Jellyfin with Docker Compose

What Jellyfin needs

Only figures Jellyfin's own documentation publishes, each linked to the page it is on. Where the project gives no number, this page does not invent one.

On top of this, Caddy (the reverse proxy in the file) is a single small container.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Jellyfin alone on example.org: the official definition with its published ports removed and Caddy added in front.

# docker-compose.yml built at dankhost.com for: Jellyfin
# Each app block is its official compose definition. Only the names were prefixed with
# the app slug (services, containers, volumes, bind folders, .env variables) so any set of
# apps can share one file; other differences are listed under "Changed:" in each block.
# Only Caddy publishes ports. Secrets live in .env next to this file.

services:
  # ---- Caddy: the one reverse proxy, HTTPS certificates from Let's Encrypt ----
  # Source: https://caddyserver.com/docs/running (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Using-Docker-Compose (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Caddyfile goes in ./caddy/Caddyfile. Fixed address 172.30.0.2 so apps can trust it exactly.
  caddy:
    image: "caddy:2"
    container_name: "caddy"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "443:443/udp"
    volumes:
      - "./caddy:/etc/caddy"
      - "caddy-data:/data"
      - "caddy-config:/config"
    networks:
      proxy:
        ipv4_address: "172.30.0.2"

  # ---- Jellyfin (media.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/installation/container/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/post-install/networking/reverse-proxy/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/post-install/networking/reverse-proxy/caddy/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '8096:8096/tcp' and '7359:7359/udp' ports. 7359/udp is only for client auto-discovery on your LAN, so apps must be pointed at the address by hand.
  #          The documented /path/to/config, /path/to/cache and /path/to/media placeholders become folders next to the compose file; the optional second media folder, fonts folder and 'user:' line are left out.
  jellyfin:
    image: "jellyfin/jellyfin"
    container_name: "jellyfin"
    volumes:
      - "./jellyfin/config:/config"
      - "./jellyfin/cache:/cache"
      - "./jellyfin/media:/media"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    environment:
      JELLYFIN_PublishedServerUrl: "https://media.example.org"
    networks:
      proxy: {}

networks:
  # Pinned so the trusted-proxy address given to each app (172.30.0.2) is exact.
  # If "docker compose up" reports "Pool overlaps", change 172.30.0 here, in Caddy's
  # ipv4_address and in every trusted-proxy value to a free 172.x.0 range.
  proxy:
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: "172.30.0.0/24"
          ip_range: "172.30.0.128/25"
          gateway: "172.30.0.1"

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for media.example.org by itself once the DNS record points at your server and ports 80 and 443 reach it.

# Caddyfile built at dankhost.com. Save it as ./caddy/Caddyfile next to docker-compose.yml.
# Caddy gets and renews a Let's Encrypt certificate for each name below by itself,
# once the DNS records point at this server and ports 80 and 443 reach it.

# Jellyfin
media.example.org {
	reverse_proxy jellyfin:8096
}

.env

Jellyfin needs no secret here; the builder adds nothing you have to fill in by hand.

# .env for Jellyfin, from dankhost.com/app/jellyfin/. Nothing here is secret.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).
# None of the chosen apps needs a variable here.

Changes from the official file

Besides prefixing every service, container, volume, folder and variable with jellyfin (so any set of apps can share one file), these are all the differences from what the project documents:

• Removed the documented '8096:8096/tcp' and '7359:7359/udp' ports. 7359/udp is only for client auto-discovery on your LAN, so apps must be pointed at the address by hand.
• The documented /path/to/config, /path/to/cache and /path/to/media placeholders become folders next to the compose file; the optional second media folder, fonts folder and 'user:' line are left out.

Notes for Jellyfin behind the proxy

• In Jellyfin: Dashboard > Networking > Known proxies, add 172.30.0.2 (Caddy's fixed address). Jellyfin ignores X-Forwarded-For from anything not listed, so without it every visitor looks like Caddy and remote-access limits do not work.
• Put your media in ./jellyfin/media before the first scan. The setup wizard is open to whoever reaches it first, so finish it straight away.
• Hardware transcoding needs a '/dev/dri' device mapping that this file does not add.

Back it up

Jellyfin documents two methods: its built-in backup (Dashboard > Backups, Jellyfin 10.11 and newer), which zips the database and chosen metadata while it runs, and a manual copy of its data and config directories with Jellyfin stopped. In the official image both directories are /config.

Below is the BACKUP.md the builder writes next to the compose file above: which of its folders and volumes hold data, what to copy with which container stopped, and a restore check. Pick more apps in the builder and it covers them all in one file.

# BACKUP.md built at dankhost.com for: Jellyfin

What to copy from the docker-compose.yml built with this file, the database dump each project documents (rewritten for the service names in that file), what to copy with which container stopped, and how to check the result. Run every command in the folder that holds docker-compose.yml.

The folders are owned by the containers' users: put sudo in front of tar if it says "Permission denied". Named volumes live under /var/lib/docker/volumes, not next to the compose file, so they are copied through a throwaway ubuntu container (Docker's documented --volumes-from method). tar makes a full copy each run; for large folders an incremental tool (restic, borg, rsync) saves time and space.

Never run "docker compose down -v" on this file: it deletes the named volumes of every app in it.

## Before you start

    BACKUP=/mnt/backup/selfhost   # change this: a disk or machine other than this server's system disk
    mkdir -p "$BACKUP"

## Every time: the three stack files

    tar czf "$BACKUP/stack-files.tar.gz" docker-compose.yml .env caddy

.env holds the database passwords and secret keys the apps were set up with; keep this archive as private as the data.

## Caddy (the reverse proxy)

Caddy's docs: 'The data directory must not be treated as a cache.' It holds the TLS certificates and their private keys; without it Caddy has to ask Let's Encrypt for every certificate again.

- caddy-data (named volume, /data in caddy)
  BACK UP: TLS certificates, private keys, OCSP staples.
- caddy-config (named volume, /config in caddy)
  SKIP: the last active configuration, kept for 'caddy run --resume', which this setup does not use: it starts from the Caddyfile.
- ./caddy (/etc/caddy in caddy)
  IN stack-files.tar.gz: the Caddyfile, copied with the stack files above.

Copy (Caddy keeps serving while you copy):

    docker run --rm --volumes-from caddy -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu tar cvf /backup/caddy-data.tar /data

Restore check:

    tar tf "$BACKUP/caddy-data.tar" > /dev/null && echo OK
    docker run --rm --volumes-from caddy -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu bash -c "cd /data && tar xvf /backup/caddy-data.tar --strip 1"

Sources:
- Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory: https://caddyserver.com/docs/conventions#data-directory (checked 2026-09-24)
- Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes: https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/#back-up-restore-or-migrate-data-volumes (checked 2026-09-24)

## Jellyfin

Jellyfin documents two methods: its built-in backup (Dashboard > Backups, Jellyfin 10.11 and newer), which zips the database and chosen metadata while it runs, and a manual copy of its data and config directories with Jellyfin stopped. In the official image both directories are /config.

What this compose mounts:
- ./jellyfin/config (/config in jellyfin)
  BACK UP: Jellyfin's data and config directories: the database, users, libraries, settings and metadata. Built-in backups are written inside it too.
- ./jellyfin/cache (/cache in jellyfin)
  SKIP: Jellyfin's cache; the backup guide copies only the data and config directories.
- ./jellyfin/media (/media in jellyfin)
  YOUR FILES: your films, series and music. Jellyfin's backups never include them.

YOUR FILES folders hold your own media, not Jellyfin data. If this server has the only copy, back them up like any other files; the steps below leave them out.

1. Stop jellyfin. Jellyfin's guide: stopping it first is 'extremely important, as otherwise the database will be locked and might not be recoverable when restoring'.

    docker compose stop jellyfin

2. Copy while jellyfin is stopped:

    tar czf "$BACKUP/jellyfin-config.tar.gz" ./jellyfin/config

3. Start it again:

    docker compose start jellyfin

Restore check:

    tar tzf "$BACKUP/jellyfin-config.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with jellyfin stopped):

    tar xzf "$BACKUP/jellyfin-config.tar.gz"   # recreates ./jellyfin/config; move the old folder aside first

Jellyfin's manual restore: stop it, move the current folder aside, copy the backup into its place, start it again. Jellyfin cannot downgrade, and this image is 'latest', so note the version (Dashboard) with each backup and restore onto that version.

Sources:
- Jellyfin docs: Backup and Restore: https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/administration/backup-and-restore/ (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• Jellyfin README checked 2026-09-23 (what it does, what it replaces)
• Jellyfin docs: Hardware Selection (System Memory) checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
• Jellyfin docs: Hardware Selection checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
• Jellyfin docs: Hardware Selection (Shared Items, Storage) checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
• Jellyfin docs: Container install (Docker Compose) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Jellyfin docs: Reverse proxy (Known Proxies) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Jellyfin docs: Caddy checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Caddy docs: Keep Caddy running (Docker Compose section) checked 2026-09-23 (Caddy)
• Vaultwarden wiki: Caddy with HTTP challenge (uses the caddy:2 image) checked 2026-09-23 (Caddy)
• Jellyfin docs: Backup and Restore checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)

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