About — Finderwave

In one sentence

Finderwave is an open-core authentication and access layer for self-hosted Jellyfin — Plex-style sharing and device management, without centralising identity, storing your media, or compromising privacy.

The problem we solve

You shouldn't have to choose.

Every Finderwave user is stuck between two good things that don't overlap. We're not here to trash either one — both got something right.

The Plex camp

What it gets right

Great sharing UX. One account, click a friend's server, it just works. Device linking is a short code; an invite is an email; revoking is a button.

What it costs you

Plex owns your identity. Their servers sit between you and your media for auth — even locally. They see your watch history, they've added ads, and if Plex is down you can't log into your own server in your own house.

The Jellyfin camp

What it gets right

Fully open source. No account with anyone. No telemetry, no phoning home. Your server, your data, your rules — and the project is healthy and actively maintained.

What it costs you

Sharing is genuinely painful. Local accounts, dynamic DNS, reverse proxies, explaining IP addresses. No unified TV login, no invite link. Every person you share with is a small support burden.

The gap we fill

Finderwave layers a Plex-style auth and access experience on top of self-hosted Jellyfin — without touching the media, without requiring a Plex account, and without the centralisation trade-offs. The plugin on your server is open source and auditable. The free tier carries zero bytes of your content. You stay in full control.

Our story

We had this problem ourselves.

We run Jellyfin for our own libraries. Sharing with family and friends meant local accounts, reverse proxies, and explaining IP addresses over text. Plex solved the UX side — one login, invite by email — but we did not want Plex owning our identity or sitting between us and our servers.

Finderwave is what we built to fix that: Plex-style sharing on self-hosted Jellyfin, with auth you control and media that never leaves your hardware unless you choose relay.

Open-source plugin on your server — auditable, AGPL-3.0.
Free direct access forever when you bring your own URL.
Optional managed relay when you cannot or will not expose your home IP.
Quick Connect for TV apps — sign in on the web with a six-digit code.

Who it's for

Self-hosters who run Jellyfin and share it with friends or family.
Small communities — anime clubs, friend groups, households on a shared server.
Indie hosting providers who want a cleaner login UX for their customers.
Organisations running Jellyfin for internal video who need SSO.

How we compare

vs Plex — better privacy, open source, no Plex dependency for auth, no ads.
vs raw Jellyfin — better sharing UX, central device management and revocation.
vs Tailscale / VPN — no VPN client on every device. Works on smart TVs.
vs Authelia / SSO overlays — Jellyfin-native flows out of the box. No YAML config hell.

The tagline

What we say on the homepage.

Share like Plex. Stay private like Jellyfin.

One login for every Jellyfin server you've been invited to. No port forwarding. No shared passwords. Nothing leaving your server you didn't approve.

How it looks

The design, in the open too.

Same spirit as the code: here are the actual tokens this site is built from. Dark is the default; light mode follows your system or the toggle in the header.

Background

#0d1117

Surface

#161b22

Border

#30363d

Accent

#2dd4bf

Accent hover

#14b8a6

Text primary

#f0f6fc

Text secondary

#8b949e

CTA banner

#0d4a45

InterH1 · 36 / 700

Share like Plex.

InterH2 · 24 / 600

Stay private like Jellyfin.

InterH3 · 18 / 600

Your data stays yours.

InterBody · 16 / 400 · 1.6

Invite someone with their email. They create an account, click your server, and they're watching. Revoke access with one button.

JetBrains MonoCode · 13 / 400

jellyfin plugin install finderwave

Who's behind it

The boring, honest details.

Maintained byAXL Online Solutions SRL

Based inRomania

LicenseAGPL-3.0

Sourcegithub.com/finderwave

Domainfinderwave.io

LaunchPublic launch — 2026

Private Jellyfin sharing, without the Plex lock-in.