How to run Jellyfin and Emby on the same computer

Updated October 6, 2026 · 5 min read

You want to try Jellyfin without giving up Emby, so you installed both on one computer, and now one of them won't open, or your TV finds the wrong one. Running Jellyfin and Emby on the same computer works fine once you settle four clashes. Every change below is on Jellyfin's side, so Emby carries on as it was.

The four clashes

Jellyfin began as a copy of Emby in 2018, and it kept many of Emby's defaults. That's convenient if you move from one to the other, and a nuisance if you run both.

Defaults as of October 2026. Emby Premiere, Emby's paid tier, is $4.99 a month, $54 a year or $119 lifetime; nothing here needs it. Reelhost isn't affiliated with Jellyfin, Plex or Emby.

• The web port. Both servers want port 8096. Only one program can properly own a port, so depending on how a device connects, it reaches one server or the other, or Jellyfin fails to start at all.
• Server discovery. When an app searches your network for a server, both answer, and the app can list the wrong one or show Emby's name where you expected Jellyfin.
• The TV media list. Smart TVs and game consoles list DLNA servers in their media menus. With both running, the TV shows two servers competing for the same network port.
• Artwork in media folders. When both servers point at the same folders and both save posters and .nfo info files there, each one overwrites the other's.

Fix them by hand

1. Open Jellyfin by its number, not its name. On the computer running both, go to http://127.0.0.1:8096, not localhost. While both use port 8096, "localhost" can open Emby's page instead. If Jellyfin won't start at all, stop Emby's service for a few minutes, make the next change, then start Emby again.
2. Move Jellyfin to another port. In Dashboard > Networking, set the local HTTP port to 8097 and the local HTTPS port to 8921. Save, then restart Jellyfin. Emby keeps 8096 and 8920.
3. Let the new port through the firewall. If devices at home can't reach http://your-computer's-address:8097, allow Jellyfin through your computer's firewall again. The old rule was for 8096.
4. Turn off Jellyfin's server discovery. Stop Jellyfin, open network.xml in Jellyfin's config folder (on Windows, C:\ProgramData\Jellyfin\Server\config), change <AutoDiscovery>true</AutoDiscovery> to false, save, and start Jellyfin. If your version shows a discovery switch on the Networking page, use that instead.
5. Keep one DLNA server. In current Jellyfin, DLNA comes as a plugin. If your TV uses Emby's, go to Dashboard > Plugins, disable the DLNA plugin and restart Jellyfin. If your TV uses Jellyfin's, turn off DLNA in Emby instead.
6. Keep Jellyfin's artwork out of shared folders. In Dashboard > Libraries, open each library's settings, untick Save artwork into media folders, and under metadata savers untick Nfo. Jellyfin then keeps posters and details in its own data. Do it for every library both servers share.
7. Give each app Jellyfin's new address. On each phone and TV, add the server again as http://your-computer's-address:8097. With discovery off, the apps won't find it by themselves; you type it once.

services:
  jellyfin:
    image: jellyfin/jellyfin
    ports:
      - "8097:8096"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config
      - ./cache:/cache
      - /srv/media:/media:ro
    restart: unless-stopped

Leave UDP port 7359 unpublished, and Jellyfin's discovery answer never reaches your network. The :ro on the media folder means Jellyfin can read your files but never write into them, so it can't touch Emby's artwork either.

After the changes

Both servers now run side by side, reading the same files. Emby is on 8096 as before; Jellyfin is on 8097. Watch history is separate on each, so a movie finished in Emby still shows as unwatched in Jellyfin. If you later settle on Jellyfin, read Emby vs Jellyfin for what you gain and lose, and turn Save artwork into media folders back on only once Emby is gone.

The artwork setting only affects what Jellyfin saves from now on. Posters and .nfo files that are already in your folders stay where they are. Emby may still write its own there, which is fine: Jellyfin reads local .nfo files, so it can use Emby's details too.

If the TV still lists two servers, it may be showing Jellyfin from memory. Restart the TV, and see when Jellyfin doesn't show on your TV for the other causes.

Questions