What Is SyncPlay?
SyncPlay is a Jellyfin feature that synchronises playback across multiple clients in real time. All participants in a group watch the same content at the same time - pause on one device pauses for everyone.
Accessing SyncPlay
Navigate to SyncPlay in the sidebar. The SyncPlay screen lets you:
- Create a new watch group
- Join an existing group
- View current group participants
How to Start a Watch Session
- Navigate to SyncPlay in the sidebar.
- Press Create Group to start a new session.
- Share the group name with friends.
- Each participant opens SyncPlay on their device (any Jellyfin client) and joins the group.
- Navigate to a movie or episode and press Play - all group members start at the same position.
Receiving an Invite
When another user invites you to a SyncPlay session while you are browsing, a pop-up invite overlay appears at the bottom of the screen:
- Press Accept to join the group and sync playback.
- Press Dismiss to decline.
The invite overlay is visible from any screen except the video player and book reader.
Sync Behaviour
| Event | Effect on group |
|---|---|
| Play | All participants resume |
| Pause | All participants pause |
| Seek | All participants jump to the same position |
| Buffer | Playback waits for the buffering member before resuming |
Requirements
- SyncPlay must be enabled on your Jellyfin server (Settings → SyncPlay).
- All participants must be connected to the same Jellyfin server.
- Jellyfin server 10.8+ is recommended for best SyncPlay compatibility.
