Jellyfin Project Structure
The volunteer-built media solution. A powerful, cross-platform .NET application structured as a classic enterprise solution with many specialized projects.
Updated 2025-12-30
Project Directory
jellyfin/
Jellyfin.Server/
Main App Entry Point
Program.cs
Startup.cs
Jellyfin.Api/
REST API Controllers
Controllers/
MediaBrowser.Controller/
Core Business Logic
Library/
Session/
Streaming/
MediaBrowser.Model/
Shared Data Models
MediaBrowser.Providers/
Metadata Fetchers (TVDB, etc.)
MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding/
FFmpeg & Transcoding logic
Jellyfin.sln
Solution file
global.json
.NET SDK version
Repository Info
- Repository-jellyfin/jellyfin
- Stars-30k+
- License-GPL-2.0
- Last Analyzed-December 2025
Tech Stack
- Language-C# 13
- Framework-.NET 9.0
- Database-SQLite (Default) / Postgres
- Media Engine-FFmpeg
- Architecture-Multi-project Monolith
Architecture Notes
Jellyfin follows a classic .NET solution structure. It's a collection of over 20 projects, each with a specific responsibility. The 'MediaBrowser' naming convention is inherited from its predecessor, Emby. This modularity allows the team to isolate complex logic like transcoding (MediaEncoding) from the API layer (Jellyfin.Api).
Key Directories
- MediaBrowser.Controller/-The most important directory. It contains the logic for everything from managing the media database to handling user sessions and playback streams.
- MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding/-The interface to FFmpeg. It generates the complex commands required to transcode various video formats on-the-fly for different clients.
- MediaBrowser.Model/-Contains the 'Plain Old CLR Objects' (POCOs) that represent the data structure of the entire application, shared between all projects.
Why This Structure?
Jellyfin is a premier example of a high-performance C# application. It handles complex, multi-threaded tasks like real-time transcoding while maintaining a highly organized and testable codebase.
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