdomain.com
  • forward traffic, for that subdomain ONLY, to jellyfin in your reverse proxy config
  • tell your relatives to put sub.yourdomain.com into their jellyfin app

All the fear-mongering about exposing jellyfin to the internet I have seen on here boils down to either

  • "port forwarding is a bad idea!!", which yes, don't do that. The above is not that. Or
  • "people / bots who know your IP can get jellyfin to work as a 1-bit oracle, telling you if a specific media file exists on your disk" which is a) not an indication for something illegal, and b) prevented by the described reverse proxy setup insofar as the bot needs to know the exact subdomain (and any worthwhile domain-provider will not let bots walk your DNS zone).

(Not saying YOU say that; just preempting the usual folklore typically commented whenever someone suggests hosting jellyfin publicly accessible)

[–] Lazarus@mastodon.xyz 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

@smiletolerantly @AtariDump
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate/_Transparency
Makes sure bots will hit you as soon as the certificate for your domain is issued

[–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 2 points 15 hours ago

OK, add step above: use wildcard certificate for your domain.

Terminating the TLS connection at your perimeter firewall is standard practice, there's no reason your jellyfin host needs to obtain the certificate.