Media servers

Supported media servers (Plex, Jellyfin, Emby) and setup notes for authentication, whitelisting, and matching.

Media servers are where your library and plays live. CrossWatch (CW) typically treats your media server as the source of truth.

Start here if your library lives in Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby.

End users

Connect a media server in Settings → Connections before creating pairs.

Supported media servers

Server

Plex Best external ID coverage and broad sync support.

Open

Plex

Server

Jellyfin Self-hosted server with strong local control.

Open

Jellyfin

Server

Emby Media server with similar pair and scrobble support.

Open

Emby

Optional: whitelisting (recommended)

Whitelisting limits CW to specific libraries. It reduces noise, speeds up runs, and avoids syncing junk.

Guide: Library Whitelisting.

Use whitelisting when

• you only want TV or anime
• the server has shared junk libraries
• you want faster dry runs

Skip it when

• the whole server is clean
• you want every library included
• you are still testing provider auth

Power users

Library scoping matters

Whitelisting changes what CW thinks “exists”.

That affects both matching and deletion safety.

See: Library Whitelisting.

Matching note

Plex is usually strongest on external IDs.

Strict ID matching is now the default for Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby.

Emby/Jellyfin often need better metadata agents to reduce missing peers.

If matching quality is weak, fix metadata before enabling destructive writes.