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Install Library Hub

Library Hub adds browser-based catalog browsing, daily HTML archives, and optional email subscriptions to Emby.

Before you install

  • API baseline: Emby Server 4.11.0.5. The plugin targets .NET Standard 2.0.
  • Development uses Synology with .NET 8. Other server versions and platforms need validation.
  • You need administrator access to Emby and write access to its plugin directory.
  • Choose a maintenance window: restarting Emby interrupts playback.
  • SMTP is needed only for email subscriptions. Browsing and archives work without it.
  • Readers need an active Emby account and a web browser, including users who normally watch through Android TV.

Archive access: all signed-in members see the same saved reports, including every reported library. Browsing and email reports respect each member's Emby permissions. The administrator's offered-library selection affects browsing only.

1. Download

Open the GitHub releases page.

Download the plugin DLL from the latest release assets.

2. Install on the server

Library Hub is not yet in Emby's official plugin catalog. The catalog does not provide a local DLL upload button.

Synology

  1. Stop Emby Server in DSM Package Center.
  2. Copy the downloaded DLL to /var/packages/EmbyServer/var/plugins/Emby.LibraryHub.dll, replacing the existing file.
  3. Ensure the Emby service account can read it; mode 644 is suitable when parent directories are accessible.
  4. Start Emby Server in Package Center.
  5. Refresh Emby Web with Ctrl+Shift+R and sign in as an administrator.
  6. Open Dashboard → Advanced → Library Hub.

Use File Station or SSH with an account permitted to write to the package directory. If copying reports Permission denied, correct those permissions; do not proceed with a partial replacement.

Other installations

Locate the active server's Emby data directory, then its plugins directory. Stop Emby, replace plugins/Emby.LibraryHub.dll with the downloaded DLL, and start Emby again. For containers, use the persistent data volume belonging to that container. Do not copy the DLL into an Emby client application's directory.

3. Set up browsing and archives

In Library Hub settings:

  1. Under Catalog browsing, check the libraries to offer to members.
  2. Choose Report and preview language and the server's reporting Time zone.
  3. Enter Public Emby server URL, for example https://media.example.com.
  4. Leave both email switches off if you only want browsing and archives.
  5. Click Save.

Use the server's base address, without /web/index.html, an item link, or an access token. Include a reverse-proxy base path only when it is part of your server's actual address.

Settings apply immediately. Keep the Library Hub scheduled task enabled at its default five-minute interval.

Open Browse libraries, Search libraries, and Open private archive from settings. Copy the Archive link (Emby sign-in required) to share the standalone site. Members use its Browse, Search, Archive, and My subscription navigation.

4. Enable email subscriptions (optional)

  1. Enter the sender address, SMTP server, port, username, and password supplied by your mail provider.
  2. For port 465, TLS starts automatically. For port 587, enable Use STARTTLS on ports other than 465.
  3. Set Delivery time and confirm the Time zone.
  4. Check Enable community subscriptions and subscriber delivery, then save.
  5. Open My subscription, enter your own email address, and request confirmation.
  6. Follow the email link, sign in with the same Emby account if asked, and click Confirm my subscription.
  7. Check Enable daily subscriber emails, then save when ready for daily delivery.

The administrator subscribes like any other member. Each person chooses French or English for their email. The archive language and Emby's interface language are separate settings.

Only completed days with changes produce daily email. Tracking starts from the account's confirmation day. Reports are sent after the configured time, with at most one successfully recorded report per address per day. Generating HTML or previewing a report never sends email.

5. Verify the installation

  • Browse opens the libraries selected by the administrator and permitted for the signed-in member.
  • Search with at least two characters, or choose another criterion, and open a matching title in Emby.
  • Preview today's report displays tracked changes, or reports that there are none.
  • An empty archive on first installation is possible; it does not mean installation failed.
  • To publish earlier additions, choose a small From/To range in YYYY/MM/DD and click Generate HTML only.
  • If email is enabled, verify that your address appears as Subscribed after confirmation.

Historical additions use Emby's recorded dates. Removals before tracking began cannot be reconstructed. Do not reset an archive just because it is empty; first check the selected dates and tracking history.

Updating or removing the plugin

Before updating, stop Emby and back up the DLL, configuration, and complete data/library-hub/ directory. On Synology, these paths are relative to /var/packages/EmbyServer/var/:

Path Contents
plugins/Emby.LibraryHub.dll Installed plugin
plugins/configurations/Emby.LibraryHub.xml Settings, including SMTP credentials
data/library-hub/ History, subscriptions, and archives

Replace only the DLL, start Emby, and refresh the browser. Keep backup DLLs outside the live plugins directory. Settings, subscribers, and archives are retained; JSON import is not required after each update. If you need to roll back, stop Emby before restoring the previous DLL and its matching data backup.

To remove the plugin, stop Emby, remove its DLL, then restart Emby. Keep configuration and data backups if you may reinstall. Removing the plugin stops its scheduled work.

Help

Configuration · Troubleshooting · Backup and recovery

Never share configuration exports, SMTP passwords, subscriber files, or unredacted authentication logs.