Build a Jellyfin Discord and Telegram Bot in 2026: Now Playing, Commands, and Rich Notifications

Build a Jellyfin Discord and Telegram Bot in 2026: Now Playing, Commands, and Rich Notifications

Jellyfin webhooks send one-way notifications. A bot goes further - it is interactive. Your Discord server members or Telegram group can type a command and instantly see what is playing, search your library, or request new content without ever opening a browser.

This guide covers the best community bots for Jellyfin, how to deploy them, and how to build custom integrations using the Jellyfin API.

Why a Bot Instead of Webhooks?

Webhooks are fire-and-forget. Bots are conversational.

Option 1: Jellybot (Discord - Most Popular)

Jellybot is a community-built Discord bot that connects directly to your Jellyfin server API.

Features

• /nowplaying - shows all active sessions with title, user, progress, and poster
• /search <query> - searches your Jellyfin library and returns results with artwork
• /recent - lists recently added movies and episodes
• /stats - server statistics (total items, users, active streams)
• Automatic notifications for new media added
• Rich Discord embeds with poster images and metadata

Deployment with Docker

services:
  jellybot:
    image: ghcr.io/jellybot-team/jellybot:latest
    environment:
      - DISCORD_TOKEN=your_discord_bot_token
      - JELLYFIN_URL=http://jellyfin:8096
      - JELLYFIN_API_KEY=your_jellyfin_api_key
      - NOTIFICATION_CHANNEL_ID=123456789012345678
    restart: unless-stopped

Setup steps

1. Create a Discord bot at discord.com/developers/applications
2. Create a New Application → Bot → copy the token
3. Invite the bot to your server with the OAuth2 URL generator (scopes: bot, applications.commands)
4. Deploy the Docker container with your tokens
5. The bot registers slash commands automatically

Example: /nowplaying output

🎬 Now Playing on MyServer

1. alice is watching "Dune: Part Two" (2024)
   ▶️ Playing · 1h 23m / 2h 46m · Direct Play
   📱 iPhone · Swiftfin

2. bob is watching "Breaking Bad" S05E14
   ⏸️ Paused · 32m / 47m · Transcode (H.265 → H.264)
   📺 Fire TV Stick · Jellyfin Android TV

Option 2: Jellyfin Telegram Bot

For Telegram users, several community bots provide similar functionality.

Deployment

services:
  jellyfin-telegram-bot:
    image: ghcr.io/jellyfin-telegram/bot:latest
    environment:
      - TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_telegram_bot_token
      - JELLYFIN_URL=http://jellyfin:8096
      - JELLYFIN_API_KEY=your_jellyfin_api_key
      - ALLOWED_CHAT_IDS=123456789,987654321
    restart: unless-stopped

Setup steps

1. Create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram
2. Copy the bot token
3. Get your chat ID (send a message to @userinfobot)
4. Deploy the container
5. Send /start to your bot

Available commands

• /nowplaying - active sessions
• /search <title> - search library
• /recent - recently added content
• /stats - server overview
• /request <title> - submit a media request (if Seerr is connected)

Security: ALLOWED_CHAT_IDS

Always restrict the bot to specific chat IDs. Without this, anyone who discovers your bot can query your server.

Option 3: Build Your Own Bot with the Jellyfin API

The Jellyfin REST API is well-documented and easy to use. Building a custom bot gives you full control.

Key API endpoints for bots

Python example: Discord bot with now playing

import discord
from discord import app_commands
import aiohttp

JELLYFIN_URL = "http://jellyfin:8096"
JELLYFIN_API_KEY = "your_api_key"

intents = discord.Intents.default()
client = discord.Client(intents=intents)
tree = app_commands.CommandTree(client)

@tree.command(name="nowplaying", description="Show active Jellyfin sessions")
async def nowplaying(interaction: discord.Interaction):
    headers = {"X-Emby-Token": JELLYFIN_API_KEY}
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        async with session.get(
            f"{JELLYFIN_URL}/Sessions",
            headers=headers
        ) as resp:
            sessions = await resp.json()

    active = [s for s in sessions if s.get("NowPlayingItem")]

    if not active:
        await interaction.response.send_message("No active sessions.")
        return

    embed = discord.Embed(
        title="Now Playing",
        color=0x00A4DC
    )
    for s in active:
        item = s["NowPlayingItem"]
        user = s.get("UserName", "Unknown")
        title = item.get("Name", "Unknown")
        state = "▶️" if not s.get("PlayState", {}).get("IsPaused") else "⏸️"
        embed.add_field(
            name=f"{state} {user}",
            value=f"**{title}**",
            inline=False
        )

    await interaction.response.send_message(embed=embed)

@client.event
async def on_ready():
    await tree.sync()
    print(f"Bot ready: {client.user}")

client.run("your_discord_bot_token")

Dockerfile for the custom bot

FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
COPY bot.py .
CMD ["python", "bot.py"]

requirements.txt:

discord.py>=2.3
aiohttp>=3.9

Connecting Seerr for Media Requests via Bot

The most powerful bot feature: let users request movies and TV shows directly from Discord or Telegram.

How it works

1. User types /request Interstellar in Discord
2. Bot searches TMDB via the Seerr API
3. Bot shows results with poster and year
4. User confirms the request
5. Seerr sends it to Radarr/Sonarr
6. Content downloads and appears in Jellyfin automatically

Seerr API integration

SEERR_URL = "http://seerr:5055"
SEERR_API_KEY = "your_seerr_api_key"

async def search_seerr(query):
    headers = {"X-Api-Key": SEERR_API_KEY}
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        async with session.get(
            f"{SEERR_URL}/api/v1/search?query={query}",
            headers=headers
        ) as resp:
            return await resp.json()

Discord Rich Presence: Show What You Are Watching

Want your Discord profile to display "Watching Dune: Part Two on Jellyfin"? Two community tools handle this:

jellyfin-rpc (by Radiicall)

A lightweight daemon that reads your Jellyfin session and updates your Discord Rich Presence status.

# Install via cargo
cargo install jellyfin-rpc

# Or download the binary from GitHub releases

Configure ~/.config/jellyfin-rpc/main.json:

{
  "jellyfin": {
    "url": "http://jellyfin:8096",
    "api_key": "your_api_key",
    "username": "your_username"
  },
  "discord": {
    "application_id": "your_discord_app_id"
  }
}

Your Discord status shows: Watching "Dune: Part Two" with a Jellyfin icon and elapsed time.

jellyfin-rpc (by kennethsible)

An alternative implementation with similar features. Choose whichever has more recent commits.

Notification Embeds: Making Them Beautiful

The default Jellyfin webhook sends plain text. With a bot, you control the embed format:

Rich embed example (new movie added)

🎬 New Movie Added

Dune: Part Two (2024)
⭐ 8.5/10 (TMDB) · 2h 46m · PG-13
🎭 Denis Villeneuve
🏷️ Sci-Fi, Adventure, Drama

[poster image embedded]

Available now on MyServer

How to include poster images

The Jellyfin API serves poster images at:

GET /Items/{itemId}/Images/Primary?maxWidth=300

Use this URL as the embed thumbnail in your Discord or Telegram message.

Bot Security Best Practices

• Never expose your Jellyfin API key in public repositories
• Restrict bot commands to specific Discord channels or Telegram chat IDs
• Use read-only API keys when possible (Jellyfin does not support scoped keys natively, but you can create a non-admin user for the bot)
• Rate limit commands to prevent abuse
• Log all bot interactions for audit purposes

FAQ

Can the bot control playback (pause, stop, skip)? Yes, the Jellyfin API supports playback control via POST /Sessions/{id}/Playing/Stop. However, this is risky - a bot command could interrupt someone mid-movie. Use with caution.

Does the bot work if Jellyfin is behind a reverse proxy? Yes. The bot connects to the Jellyfin API URL you configure. It works with local IPs, reverse proxies, or Cloudflare Tunnels.

Can I run the bot on a different machine than Jellyfin? Yes. The bot only needs HTTP access to the Jellyfin API. It can run anywhere - a VPS, a Raspberry Pi, or the same Docker host.

Is there an official Jellyfin Discord bot? No. All Discord bots for Jellyfin are community-built. The Jellyfin project does not maintain an official bot.

Can the bot show transcoding information? Yes. The /Sessions API endpoint includes TranscodingInfo with codec, bitrate, and transcode reason - perfect for admin debugging from Discord.

Does this replace JellyWatch? No. A Discord bot is great for community interaction and quick checks. JellyWatch provides deep admin monitoring with push notifications, historical stats, and a native Android interface. They complement each other.

Bots handle the community. JellyWatch handles the server. Download JellyWatch on Google Play - real-time session monitoring, transcoding diagnostics, and push alerts that no Discord bot can match.

On Emby? Download EmbyWatch on Google Play - the same admin-grade monitoring for Emby servers.