Unraid/Tailscale/JellyFin

[Enquiries]

Hi Huys -

I have little out of the norm question for me and I'm just looking for the best direction here. With the latest plex issue that came down this week I have now decided to explore jellyfish. I have it set up and running locally on my Unraid set up on my MeMini (Thank you Robbie, you sold me the second I got done watching the video). It's working insanely well locally.

I would love to get my parents who are using plex right now onto this remotely. I've searched tons of videos so far when it comes to the set up using unraid and registered for a free domain.

My question is if I have Tailscale (which I do) can I just use that and have my parents connect via that if I set them up as a user in jellyfin and then they affectively connect up in a similar way as they do with plex now? I know I have to use the infuse app since they use an Apple TV but am I over simplifying this or could it possibly be that simple?

Thanks as always for your help on this.

Rob

[ed]

Good to hear the MeMini and Jellyfin setup is working well for you. In your case, yes, Tailscale can make this surprisingly simple. Since Tailscale creates a secure VPN overlay, your parents’ Apple TV (via Infuse) can connect back to your Jellyfin server using its Tailscale IP just like they were on the same network. As long as you create Tailscale accounts for them, install the client on their Apple devices, and then add them as Jellyfin users, they’ll be able to stream remotely without exposing ports or dealing with reverse proxies.

The main limitation is that Infuse on Apple TV does not yet have a fully native Jellyfin integration the way it does with Plex, so you’ll need to set it up either as an Emby/Jellyfin server source or point it at your Tailscale address. It works, but it is not as seamless as Plex’s remote access. That said, the security and simplicity of skipping port forwarding or reverse proxy config is a big plus.

So yes, you are not over-simplifying it. It can genuinely be that straightforward with Tailscale, and it’s one of the cleanest ways to bring in remote family members without opening up your Unraid box to the internet. The only thing to watch is your upload bandwidth at home. Jellyfin will try to direct stream whenever possible, but if transcoding is needed you’ll want to make sure your CPU can keep up.

If you want to test it before rolling it out fully, set up Tailscale on your own iPhone or laptop, disable WiFi, and connect over LTE/5G to see how smooth it feels. That will give you the best preview of how your parents will experience it.