Jellyfin offers users a powerful, flexible media server experience, much like Plex or Emby, but with a key advantage: it’s open-source and free. One common request among Jellyfin users is the ability to view media exactly as it’s organized on their drives—without automated categorization or scraping. For this, you can enable the “Display a folder view to show plain media folders” feature. This guide will help you set up and understand this feature so that you can manage your media as it appears in your file system.
Why Use the Folder View in Jellyfin?
Many users prefer a simple folder structure to organize their media, especially when they have large collections spanning multiple hard drives. The folder view in Jellyfin allows you to:
- Browse media based on how it’s physically organized on your storage.
- Avoid automatic metadata fetching and allow you to maintain full control over how your media appears.
- Combine multiple drives under a single library, while still displaying media in a logical folder hierarchy.
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How to Enable Folder View in Jellyfin
- Access the Jellyfin Dashboard:
- Log in to your Jellyfin server as an administrator.
- Navigate to Libraries:
- Go to Dashboard > Libraries to access your media libraries.
- Enable Folder View:
- Click on the library you want to modify, go to the Display tab, and check the box labeled “Display a folder view to show plain media folders.”
- This will allow Jellyfin to display your media exactly as it is structured in your folders, without any additional metadata adjustments or categorization.
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Benefits of Using the Folder View
- Preserve File Organization: If you’ve already spent time organizing your media into specific folders and subfolders, this view allows you to keep that structure intact.
- Avoid Metadata Mismatches: Instead of relying on Jellyfin to scrape metadata, you can use your own file names and folder structures.
- Easy to Navigate: For large libraries spread across different drives or directories, the folder view simplifies the process of browsing through media, making it much easier to find what you’re looking for.
Conclusion
Enabling the folder view in Jellyfin is a great way to maintain control over your media library’s structure. Whether you prefer a minimalist approach to media organization or want to avoid potential errors with automatic metadata scraping, this feature gives you flexibility in managing your content.
FAQ
- How do I enable the folder view in Jellyfin?
Go to Dashboard > Libraries > Display tab and select the option to display a folder view for plain media folders. - Does enabling folder view disable metadata scraping?
Enabling folder view won’t disable metadata scraping entirely, but it allows you to view your media based on the folder structure without overriding it with metadata. - Can I use folder view for music and videos?
Yes, folder view works for all media types, including music, videos, and photos. However, be cautious of metadata-related bugs, especially with music files. - Will this work if I have media on multiple hard drives?
Yes, you can combine media from multiple drives into a single library, and Jellyfin will still respect the folder view for easy navigation. - Why isn’t my folder view working properly?
Ensure that your Jellyfin version supports folder view for your media type and check if any specific settings or issues are affecting how folders are displayed.
