Jellyfin app for Windows: the free way to watch your library
How to watch Jellyfin on Windows — install Swiftly Player free, sign in with Quick Connect, and three other good clients to know about.
By Swiftly Player2 min read
Disclosure: we build Swiftly Player, one of the clients in this article. We point out where other apps do better.
Jellyfin has no single official Windows app. Swiftly Player is a free one: it plays through VLC without asking the server to transcode, and it remembers your audio and subtitle choice per series. The same app runs on Linux, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, and on Android in a closed test.
Set it up in 3 steps
- Install. Download the Swiftly installer from GitHub releases and run it.
- Connect. Enter your server address, or choose Quick Connect and approve the code from another signed-in device.
- Watch. Pick a title from your library and press play.
What you get
- Direct Play through VLC, so the server does not transcode
- Skip Intro, Skip Recap and Skip Credits, plus automatic next episode, from Intro Skipper data
- Audio and subtitle choice remembered per series
- External subtitle files
- Multiple servers and accounts at once
- Quick Connect sign-in
- Requests through Seerr without leaving the app
- Resume on this device: pick up a film paused on your phone or Mac with one tap
- Free, no account with us, no tracking
Other good options
- Jellyfin Desktop — the Jellyfin project's own client, the web interface in a window with libmpv for playback. GitHub releases
- Fladder — a Flutter app with downloads, Seerr and Skip Intro. GitHub releases
- Kodi with a Jellyfin add-on — worth it if you already use Kodi for other media. Jellyfin's Kodi documentation
Read the full comparison in Best Jellyfin clients for Windows.
FAQ
Does Windows show a security warning when I install Swiftly?
Yes. Windows SmartScreen warns because the installer has no paid code-signing certificate, not because of anything unsafe about the app. Click "More info", then "Run anyway".
Does Swiftly Player cost anything?
No. It is free, with no subscription, and no account with Swiftly itself.
Do I still need a Jellyfin account?
Yes — the same account you already use in a browser, on your own server. Swiftly does not add an account of its own. Quick Connect signs you in with a code, and Jellyfin keeps your playback position on the server, so Resume on this device works no matter where you paused.
