+- Jellyfin Forum (https://forum.jellyfin.org)
+-- Forum: Development (https://forum.jellyfin.org/f-development)
+--- Forum: Plugin Development (https://forum.jellyfin.org/f-plugin-development)
+--- Thread: Adding to the Client UI with Plugin (/t-adding-to-the-client-ui-with-plugin)
Adding to the Client UI with Plugin - Adam Haile - 2024-08-13
Maybe I'm just not searching for the right terms here but I'm coming up empty in trying to figure out if what I want to do for a custom plugin is even possible.
I'll try to explain what my goal is first:
I would basically like to create something similar to collections but I'll call it a "Channel".
The intent is to sort of mimic the feel of having specific TV channels for different types of content and take away the question of "what should I watch next".
The goal is a plugin that would allow:
- Create named channels, similar to how collections are made, and have them show up under a "Channels" header next to Collections in the UI.
- Add any TV series (as a whole) or Movie to a specific named channel
- When you "play" that channel it would simply choose a random TV series episode or Movie that is linked with that channel and play it. When that episode or movie is done it would automatically move on to the next randomly chosen media.
The back end side of this is easy for me... I can certainly handle adding the content to lists and choosing them randomly.
The front end is where I'm lost.
Is it even possible to add custom UI elements? Specifically I want to have them show up in the Android TV app, because that's basically the only place I use Jellyfin.
The whole intent here is that I want to being able to, for example, choose a "Sci-Fi" channel and it just picks something Sci-Fi from my collection of TV series and plays the next unwatched episode. But if there's no way to actually let the user chose that from the Android TV app, I'm probably dead in the water.
RE: Adding to the Client UI with Plugin - niels - 2024-08-13
It is not possible to change the user interface using plugins.
RE: Adding to the Client UI with Plugin - Adam Haile - 2024-08-13
(2024-08-13, 10:40 AM)niels Wrote: It is not possible to change the user interface using plugins.
Ok... is there maybe some other way of achieving a similar result that I just don't know about? Like maybe hooking into collections themselves so that when I "Play" a collection it does what I described?
Is it at all possible to add menu items? Like for the collections themselves there is Play and Shuffle at the top, can I add to that? I realize that's still "user interface" but since you seem to be able to add configuration pages for plugins I thought maybe it would be possible to insert simple menu items.
RE: Adding to the Client UI with Plugin - niels - 2024-08-13
It is possible to add menu items to the web interface by changing the config.json file. Those items are external links opening in new tabs. The Android TV app is fully native and doesn't host the web interface, so those changes don't work over there.
Plugin pages are for dashboard only, which is only available in the web interface.
One thing you could look at is to implement the
IChannel interface in your plugin. This might fit your use-case but I'm not entirely sure how they work and if the Android TV supports them. https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin/blob/master/MediaBrowser.Controller/Channels/IChannel.cs
RE: Adding to the Client UI with Plugin - JellyHunter - 2025-04-21
(2024-08-13, 10:40 AM)niels Wrote: It is not possible to change the user interface using plugins.
This is one of the things that keep Jellyfin back
RE: Adding to the Client UI with Plugin - Jelly_Bob - 2025-05-30
How to Create "Channels" (Genre Libraries) in Jellyfin
You can create your own genre-based "channels" in Jellyfin, but note that this won’t randomly select something to watch — it’s for organizing and browsing. Here’s how I do it to combine movies and shows (for example, Documentaries or Foreign content like Chinese or Japanese):
- Folder Structure: Instead of a single "Movies" folder, create genre folders—like "SciFi," "Horror," "Drama," "Fantasy," etc. Move the appropriate movies and shows into these folders.
- Jellyfin Libraries: In Jellyfin, create a new Library for each folder/genre. This gives you a set of "channels" to pick from.
- Home Screen Layout: Go to 'Settings > Home > Home screen section 1' and choose "My Media (small)". This displays smaller library icons, letting you fit more "channels" (libraries) on the home page without scrolling.
- Combined Library Option: If you want a general "Movies" library too, create a Library that includes all your genre folders. In this combined library, turn off metadata fetching, uncheck the NFO box, and disable real-time monitoring. This way, metadata is handled in each genre library, and the combined library just aggregates everything.
* Combining Movies & Shows: If you want to combine movies and tv shows (like a "Chinese" library), you have the movies in one folder and the tv shows in another - then create a Jellyfin library for each of them (with specific metadata pulling, like TMDB, etc.), and a third Library pulling from both locations (the actual "Chinese" library). Then hide the individual libraries from the home page by going to 'Dashboard > Manage Library' for each and uncheck "Enable the library." Only the combined library will show.