2026-10-30 22:48:22 -07:00
2 changed files with 57 additions and 2 deletions
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 type: reference
 title: Jellyfin
-description: "Jellyfin on Dankserver: quadlet unit, overlay metadata view layout, ports, access, hardware-transcode status."
+description: "Jellyfin on Dankserver: quadlet unit, overlay metadata view, provider keys, ports, access, transcode status."
 tags: [jellyfin, dankserver, media-server]
 timestamp: 2026-10-30T00:00:00Z
 ---
@@ -117,6 +117,61 @@ where the LDAP plugin runs. Verified 2026-09-25: `alex` authenticates over
 `AuthenticateByName` (HTTP 200; full plugin flow logged — service bind,
 search, `ldapUid`, user bind, token).

+## Metadata providers and their keys (2026-10-30)
+
+TMDb, OMDb, StudioImages and MusicBrainz are **core plugins** in Jellyfin 12 —
+no DLL, just a configuration file the running container owns under the data
+root. TVDB is not core (its metadata provider was removed in 10.9), so it is an
+official-catalog plugin.
+
+| Provider | Shape on disk | Key lives in |
+|---|---|---|
+| TMDb | `config/plugins/configurations/Jellyfin.Plugin.Tmdb.xml` → `<TmdbApiKey>` | `/home/dank/Containers/jellyfin/provider-keys` → `TMDB_API_KEY=` (mode 600) |
+| TVDB | `config/plugins/thetvdb_24.0.0.0/` + `…Jellyfin.Plugin.Tvdb.xml` → `<ApiKey>` | the same file → `TVDB_API_KEY=` |
+| OMDb | `…Jellyfin.Plugin.Omdb.xml` | **not configured** — its key is issued by email, 1 000 req/day, and its ToS forbids storing the returned data; ratings stay Jellyfin's own lookup |
+
+**None of it is tracked in git.** Those XML files belong to the container and
+hold credentials, and `tests/jellyfin_providers.bats` fails the suite if one is
+ever committed. The keys themselves sit in the per-service host env file that is
+the fleet's convention for container credentials (grafana, caddy, pihole,
+copyparty, romm, seerr): `provider-keys`, mode 600, beside the data root.
+`scripts/jellyfin-providers.sh` is the only thing that writes the XML:
+
+```
+scripts/jellyfin-providers.sh plan      # what would change; prints no key
+scripts/jellyfin-providers.sh install   # plugin + keys, previous copy to trash
+scripts/jellyfin-providers.sh verify    # plugin + key LENGTHS, never key bytes
+```
+
+- **A key never enters git, argv, or the tool's output.** The installer reads
+  that 600-perm file itself (a value in argv is world-readable through
+  `/proc/<pid>/cmdline`) and refuses it when it is group- or world-readable —
+  an exposed key is an error, not a warning. A key that shows up in a transcript
+  or `ps` output has leaked: rotate it with the provider, rewrite
+  `provider-keys`, re-run `install`.
+- **The TVDB artifact is pinned three ways**: sha256
+  `6302fba3857bdde8d186dd099fac09ca43247041f531a528a2c788add70a5319`, the
+  official plugin guid `a677c0da-fac5-4cde-941a-7134223f14c8`, and version
+  `24.0.0.0` (`targetAbi 12.0.0.0`, which fits the deployed 12.4.0). A sha
+  match alone only proves the bytes are the bytes fetched — the guid check is
+  what says it is the official plugin. Rollback: move `thetvdb_24.0.0.0/` into
+  the trash and revert the pin; a second `thetvdb_*` directory is a refusal,
+  never a quiet second copy.
+- **The homelab TVDB key is a licensed key** (its JWT claims say
+  `community_supported: false`), so it needs **no PIN** — the optional
+  `TVDB_PIN=` line exists only for a subscriber-shaped key.
+- **TVDB is installed and keyed but is not a metadata agent**: TMDb still
+  identifies everything. Enabling TVDB as a provider would re-fetch show
+  metadata across the library, so it is a deliberate, separate change.
+- **The deployer places the keys before it restarts jellyfin**
+  (`ensure_provider_keys` in `scripts/deploy-remote.sh`) and warns instead of
+  failing when `provider-keys` is absent, so a host without it still deploys.
+- **Keys and plugins are read at start-up**: after a manual `install` the
+  change is inert until `./scripts/deploy.sh dankserver --service jellyfin`.
+- TMDb's terms are the reason this stays narrow: attribution required, no
+  caching beyond 6 months, no derivative works. Fine for a personal homelab,
+  and the reason no bulk enrichment pass runs against it.
+
 ## Configuration workflow

 1. Create libraries pointing at `/data` folders (movies, shows, audio).
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ is a locator: one row, one clause, no numbers.
 | [[Copyparty]] | Copyparty is a lightweight file server and media streamer that runs as a single Python binary. |
 | [[Dankserver Stack]] | Service inventory and routing overview for the media and library host. |
 | [[Entropy Volume]] | The Dankserver entropy volume is a RAID-backed LUKS filesystem mounted at |
-| [[Jellyfin]] | Jellyfin on Dankserver: quadlet unit, overlay metadata view layout, ports, access, hardware-transcode status. |
+| [[Jellyfin]] | Jellyfin on Dankserver: quadlet unit, overlay metadata view, provider keys, ports, access, transcode status. |
 | [[mariadb]] | The MariaDB backend for RomM: quadlet unit, network alias, env-file secret handling, and the backup path. |
 | [[Media Metadata View]] | The SSD-backed overlay the two media servers read and write: shape, guards, commands, laws, rollback. |
 | [[Media Relayout]] | Census, plan and apply the movie library into Jellyfin format, and move TV out of it: the gates, refusals, rollback. |