jellyfin-cli

v2026.3.6

Published

9 days ago

Agent-optimized CLI tool for interacting with the Jellyfin API

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unbrained

jellyfin cli media streaming api agent llm

jellyfin-cli

An agent-optimized CLI tool for interacting with the Jellyfin API.

Package Manager: Development uses Bun. Published package execution supports both bunx and npx.

Installation

# Install Bun if you haven't already
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Install the CLI globally
bun install -g jellyfin-cli

# Run directly with bunx (no install)
bunx jellyfin-cli --help

# Run directly with npx (no install)
npx jellyfin-cli --help

# Or clone and build from source
git clone https://github.com/unbraind/jellyfin-cli.git
cd jellyfin-cli
bun install
bun run build

Installed executable names: jf, jellyfin-cli, and jf-cli.

Quick Start

# Quick setup with server URL and API key
jf setup --server http://your-server:8096 --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

# Or use username/password authentication
jf setup --server http://your-server:8096 --username your-user --password your-password

# Test connection
jf config test

# Run diagnostics (connectivity/auth/OpenAPI checks)
jf config doctor

# Enforce non-destructive mode for all following commands
JELLYFIN_READ_ONLY=1

# List libraries
jf library list

# Search for content
jf items search "matrix"

# Control playback
jf sessions list
jf sessions play SESSION_ID ITEM_ID

Features

Full Jellyfin API Coverage: All major API endpoints supported
Agent-Optimized: Designed for LLM/AI agent integration with structured output
Toon Format: Default YAML output format for easy parsing
Multiple Output Formats: Toon, JSON, table, raw, YAML, and Markdown
Secure: Credentials stored in user config directory, never committed
Type-Safe: Full TypeScript implementation
Bun-Powered: Fast package management and builds with Bun
Setup Wizard: Interactive configuration wizard
Startup Diagnostics: jf setup startup reports startup wizard state in structured output
Startup Wizard Configuration: jf setup update-configuration updates /Startup/Configuration
Diagnostics: jf config doctor for agent-safe health checks
Read-Only Guard: global --read-only or JELLYFIN_READ_ONLY=1 to block mutating commands
Explain Mode: global --explain or JELLYFIN_EXPLAIN=1 prints redacted request metadata to stderr
Release Guardrails: built-in file length + secret scanning checks for safe releases
Plugin Management: List, configure, and manage plugins
Device Management: View and manage connected devices
Statistics: View library statistics and item counts
Collections: Manage box sets and collections
Favorites: Quick access to favorite items
Streaming URLs: Get direct URLs for video, audio, and subtitles

Configuration

Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | JELLYFIN_SERVER_URL | Server URL | | JELLYFIN_API_KEY | API key | | JELLYFIN_USERNAME | Username for authentication | | JELLYFIN_PASSWORD | Password for authentication | | JELLYFIN_USER_ID | User ID | | JELLYFIN_TIMEOUT | Request timeout (ms) | | JELLYFIN_OUTPUT_FORMAT | Output format (toon, json, table, raw, yaml, markdown) | | JELLYFIN_READ_ONLY | 1/true/on/yes blocks mutating commands globally | | JELLYFIN_EXPLAIN | 1/true/on/yes emits redacted request metadata to stderr |

Short aliases are also supported:

JF_SERVER_URL
JF_API_KEY
JF_USER
JF_PASSWORD
JF_USER_ID
JF_TIMEOUT
JF_FORMAT

Configuration File

Settings are stored in ~/.jellyfin-cli/settings.json.

# View current configuration
jf config get

# Show config file path
jf config path

# List all configured servers
jf config list

# Set configuration
jf config set --server URL --api-key KEY

Output Formats

The CLI supports multiple output formats optimized for different use cases:

Toon (Default)

The default format is optimized for LLM/agent consumption using YAML:

type: items
data:
  - id: abc123
    name: The Matrix
    type: Movie
    year: 1999
    rating: 8.7
meta:
  timestamp: "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
  format: toon
  version: "1.0.0"

JSON

Standard JSON output for programmatic processing:

jf items list --format json

Table

Human-readable table format:

jf users list --format table

Raw

Raw output without formatting:

jf system info --format raw

Commands

Setup & Configuration

jf setup - Interactive setup wizard
jf setup wizard - Explicit alias for setup wizard workflows
jf setup status - Check setup status
jf setup validate - Validate setup readiness (config/connectivity/auth/OpenAPI/output-format checks)
jf setup env - Show/export environment variables (--shell, structured --format json, or --write-file <path>)
jf setup startup - Inspect Jellyfin startup wizard state (read-only)
jf setup configuration - Alias of setup startup for endpoint-aligned diagnostics
jf setup update-configuration - Update startup wizard configuration values
jf config set - Set configuration values
jf config get - Display current configuration
jf config path - Show configuration file path
jf config list - List all configured servers
jf config use <name> - Switch to a named server configuration
jf config delete <name> --force - Delete a server configuration
jf config reset --force - Reset all configuration
jf config test - Test connection to server
jf config doctor - Check config/auth/connectivity/OpenAPI diagnostics
jf setup validate --require-all --validate-formats --format json - Setup wizard readiness gate for CI/agents
jf config doctor --require-connected --require-auth --require-openapi --require-valid-formats --validate-formats - Enforce machine-checkable release gates
jf schema openapi - Summarize live server OpenAPI capabilities for agent discovery
jf schema research - Emit consolidated OpenAPI + full/read-only coverage snapshot for API research
jf schema tools - Export command tool schemas for LLM function-calling, with optional live OpenAPI endpoint matches
jf schema coverage - Estimate API coverage, list unmatched OpenAPI operations, and suggest command names
jf schema suggest - Generate candidate CLI command patterns from OpenAPI intent matches or coverage gaps

Release Validation

bun run version:sync
bun run validate:release

This syncs/enforces the version policy and runs typecheck, lint, tests, build, dist smoke checks, TypeScript code-length enforcement (<=300 lines excluding comments), tracked-file secret scan, and git-history secret scan. It also validates npm packaging (npm pack --dry-run) plus local npx and bunx smoke runs from the packed tarball.

CI/CD and Release Operations

GitHub Actions workflows are configured for professional release management:

CI (.github/workflows/ci.yml): PR/push quality gates
CodeQL (.github/workflows/codeql.yml): static security analysis
Secret Scan (.github/workflows/secret-scan.yml): tracked-file + git-history + Gitleaks checks
Commit Quality (.github/workflows/commit-quality.yml): PR title + commit subject professionalism checks
Release Prepare (.github/workflows/release-prepare.yml): manual release candidate validation + artifact packaging
Release Publish (Manual) (.github/workflows/release-publish.yml): guarded npm publish workflow (manual only, optional dry-run)
- Uses npm Trusted Publishing when configured; falls back to NPM_TOKEN secret
GitHub Release (Manual) (.github/workflows/release-github.yml): creates annotated tag + GitHub release from package.json version

Contributor and governance standards:

Version Policy

Version format is mandatory: YYYY.M.D or YYYY.M.D-<N>
Example (first release of day): 2026.3.4
Example (third release on same day): 2026.3.4-3
Date uses UTC day
N is the release index for that UTC day
-1 is not allowed (use YYYY.M.D without suffix)
Use bun run version:sync before preparing a release

Read-Only Mode

Use read-only mode for safe agent workflows against production libraries:

# one command
jf --read-only items list --limit 5

# entire shell session
export JELLYFIN_READ_ONLY=1
jf library list

# inspect API request mapping for a command
jf --explain system info

Mutating operations are blocked with a structured Toon error while read operations continue to work.

System

jf system info - Get system information
jf system health - Check server health
jf system restart - Restart the server
jf system shutdown - Shutdown the server
jf system activity - Get activity log

Users

jf users list - List all users
jf users get <userId> - Get user by ID
jf users me - Get current user info
jf users by-name <username> - Get user by username
jf users create <username> - Create a new user
jf users update-password <userId> - Update user password
jf users delete <userId> --force - Delete a user
jf users policy <userId> - Get user policy
jf users update-policy <userId> - Update user policy (admin rights, permissions)
jf users config <userId> - Get user configuration
jf users update-config <userId> - Update user configuration (preferences)

Items

jf items list - List items
jf items get <itemId> - Get item by ID
jf items latest - Get latest items
jf items resume - Get resume items
jf items search <term> - Search for items
jf items similar <itemId> - Get similar items
jf items intros <itemId> - Get intro videos
jf items chapters <itemId> - Get chapters
jf items special-features <itemId> - Get special features
jf items trailers <itemId> - Get local trailers
jf items ancestors <itemId> - Get parent items
jf items parts <itemId> - Get additional parts
jf items playback-info <itemId> - Get playback info
jf items stream-url <itemId> - Get video stream URL
jf items audio-url <itemId> - Get audio stream URL
jf items image-url <itemId> - Get image URL
jf items subtitle-url <itemId> <mediaSourceId> <streamIndex> - Get subtitle URL
jf items refresh <itemId> - Refresh item metadata
jf items update <itemId> - Update item metadata (name, overview, genres, etc.)
jf items delete <itemId> - Delete an item

Sessions

jf sessions list - List all active sessions
jf sessions get <sessionId> - Get session by ID
jf sessions play <sessionId> <itemIds...> - Play items
jf sessions pause <sessionId> - Pause playback
jf sessions unpause <sessionId> - Resume playback
jf sessions stop <sessionId> - Stop playback
jf sessions next <sessionId> - Next track
jf sessions previous <sessionId> - Previous track
jf sessions seek <sessionId> <ticks> - Seek to position
jf sessions mute <sessionId> - Mute audio
jf sessions unmute <sessionId> - Unmute audio
jf sessions volume <sessionId> <level> - Set volume level
jf sessions message <sessionId> - Send message

Library

jf library list - List all libraries
jf library refresh - Refresh all libraries
jf library genres - List all genres
jf library studios - List all studios
jf library persons - List all persons
jf library artists - List all artists
jf library album-artists - List all album artists
jf library get-genre <name> - Get a genre by name
jf library get-person <name> - Get a person by name
jf library get-studio <name> - Get a studio by name

User Data

jf userdata favorite <itemId> - Mark as favorite
jf userdata unfavorite <itemId> - Remove from favorites
jf userdata played <itemId> - Mark as played
jf userdata unplayed <itemId> - Mark as unplayed
jf userdata like <itemId> - Like an item
jf userdata dislike <itemId> - Dislike an item
jf userdata unrate <itemId> - Remove rating

Favorites

jf favorites list - List favorite items
jf favorites add <itemId> - Add to favorites
jf favorites remove <itemId> - Remove from favorites

Collections

jf collections list - List all collections
jf collections get <collectionId> - Get collection details
jf collections items <collectionId> - List items in collection
jf collections create <name> - Create a new collection
jf collections add <collectionId> <itemIds...> - Add items to collection
jf collections remove <collectionId> <itemIds...> - Remove items from collection

Tasks

jf tasks list - List all scheduled tasks
jf tasks get <taskId> - Get task by ID
jf tasks run <taskId> - Start a task
jf tasks running <taskId> - Alias of tasks run
jf tasks stop <taskId> - Stop a running task
jf tasks triggers <taskId> - List task triggers
jf tasks add-trigger <taskId> - Add a task trigger
jf tasks delete-trigger <taskId> <triggerId> - Delete a task trigger

Playlists

jf playlists create <name> - Create a playlist
jf playlists add <playlistId> <itemIds...> - Add items
jf playlists remove <playlistId> <entryIds...> - Remove items
jf playlists items <playlistId> - List playlist items
jf playlists delete <playlistId> - Delete a playlist

Live TV

jf livetv info - Get Live TV info
jf livetv channels - List channels
jf livetv channel <channelId> - Get channel by ID
jf livetv programs - List programs
jf livetv program <programId> - Get program by ID
jf livetv recordings - List recordings
jf livetv timers - List timers
jf livetv timer <timerId> - Get timer by ID
jf livetv create-timer - Create a timer
jf livetv delete-timer <timerId> - Delete a timer
jf livetv series-timers - List series timers
jf livetv series-timer <id> - Get series timer by ID
jf livetv delete-series-timer <id> - Delete a series timer
jf livetv schedules-direct-countries - List Schedules Direct countries

Discover

jf discover recommendations - Get recommendations
jf discover mix <itemId> - Get instant mix

Plugins

jf plugins list - List all plugins
jf plugins get <pluginId> - Get plugin details
jf plugins config <pluginId> - Get plugin configuration
jf plugins uninstall <pluginId> - Uninstall a plugin

Devices

jf devices list - List all devices
jf devices info - Get current device info
jf devices get <deviceId> - Get device details
jf devices rename <deviceId> <name> - Rename device
jf devices delete <deviceId> - Delete device

Branding

jf branding get - Get branding configuration

Statistics

jf stats counts - Get library item counts

API Keys

jf apikeys list - List all API keys
jf apikeys create <app> - Create new API key
jf apikeys delete <key> - Delete API key

Notifications

jf notifications types - List notification types
jf notifications list - List user notifications
jf notifications send - Send admin notification

SyncPlay

jf syncplay list - List SyncPlay groups
jf syncplay groups - Alias of syncplay list
jf syncplay create [--name <name>] - Create a group
jf syncplay new [--name <name>] - Alias of syncplay create
jf syncplay join <groupId> - Join a group
jf syncplay leave - Leave group
jf syncplay pause - Pause group playback
jf syncplay unpause - Resume group playback
jf syncplay stop - Stop group playback

Quick Connect

jf quickconnect status - Check if Quick Connect is enabled
jf quickconnect init - Initialize Quick Connect
jf quickconnect check <secret> - Check connection status
jf quickconnect authorize <code> - Authorize request

Auth

jf auth providers - List authentication providers
jf auth password-reset-providers - List password reset providers
jf auth keys - List API keys (read-only alias)

Backup

jf backup list - List backups
jf backup create - Create a backup
jf backup restore <path> - Restore from backup
jf backup delete <path> - Delete backup

Subtitles

jf subtitles search <itemId> <language> - Search remote subtitles
jf subtitles download <itemId> <subtitleId> - Download subtitle
jf subtitles delete <itemId> <index> - Delete subtitle track
jf subtitles providers - List subtitle providers

Media

jf media segments <itemId> - Get media segments
jf media lyrics <itemId> - Get lyrics
jf media theme-songs <itemId> - Get theme songs
jf media theme-videos <itemId> - Get theme videos
jf media external-ids <itemId> - Get external IDs
jf media external-id-infos <itemId> - Alias for external IDs
jf media remote-images <itemId> - Get remote images
jf media download-image <itemId> - Download remote image
jf media hls-url <itemId> - Get HLS playlist URL
jf media video-stream-url <itemId> - Get direct video stream URL
jf media audio-stream-url <itemId> - Get direct audio stream/universal URL
jf media hls-legacy-url <itemId> <playlistId> - Get legacy HLS playlist URL
jf media hls-audio-segment-url <itemId> <segmentId> - Get legacy HLS audio segment URL
jf media item-file-url <itemId> - Get direct item file URL
jf media kodi-strm-url <type> <id> - Get Kodi .strm URL
jf media branding-css-url - Get static branding CSS URL

Dashboard

jf dashboard pages [--main-menu true|false] - List dashboard configuration pages
jf dashboard page <name> - Get dashboard configuration page source

Localization

jf localization options - Get localization options
jf localization countries - Get countries
jf localization cultures - Get cultures/languages
jf localization ratings - Get rating systems

Environment

jf environment drives - Get available drives
jf environment logs - Get log files
jf environment log <name> - Get log file content
jf environment storage - Get storage info

TV Shows

jf tvshows episodes <seriesId> - Get episodes for a series
jf tvshows seasons <seriesId> - Get seasons for a series
jf tvshows next-up - Get next up episodes
jf tvshows upcoming - Get upcoming episodes
jf tvshows similar <itemId> - Get similar shows for a series/episode

Packages

jf packages list - List available packages
jf packages get <packageId> - Get package details
jf packages install <packageId> - Install a package
jf packages cancel <installationId> - Cancel installation
jf packages installing - List installing packages
jf packages repositories - List plugin repositories

Images

jf images list <itemId> - List item images
jf images url <itemId> <type> - Get image URL
jf images artist-url <artistName> <type> - Get artist image URL by name
jf images genre-url <genreName> <type> - Get genre image URL by name
jf images music-genre-url <genreName> <type> - Get music genre image URL by name
jf images person-url <personName> <type> - Get person image URL by name
jf images studio-url <studioName> <type> - Get studio image URL by name
jf images delete <itemId> <type> - Delete image
jf images user <userId> - Get user profile image URL

Suggestions

jf suggestions get - Get content suggestions

Years

jf years list - List all years
jf years get <year> - Get items for a year

Music Genres

jf music-genres list - List all music genres
jf music-genres get <name> - Get music genre by name

Trickplay

jf trickplay hls-url <itemId> <width> - Get trickplay HLS playlist URL
jf trickplay tile-url <itemId> <width> <index> - Get trickplay tile image URL

Channels

jf channels list - List all channels
jf channels features [channelId] - Get channel features
jf channels items <channelId> - Get channel items
jf channels latest <channelId> - Get latest channel items

Schema (Agent/LLM Optimization)

jf schema - Output JSON schema for all Toon format types
jf schema <type> - Output JSON schema for a specific type
jf schema list - List all available output types
jf schema validate [type] [--from auto|json|yaml|toon] [--input <payload>] - Validate output payloads against CLI schemas (stdin or inline)
jf schema openapi [--include-paths --limit 50] [--method GET] [--tag Users] [--path-prefix /Users] [--search text] [--read-only-ops] [--endpoint /api-docs/openapi.json] [--for-command "items list"] - Fetch/summarize/filter OpenAPI and infer likely endpoints for a CLI intent
jf schema research [--method GET] [--tag Users] [--path-prefix /Users] [--endpoint /api-docs/openapi.json] [--command-prefix items] [--min-score 3] [--require-coverage 100] [--include-unmatched] [--limit 20] - Generate one consolidated OpenAPI + full/read-only coverage snapshot
jf schema tools [--command <prefix> --limit <n> --openapi-match --name <server>] - Export tool schemas with input schema, read-only metadata, and optional live OpenAPI endpoint matches per command
jf schema coverage [--method GET] [--tag Users] [--path-prefix /Users] [--read-only-ops] [--endpoint /api-docs/openapi.json] [--command-prefix items] [--min-score 3] [--require-coverage 100] [--suggest-commands] [--limit 50] - Estimate intent-based OpenAPI coverage for current CLI command set and optionally generate candidate CLI names for unmapped endpoints
jf schema suggest [--for-command "users list"] [--method GET] [--tag Users] [--path-prefix /Users] [--search text] [--read-only-ops] [--endpoint /api-docs/openapi.json] [--min-score 3] [--limit 20] - Generate structured CLI command suggestions from live OpenAPI (intent mode with --for-command, or uncovered operation mode without it)

Agent/LLM Optimization

This CLI is designed to be easily used by AI agents and LLMs:

Structured Output: The default toon format provides consistent, parseable YAML output
Type Information: Every output includes a type field indicating the data structure
Stable Envelope: Output always includes a top-level type and structured data
Error Handling: Errors are returned in a consistent format
No Interactive Prompts: All inputs are via command-line arguments

Example Agent Integration

// Execute command and parse output
const result = await exec('jf items search "matrix" --format toon');
const data = yaml.parse(result);

if (data.type === 'search_result') {
  for (const hint of data.data.hints) {
    console.log(`${hint.name} (${hint.type})`);
  }
}

Python Example

import yaml
import subprocess

def get_items(search_term):
    result = subprocess.run(
        ['jf', 'items', 'search', search_term, '--format', 'toon'],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True
    )
    
    data = yaml.safe_load(result.stdout)
    
    if data['type'] == 'error':
        raise Exception(data['data']['error'])
    
    if data['type'] == 'search_result':
        return data['data']['hints']
    
    return []

Development

This project uses Bun for package management, testing, and building.

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Build
bun run build

# Run in development mode
bun run dev

# Run tests
bun test

# Run tests with coverage
bun run test:coverage

# Type check
bun run typecheck

# Lint
bun run lint

Documentation

API Reference - Full command documentation
Toon Output Format - Output format specification

License

MIT

Published

Vulnerabilities

Links

Maintainers

Keywords

Readme

jellyfin-cli

Installation

Quick Start

Features

Configuration

Environment Variables

Configuration File

Output Formats

Toon (Default)

JSON

Table

Raw

Commands

Setup & Configuration

Release Validation

CI/CD and Release Operations

Version Policy

Read-Only Mode

System

Users

Items

Sessions

Library

User Data

Favorites

Collections

Tasks

Playlists

Live TV

Discover

Plugins

Devices

Branding

Statistics

API Keys

Notifications

SyncPlay

Quick Connect

Auth

Backup

Subtitles

Media

Dashboard

Localization

Environment

TV Shows

Packages

Images

Suggestions

Years

Music Genres

Trickplay

Channels

Schema (Agent/LLM Optimization)

Agent/LLM Optimization

Example Agent Integration

Python Example

Development

Documentation

License