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Designing the Perfect Emby Home Screen: A Complete Customization Guide

sross44

Entry posted by sross44 in Emby

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Why would you want to customize your home screen and how to do it! 

Your Emby home screen is the gateway to your entire media world but for some the default layout isn't the perfect setup. The good news? Emby gives you powerful tools to transform your home screen into a clean, personalized, and intuitive hub that perfectly fits your viewing habits.

In this guide, we’ll walk through everything from organizing libraries and smart collections to customizing artwork and user profiles. Whether you’re new to Emby or looking to take your setup to the next level, this article will help you design a home screen that looks and feels like your own streaming service.

Organizing Your Libraries and Content Types

A clear library structure is the foundation of a great Emby experience.

  • Create dedicated libraries: Separate Movies, TV Shows, Kids, Documentaries, Music, and more. This makes browsing faster and lets you apply different metadata settings for each type.

  • Use descriptive names and icons: Rename generic libraries and assign custom icons or cover images for visual appeal.

  • Fine-tune sorting: Use filters and sort by release date, genre, rating, or watch status to keep your content organized and accessible.

Pro Tip: Keep kids’ content in its own library with separate age restrictions and artwork for a cleaner home screen.

Customizing Artwork and Posters

Visual design has a massive impact on user experience — and Emby gives you full control.

  • Replace default artwork: Swap in your own posters, backdrops, and logos for each title.

  • Use consistent visuals: Download high-quality images from sources like The Movie Database (TMDb) or Fanart.tv for a cohesive look.

  • Customize library icons: Apply themed icons for each library (e.g. a film reel for Movies, a TV icon for Shows).

Hiding or Rearranging Home Screen Sections

A cluttered home screen can be overwhelming to some. Streamline your layout by:

  • Disabling unused sections: Turn off “Latest Media,” “Trailers,” or “Music” if you don’t use them.

  • Reordering content rows: Move “Continue Watching” or “Favorites” to the top for fast access.

  • Simplifying for guests or kids: Remove advanced sections on non-admin profiles for a more focused view.

This keeps your home screen clean and purpose-driven.

Themes, Skins, and Display Options

Give your Emby interface a personal touch with display tweaks:

  • Enable Dark Mode or Light Mode: Choose a theme that fits your environment.

  • Adjust poster sizes: Larger posters are more visual, smaller ones fit more on screen.

  • Tweak text and layout: Adjust font size, spacing, and aspect ratio for optimal readability on TVs, tablets, or phones.

Personalizing User Profiles

If you share your server with family or friends, user profiles let each person have their own home screen experience:

  • Individual layouts: Each profile can show different libraries, collections, and sections.

  • Parental controls: Restrict content ratings, block libraries, or set watch schedules for kids.

  • Profile pictures and colors: Add custom avatars and themes for a personal touch.

This keeps everyone’s experience separate and clutter-free.
 

A well-designed Emby home screen can make your entire media experience feel faster, cleaner, and more personal. By organizing libraries, building smart collections, customizing artwork, and tailoring profiles, you can create a setup that feels like your own private streaming platform.

Spend a little time experimenting — you’ll be amazed at how much more enjoyable Emby becomes when it’s designed just for you.
 

Edited by sross44

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18 Comments

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CarneAsada

CarneAsada 12

Posted

Thank you for sharing, it would be great to see other people's home screen.

 

 image.thumb.png.b96f542bfaedcffbaeb2db5cbb9cd25c.png

Painkiller88

Painkiller88 248

Posted (edited)

Hi @Lukeone question about the "Pro Tip: Keep kids’ content in its own library with separate age restrictions and artwork for a cleaner home screen."

 

Is there a way to create dynamic libraries using filters, eg. all movies with Age 0 to 6 should appear in the Kids library?

So people with thousands of movies does not have to re organize their Storage and copy tons of movies around into a seperate folder to make it a library.

Thanks

Edited by Painkiller8818
Deihmos

Deihmos 169

Posted

I would like to see an option to use posters for continue watching. 

 

CarneAsada

CarneAsada 12

Posted

On 9/16/2025 at 7:09 AM, Painkiller8818 said:

Hi @Lukeone question about the "Pro Tip: Keep kids’ content in its own library with separate age restrictions and artwork for a cleaner home screen."

 

Is there a way to create dynamic libraries using filters, eg. all movies with Age 0 to 6 should appear in the Kids library?

So people with thousands of movies does not have to re organize their Storage and copy tons of movies around into a seperate folder to make it a library.

Thanks

I had a similar request, check out my thread.

 

 

 

ssbomber32

ssbomber32 10

Posted

I enjoy continually tweaking, changing the layout, to keep my users engaged.  This is my current layout.

 

image.thumb.png.d1334a75725b42a55a9345d8b2742d95.png

  • Like 1
Painkiller88

Painkiller88 248

Posted

15 hours ago, CarneAsada said:

I had a similar request, check out my thread.

 

 

 

Thanks, i am using this plugin already but my question was more about dynamic library because i have one large Folder Movies, where all my Movies are in their own folders.

But to make a new KIDS Library i need a way to sort them out and move them to a new folder for my library.

With the possibility to use a dynamic library and say, every movie with rating 0 to 6 should be part of it, i could skip the step of manually moving all of those movies to a new folder or network drive 

sross44

sross44 429

Posted

There is a great plugin available called Smart Playlists that may get you to what you're looking for @Painkiller8818

 

  • Like 1
CarneAsada

CarneAsada 12

Posted

10 hours ago, Painkiller8818 said:

Thanks, i am using this plugin already but my question was more about dynamic library because i have one large Folder Movies, where all my Movies are in their own folders.

But to make a new KIDS Library i need a way to sort them out and move them to a new folder for my library.

With the possibility to use a dynamic library and say, every movie with rating 0 to 6 should be part of it, i could skip the step of manually moving all of those movies to a new folder or network drive 

I understand but I'm curious on why not make a new profile dedicated for kids? Then you can enforce parental rating of age 0-6. While I assume your approach to create a whole new library dynamically, having access to the other libraries for parents in the same profile really defeats the purpose of a kids only library.

 

Then again, you can also sort by parental control in your filtered view?

 

- source: I also have the same setup, one large library folder for movies.

 

Good luck!

Kiniu

Kiniu 22

Posted

i would like to share my emby... i also like to work on it, it give me a plesaure. althou i would like to know how i can change or resize font?

.... and a second question is how i can set a view for a folder where he will give inheritance to a folder inside him? for example primary view with small imige size...? and then all inside will have the same view,. and it will be set like on the server itself so when i open any emby client it will still be the same.

Screenshot 2025-09-23 213609.png

Screenshot 2025-09-23 213635.png

Screenshot 2025-09-23 213649.png

Screenshot 2025-09-24 132504.png

Painkiller88

Painkiller88 248

Posted

18 hours ago, sross44 said:

There is a great plugin available called Smart Playlists that may get you to what you're looking for @Painkiller8818

 

Thanks i will give it a try

  • Like 1
Kiniu

Kiniu 22

Posted

1 hour ago, Painkiller8818 said:

Thanks i will give it a try

Would you be so kind and provide link to that plugin please?

  • Like 1
unrais

unrais 14

Posted

Quote

Our next blog article will focus on building dynamic smart playlists which will allow you to take your home screen even further. Keep an eye on on that in the coming days!


🤔 Oh I hope this is the implementation of custom rows!

  • Like 1
sylvio2000

sylvio2000 23

Posted

Hi.

It is great to see what is possible by tweaking the home screen. But I cant see a guide for doing this?

All I see is a list of things what is possible, but not how to do it 😉

  • Agree 1
Luke

Luke 42077

Posted

7 hours ago, sylvio2000 said:

Hi.

It is great to see what is possible by tweaking the home screen. But I cant see a guide for doing this?

All I see is a list of things what is possible, but not how to do it 😉

HI, yes we need to add some visuals to this article @sross44

sbphoto42

sbphoto42 3

Posted (edited)

I'm just starting to customize my emby media.

2025-11-17 14_28_35-Emby.png

Edited by sbphoto42
  • Thanks 1
Dryghor

Dryghor 0

Posted

Hi !

Great idea to build such a guide ! :)
I'm looking forward when it will be done.

Davey's

Davey's 37

Posted

I created a folder for kids' series, with content for my 8-year-old daughter. There's now a similar folder with content for my 3-year-old son, but it's getting a bit cluttered on the main screen.

I'd like to have the option to have all the content in the same folder, and when you enter the folder, having an option to select an age category, so you can quickly and easily display the right content for the child.

Are there any options that serve the same purpose?

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