How do I configure Emby Portable for Windows datapath?

[Major_Minor 4]

Ive read that windows installer version doesnt offer a choice but that the portable version was for advanced users who can configure everything manually.

Ive looked in settings.xml and couldnt find a configuration entry.

My boot vol is running out of space. I would like to point everything to another drive.

Server portable itself is trivial to run anywhere. I just cant quite figure out how to tell emby its data location.

FYI: I do have a premiere license if this feature requires it.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Luke 42083]

HI, there is no top level data folder option, although in emby server settings many of the sub-folder paths can be configured separately.

For example, it's possible that just moving cache & transcoding temp would be enough to clear your space problem.

[Major_Minor 4]

Thanks. Since its not configurable, where is the root folder? 

[Happy2Play 9783]

Not entirely sure what you are asking.

Move the entire folder to another drive? (Y:\Emby-Server)

Only customizable paths are Cache, Transcoding-temp, and Metadata folder.

Cache path on App settings-Settings

Transcoding-temp on App settings-Transcoding

Metadata on App settings-Library Advanced tab

Default paths are mostly tokenized in the database.

 

[Major_Minor 4]

when I install portable version of windows app, I can place the directory anywhere and it launches fine.

For me, I put it @ d:\emby

When I launched emby, I looked for the data path root @ c:\users\name\appdata\roaming\emby but there is nothing there.

Since it was said that the root location cant be customized, Im wondering where it actually is. 

 

[Happy2Play 9783]

Just now, Major_Minor said:

when I install portable version of windows app, I can place the directory anywhere and it launches fine.

For me, I put it @ d:\emby

When I launched emby, I looked for the data path root @ c:\users\name\appdata\roaming\emby but there is nothing there.

Since it was said that the root location cant be customized, Im wondering where it actually is. 

 

Sounds like you have a Installed version and a portable.

Can you post a server log from startup.

 

[Happy2Play 9783]

Also how are you launching Emby as it may be a shortcut issue.

2023-03-30 18:40:08.314 Info Main: Application path: Y:\Emby-Server\system\EmbyServer.dll
2023-03-30 18:40:08.603 Info App: Setting default culture to en-US
2023-03-30 18:40:08.606 Info Main: Emby
	Command line: Y:\Emby-Server\system\EmbyServer.dll -noautorunwebapp
	Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10.0.19045
	Framework: .NET 6.0.15
	OS/Process: x64/x64
	Runtime: Y:/Emby-Server/system/System.Private.CoreLib.dll
	Processor count: 12
	Data path: Y:\Emby-Server\programdata
	Application path: Y:\Emby-Server\system
2023-03-30 18:40:08.606 Info Main: Logs path: Y:\Emby-Server\programdata\logs
2023-03-30 18:40:08.606 Info Main: Cache path: Y:\Emby-Server\programdata\cache
2023-03-30 18:40:08.606 Info Main: Internal metadata path: Y:\Emby-Server\programdata\metadata
2023-03-30 18:40:08.607 Info Main: Tray icon path: Y:\Emby-Server\system\embytray

 

[Major_Minor 4]

i would love if the data root was underneath d:\emby which looks like how your log shows.

I right clicked on the main app in explorer and chose create shortcut.

the shortcut says

target: d:\emby\emby-server.exe

start in: d:\emby

There were no setup or launch instructions for portable version. I assumed the app wants me to startup in the d:\emby dir. Not sure where else I would set it to

[Happy2Play 9783]

That should be it.

Does launching the emby-server.exe load from from the correct location?

But server logs could help.

[Happy2Play 9783]

But sounds like your shortcut is wrong.  But don't know overall structure.

[Major_Minor 4]

You solved it indirectly.

I extracted the zipped up system folder to d:\emby.

Thus my shortcut is fine BUT there is some coding restriction that requires emby to be launched in a folder called system.

It can have any parent folder, but the app must be in system folder.

So I created an empty parent called emby. Now my app is in d:\emby\system and now my programdata is in d:\emby.

This is exactly where i would have chosen to put it anyway.

BTW:

Here is a snippet of my log file. You can see that for whatever reason, it was putting data in d:\programdata  (which now makes sense)

2023-03-30 20:08:39.136 Info Main: Transcoding temporary files path: D:\programdata\transcoding-temp

2023-03-30 20:08:39.137 Info Main: Tray icon path: D:\Emby\embytray

2023-03-30 20:08:39.311 Info App: Application version: 4.7.11.0

2023-03-30 20:08:39.312 Info App: Loading assemblies

2023-03-30 20:08:40.471 Info App: File D:\programdata\plugins\AudioDb.dll has version 1.0.18.0

2023-03-30 20:08:40.483 Info App: File D:\Emby\plugins\AudioDb.dll has version 1.0.16.0

2023-03-30 20:08:40.495 Info App: File D:\programdata\plugins\BlurayMounter.dll has version 1.0.0.0

2023-03-30 20:08:40.499 Info App: File D:\Emby\plugins\BlurayMounter.dll has version 1.0.0.0

2023-03-30 20:08:40.501 Info App: File D:\programdata\plugins\DvdMounter.dll has version 1.0.0.0

2023-03-30 20:08:40.504 Info App: File D:\Emby\plugins\DvdMounter.dll has version 1.0.0.0

2023-03-30 20:08:41.710 Info App: File D:\programdata\plugins\Emby.Dlna.dll has version 1.0.95.0

2023-03-30 20:08:41.718 Info App: File D:\Emby\plugins\Emby.Dlna.dll has version 1.0.91.0

Thanks for hanging in there and solving this.

[Happy2Play 9783]

Yes programdata is your install configuration and system is the server itself both self-contained and should be in a parent folder.