Connect a Server

After installing Tracearr, you’ll connect your first media server during the initial setup.

Initial Setup

When you first access Tracearr, you’ll be prompted to sign in or create an account.

Plex (Recommended)

1. Click Sign in with Plex
2. A popup opens — sign in with your Plex account
3. Tracearr discovers your Plex servers automatically
4. Select the server you want to monitor
5. You’re done — Tracearr begins tracking sessions

Single Sign-On (OIDC)

If your Tracearr instance is configured with an OIDC identity provider (Authentik, Authelia, Keycloak, and similar), the login page shows an SSO button. Click it to sign in through your provider, then connect servers as described below. See OIDC Single Sign-On for the required environment variables.

Jellyfin

1. Click Create Account and set up a local Tracearr account
2. After account creation, go to Settings → Servers → Connections
3. Click Add Server and select Jellyfin
4. Enter your server details:
   • Server URL: for example http://192.168.1.100:8096
   • Public address: optional, see Public address
   • Server Name: a friendly name for the server
   • API Key: from Jellyfin Dashboard → API Keys
5. Click Connect Server

Emby

1. Click Create Account and set up a local Tracearr account
2. After account creation, go to Settings → Servers → Connections
3. Click Add Server and select Emby
4. Enter your server details:
   • Server URL: for example http://192.168.1.100:8096
   • Public address: optional, see Public address
   • Server Name: a friendly name for the server
   • API Key: from Emby Server → API Keys
5. Click Connect Server

Public address

Both the Jellyfin and the Emby form carry one more field, Public address, which is optional and has no equivalent on Plex. It is the address members use to open the server from outside your network, such as https://jellyfin.example.com, and newsletter links use it.

Tracearr always talks to the server on the Server URL. The public address is only ever put into links other people click, so setting it changes nothing about polling, sessions or the API key. Leave it blank and newsletters carry no links to items on that server. Give it an address a member off your network could not open, such as an RFC 1918 or loopback address, a Tailscale 100.64.0.0/10 address, or a .local or .ts.net name, and the links are left out for the same reason; the newsletter editor’s Readiness list names the server and says which of the two it hit.

Adding More Servers

You can monitor multiple servers from a single Tracearr instance. Click Add Server in Settings → Servers → Connections, pick the server type, and fill in the same fields as above. You’ll need administrator access to generate a Jellyfin or Emby API key.

Plex servers come from linked Plex accounts. To add one owned by a different Plex account, link that account first under Plex accounts.

Changing a server’s URL or API key later is covered in Media Servers.

Getting API Keys

Jellyfin

1. Open Jellyfin and go to Dashboard → API Keys
2. Click the + button to create a new key
3. Give it a name (e.g., “Tracearr”)
4. Copy the generated key

Emby

1. Open Emby and go to Dashboard → API Keys
2. Click New API Key
3. Give it a name (e.g., “Tracearr”)
4. Copy the generated key

Next Steps

Once connected, Tracearr will begin tracking sessions and collecting analytics. Check out the Configuration guide to customize alerts, sharing detection rules, and more.