If you're looking to self-host your own media server, chances are that you're torn between Plex and Jellyfin. While the former has been the default choice for lots of users over the years, the latter has been gaining more popularity recently, primarily because it hasn't introduced any restrictions or a paid tier, unlike Plex. So, chances are that if you're just beginning your self-hosting journey and wish to stream media on your home server, you've picked Jellyfin to help you achieve it. Undoubtedly, Jellyfin is an extremely versatile tool that can stream movies, TV shows, music, and even photos. It even has the option to install plugins that allow you to do cool stuff like skip intros automatically or fetch subtitles.

The support for a large variety of media formats also means that you can use Jellyfin as an alternative to Spotify for streaming music. While I've tried doing that, the biggest dealbreaker for me, and I'm sure a lot of other people, is that Jellyfin's UI is nowhere close to what Spotify offers. It's clunky, looks rather dated, and is not appealing at all. But, before you dismiss the app based on this — let me introduce you to the Jelly Music App — one of my latest discoveries in the GitHub world. It's essentially a skin of sorts for Jellyfin, made to create a beautiful UI that's also snappy. I've been using it for the past couple of days, and it seems like it's finally time for me to bid adieu to Spotify.

Looks clean and polished

Just like Spotify

The simplest way to deploy the Jelly Music App is by using Docker. Use the following code in the terminal:

docker build . \
--build-arg VITE_DEFAULT_JELLYFIN_URL=https://demo.jellyfin.org/stable \
--build-arg VITE_LOCK_JELLYFIN_URL=true \
--tag jelly-app

Here, VITE_DEFAULT_JELLYFIN_URL sets the default Jellyfin server URL loaded on first app access if no URL is stored in Local Storage. Set VITE_LOCK_JELLYFIN_URL to true if you have a self-hosted instance tied to a single server, as it removes the URL input field and enforces the default URL for all connections.

Then, run the Docker container using:

docker run --rm -p 80:80 jelly-app:latest

As soon as you open the Jelly Music App in your browser, you'll instantly see how elegant the UI looks. It has been designed with UI elements that look polished and attractive. Just like most music players, you can filter music based on tracks, playlists, albums, artists, etc. The Settings section gives you the option to switch between light and dark themes. Those with an OLED display will surely appreciate the dark mode. It's not just about looks, though. The Jelly Music App functions smoothly and switches between the different tabs in a jiffy. It's well-optimized and is certainly among the fastest self-hosted services I've used.

All the functionality you need

Baked into a snappy interface

The first step to using the Jelly Music App is, of course, connecting your Jellyfin server to it. Once you do that, all your personal music collection will be automatically synced. Since it's self-hosted, you can access the service even on your smartphone or pretty much any device connected to your local network. Pick from the different audio quality options, or set it to Source to play the original quality audio file without modifications.

The Jelly Music App also has the ability to download songs for offline listening. You can save individual tracks, playlists, or albums for offline playback. You can also set the auto-download feature to trigger for any new tracks that you add to your playlist. Those switching from Spotify will certainly find these features handy. In fact, you'll feel right at home thanks to the similar UI. The controls reside at the bottom of the screen, there's a nice volume bar on the left pane alongside the search bar, and a seek bar in the center that blends in with the UI elements beautifully. The developer has certainly paid close attention to detail when designing the app.

It's finally time to make the switch

If you were holding back on switching to Jellyfin as your media streaming app of choice, just because you felt the UI lacked character, it's finally time to rethink your decision. The Jelly Music App brings about a welcome change, making Jellyfin look a lot more elegant than it is by default. Now, it almost looks like an app developed by a large corporation like Spotify or Google. Dare I say, it even looks better than YouTube Music — which, by the way — has a terrible UI. Moreover, the fact that you can access it on your computer and smartphone is the cherry on top.