Emby Watch Party - Synchronized Viewing for Friends & Family

[darkrom 5]

Was my error I forgot I was on a nonstandard port for Emby.

It connects just fine now thank you!

One more thing I noticed was that when you edit the docker template that was done this way it wipes all settings. When you edit a "normally installed" unraid docker container it will preserve the settings.  Not really a big complaint or anything I'm super happy once I get this behind my reverse proxy next, but just throwing it out there as an observation.

Deeply appreciate the help and crazy fast work.

[darkrom 5]

Works over reverse proxy.  This is a masterpiece, the Emby devs need to pay you to integrate this or offer it as a plugin.  

GENIUS.  THANK YOU!

[Oratorian 41]

16 minutes ago, darkrom said:

Was my error I forgot I was on a nonstandard port for Emby.

It connects just fine now thank you!

One more thing I noticed was that when you edit the docker template that was done this way it wipes all settings. When you edit a "normally installed" unraid docker container it will preserve the settings.  Not really a big complaint or anything I'm super happy once I get this behind my reverse proxy next, but just throwing it out there as an observation.

Deeply appreciate the help and crazy fast work.

If you can set the TemplateURL manually I forgot that : https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Oratorian/emby-watchparty/refs/heads/main/unraid/emby-watchparty.xml

Easier is to delete the repo and all templates and reinstall.

Edited February 17 by Oratorian

[darkrom 5]

Ahhhh somehow I blew it all up trying to do that and deleted it and started over.  Somehow either IDK how to set the templateurl, or its not working.  I'm happy its working for now, no need to edit it, just not sure what happens when you push an update.  This is my first time adding a container to unraid using anything other than their app "store".

[Oratorian 41]

34 minutes ago, darkrom said:

Ahhhh somehow I blew it all up trying to do that and deleted it and started over.  Somehow either IDK how to set the templateurl, or its not working.  I'm happy its working for now, no need to edit it, just not sure what happens when you push an update.  This is my first time adding a container to unraid using anything other than their app "store".

You have to delete the running container and recreate it from scratch, this way unRaid repulls the new xml tamplate

[darkrom 5]

7 minutes ago, Oratorian said:

You have to delete the running container and recreate it from scratch, this way unRaid repulls the new xml tamplate

Thats what I tried to do but the link you gave me I'm not sure where to put that unfortunately.     I only see an option for the repo not an XML template URL.  It may need to be "published" or something to function like the others, but my lack of familiarity is no help here, sorry!

[Oratorian 41]

SEE: 

 

Edited February 17 by Oratorian

[Oratorian 41]

Due to Unraid's unconventional storage model and some frustrating limitations in its ecosystem, I've decided not to officially support it through their community repositories. I personally find TrueNAS to be a more straightforward experience, especially considering Unraid's price point. Support may still be possible, but it won't be a priority.

The absolute easiest way is to install

Docker Compose Manager by dcflachs

Grab my docker-compose file from GitHub which in fact does the same as the XML file.

Or download the XML-file manually and transfer it to: 

/boot/config/plugins/dockerMan/templates-user/

Which makes it available in the Docker Tab

[darkrom 5]

Thanks for doing what you have, that works well for me we've been testing it and love it. 

Unraid is awesome at some things, not surprised its not awesome at others.   Truly appreciate it to have this available thank you!

[darkrom 5]

Just a wild thought, not even sure how you'd begin to implement this, but would be very cool as a tvOS app for apple tv somehow.   

Would probably need to be sideloaded unless you wanted to publish it in the app store.  Might be a pipe dream and thats fair, but this is fantastic what you've created

[Oratorian 41]

On 2/17/2026 at 10:40 PM, darkrom said:

Just a wild thought, not even sure how you'd begin to implement this, but would be very cool as a tvOS app for apple tv somehow.   

Would probably need to be sideloaded unless you wanted to publish it in the app store.  Might be a pipe dream and thats fair, but this is fantastic what you've created

Please DM me. This would be out of scope here, maybe, but I am intrigued. 

[Oratorian 41]

Nearing Emby Watch Party v1.4.1 Release
 

Hey everyone! Here's what's coming up in the next build.

Static Session Mode For home server setups with a small group of regulars. Enable it with two env vars and users go straight into the party,  no more creating rooms and sharing codes every time.

• Set STATIC_SESSION_ENABLED=true and optionally STATIC_SESSION_ID=PARTY
• Navigating to / should redirect straight into the party
• The party should persist even when everyone disconnects

Persistent Usernames Your username is now saved in your browser. On return visits you should skip the name prompt and auto-join. Works in both static and normal party modes.
Library Lazy Loading Large libraries should now load smoothly with server-side pagination and lazy image loading as you scroll.
Bitrate Capping High-bitrate h264 sources (above 10 Mbps) should now be capped to prevent buffering issues for remote viewers.
UI collapse toggles: Collapse header, chat, and video info to maximise video real estate

• Header collapses to a thin strip with a restore button
• Chat collapses to a narrow sidebar button, click to expand
• Video metadata/controls footer can be toggled independently
• Feature request by JeslynMcKenzie

If you desire to test the alpha build right away, feel free to pull the container

docker pull ghcr.io/oratorian/emby-watchparty:1.4.1-alpha-4

For powerusers as usual, a zipped Release here
releases/v1.4.1-alpha-4

Edited February 28 by Oratorian

[Oratorian 41]

Since I made so many changes to Watchparty, I decided to do a minor version bump to 1.5.0, since those weren't smaller patches anymore.

docker pull ghcr.io/oratorian/emby-watchparty:latest

Ready to run, folks.

Edited March 2 by Oratorian

[Oratorian 41]

Hey everyone,

Quick update on where to find support for Emby Watch Party going forward.

The project has grown a lot over the past few months (thank you all for that!), and keeping track of bug reports, feature requests, and discussions across multiple places has gotten tricky. To keep things manageable, I'm shifting primary support over to GitHub:

https://github.com/Oratorian/emby-watchparty/issues

GitHub makes it much easier for me to track issues, link fixes to specific reports, and make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

This thread isn't going away — I'll still check in and answer questions here, just not as frequently as before. For the fastest response, especially for bugs or feature requests, GitHub is the way to go.

Thanks for all the support and feedback — it's been incredible seeing so many people use this thing.

Cheers

[QuackMasterDan 5]

Thanks for all of your efforts, intentionality, ideas, and hard work that have gone into this project. What you’ve created is helping many people connect and enjoy media together in a way like no other. Looking forward to all that you come up with!

I really, REALLY appreciate the unRAID template and versions you have made. It’s my preferred manner of hosting Watch Party and sure beats running an entire VM for it. Thank you again!

[Oratorian 41]

Back to announce where Watch Party is going from this day onward.

I'm in the midst of a major rework of Watch Party's core architecture. Here's what's changing and why.

What's happening with 2.0

The entire backend is being restructured from the ground up. Flask is being replaced with FastAPI, bringing a fully documented REST API with interactive docs at /docs. The frontend is moving to Vue.js with Vite, making it a proper single-page application.

This means:

• Full API documentation -- every endpoint documented with request/response schemas. Want to build your own frontend or integrate with other tools? The API spec is right there.
• Admin panel -- manage all runtime settings from the browser. No more editing config files and restarting the container for every change.
• Cleaner config -- .env is trimmed down to just boot essentials (bind, port, Emby connection). Everything else is managed through the admin panel and saved to config.json.
• Participant list and playback actions in chat -- see who's in the party and who paused/seeked.

Breaking changes

As of 2.0, all 1.x releases will no longer be supported. The configuration scheme changes drastically -- the old .env with 20+ settings is replaced by a minimal .env plus a config.json managed by the admin panel. There is no migration path; 2.0 is a fresh start.

Current status

1.6.0 "Synced Popcorn" is the current stable release and will remain available. 2.0 "Midnight Premiere" is in active development on the 2.0-Rework branch. No release date yet -- it ships when it's ready.

Edited 1 hour ago by Oratorian