Take server online: Port forwarding vs. reverse proxy

[EggplantHabitat856]

Hi guys

I am new on this forum, since the Jellyfin subreddit was closed down a while back.

I have had a personal Jellyfin server for a while, and I am loving it!
However, I have always only hosted my server on my local network. I now want to host it online, so that I can watch my content from anywhere, and I also want to give some friends and family access to my server.

I don't have much experience with network administration, however I am generally an advanced user when it comes to computer stuff.

According to some research I have done online, there are two ways to take my server online; port forwarding my router, or use a reverse proxy.

I have two main concerns that are very important for me to address when taking my server online:

1. Network security: I want the safest way to expose my server to the internet without introducing security risks, such as hacking and malware.
   
2. Protecting remote users: {we don't talk about content acquisition - TDP} Therefore, it is very important that users can establish a secure encrypted connection to the server so that they don't risk getting {we don't talk about content acquisition - TDP}.
   

How do you guys recommend I proceed?
Thank you in advance.

[Sativex]

Look in the Guides section for the Caddy guide, pretty easy to setup, it handles the reverse proxy and https certification.

[TheDreadPirate]

Use Caddy with HTTPS, which requires you get a domain. Domains from DuckDNS are free.

https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/networking/caddy/

Port forward port 443 and port 80 (required for certificate setup) to your server running caddy. Caddy handles all the external connections via https, meaning the connection is fully encrypted with external clients.

[EggplantHabitat856]

Use Caddy with HTTPS, which requires you get a domain.  Domains from DuckDNS are free.

https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/networking/caddy/

Port forward port 443 and port 80 (required for certificate setup) to your server running caddy.  Caddy handles all the external connections via https, meaning the connection is fully encrypted with external clients.

Thank you. Will this work with the Jellyfin apps, such as Jellyfin on Android TV, as well?

---

Look in the Guides section for the Caddy guide, pretty easy to setup, it handles the reverse proxy and https certification.

Thank you, I'll check it out!

[TheDreadPirate]

Yes. Works for any Jellyfin client.

[EggplantHabitat856]

Yes.  Works for any Jellyfin client.

Awesome. Appreciate the help.