Getting Started

Getting Started

Moonfin is on your TV. This page gets you from the first screen to watching something, in about five minutes with the remote. If it isn't installed yet, see Installation and Sideloading.

Have these ready

1. A Jellyfin or Emby server that is switched on. Jellyfin needs to be version 10.9 or newer. Emby 4.8 and newer works.
2. The server's address. It's the same thing you type in a web browser to reach it. Examples:
   • http://192.168.1.20:8096 (a server on your home network)
   • http://mynas:8096 (a home server by name)
   • https://jellyfin.example.com (a server reachable from anywhere)
3. A username and password on that server. If someone else runs it, ask them.

Don't know the address? On the computer that runs the server, open its web page and copy what's in the browser's address bar, up to the first single slash. Or ask the person who runs it.

Step 1: Add your server

1. Open Moonfin. Servers on the same network as the TV show up under Discovered Servers. Select one and skip to Step 2.
2. Otherwise choose Add Server. The on-screen keyboard opens for the Server URL.
   • You can leave out http:// and the port. Moonfin tries http and https, and the standard ports 8096 and 8920, on its own.
   • If your server uses a different port, include it, like mynas:8000.
   • The paste key on the keyboard is handy if the address is long. Suggestions above the keys offer servers you typed before.
3. Choose Connect.

If you get Unable to connect to server, open the same address in a browser on your phone while on the same Wi-Fi. If the browser can't reach it either, the address or the network is the problem, not the TV. See Common Problems.

Servers you've used before are kept under Saved Servers, together with the users that signed in on them, even while a server is offline.

Step 2: Sign in

With a username and password: pick Add User, type them with the on-screen keyboard, and choose Sign In. Usernames you used before are offered as suggestions.

With Quick Connect (Jellyfin only): no typing a password on the TV.

1. Choose Quick Connect. A short code appears on the TV.
2. On a phone or computer where you're already signed in to the same server, open the Jellyfin web page, click your user icon at the top right, choose Quick Connect, type the code and confirm.
3. The TV signs in by itself within a few seconds.

If the TV says Quick Connect is disabled, the server admin has to turn it on under Dashboard > General in Jellyfin.

Emby users also see Emby Connect, which signs in with your Emby Connect email and lists the servers linked to it.

Moonfin stays signed in afterwards. Settings > Account & Security > Auto Login chooses whether the last user signs in on launch, and Always Authenticate forces a password every time on a shared TV.

Step 3: Answer the setup wizard

Right after the first sign-in Moonfin asks how you want it to look. Every choice shows a live preview built from your own library, so pick what looks nice. Nothing is permanent, it all lives under Settings > Personalization later, and Settings > About > Run setup again replays the whole thing. Choose Skip setup to accept the defaults.

Question	What it decides
Where should navigation go?	Top Bar or Left Sidebar
How should the top of your Home screen look?	The media bar style: Moonfin, MakD, Bookshelf, Gallery, Banner, Aya, or Off
How should your rows look?	Classic (compact, more rows on screen) or Modern (larger cards with titles underneath)
How should a movie or show look when you open it?	Classic (everything centred) or Modern (cinematic, with tabs for cast and extras)
Pick a look	A colour theme: Moonfin, Neon Pulse, Glass or 8-Bit Hero

It ends with a short tour of what else is in the app.

Step 4: Find your way around

• Home shows Continue Watching, Next Up and the latest additions from each library, with the media bar on top.
• The navigation bar holds your libraries, Search, and optional buttons for Genres, Shuffle, Favorites and Seerr. Which buttons show is under Settings > Personalization > Navigation.
• Select a poster to open its page. From there you can Play, pick audio and subtitle tracks before playing, mark a Favorite, watch a Trailer, and see the cast, chapters and similar titles.
• Settings is in the navigation bar. The search box at the top of Settings finds any setting by name and jumps straight to it.
• Back on the remote goes back one screen. On Samsung the Exit key leaves the app, and Confirm Exit under Account & Security can ask first.
• Inside the player, Left and Right seek, Up and Down show the controls, and OK plays or pauses. The User Guide has the full list.

Step 5: Settings worth a look on day one

You don't have to change any of these. They're the ones people most often want.

If you...	Look at
Have an OLED TV	Personalization > General Style > OLED Mode
Find the menus sluggish	Personalization > General Style > Performance Mode. Auto picks for you, Performance is the lightest
Sit far from the TV, or close to it	Personalization > General Style > UI Scaling
Want different rows on Home, or a different order	Personalization > Home Screen > Home Sections
Want the skip buttons to jump a different amount	Playback & SyncPlay > Video Playback Preferences > Skip Forward Length, Skip Back Length and Seek Step
Have a soundbar or AV receiver	Playback & SyncPlay > Audio Preferences > Audio Passthrough. Auto is right for most setups
Want bigger or different-looking subtitles	Playback & SyncPlay > Subtitle Preferences > Subtitle Customization
Share the TV with children	Account & Security > PIN Code Protection and Parental Controls
Have the Moonbase plugin on the server	Integrations > Moonbase Plugin > Enable Plugin, for settings sync, Seerr, retro games and more
Have Seerr on the server	Integrations > Seerr, after the plugin is enabled. See Seerr Setup
Worry about burn-in	Personalization > Screensaver
See the wrong time in the app	Personalization > General Style > Clock Offset
Prefer the TV's own keyboard	Personalization > General Style > Keyboard > Prefer system keyboard

More than one server

Go back to the server screen (your avatar, or Select Server) and choose Add Server, then repeat Steps 1 and 2. With Personalization > Libraries > Multi-Server Libraries on, Moonfin shows the libraries from every connected server together, with a badge saying which server each came from.

Things that need the server side

Some features only appear once the server has the pieces they need. Ask whoever runs the server if you want them.

• The Moonbase server plugin (Jellyfin and Emby) adds settings and home layout sync between devices, Seerr, retro games, on-screen messages from your admin, external home rows, and sorting by your personal ratings.
• Seerr is connected inside the Moonbase plugin. On the TV you only sign in. See Seerr Setup.
• Subtitle downloads need the OpenSubtitles plugin on the server.

What next

• The User Guide covers the remote inside the player, typing on a TV, and making the app look the way you want.
• If something doesn't work, Common Problems has the usual fixes.