[Plugin] Emby Theme Maker

[Oratorian 57]

 

Theme Maker — Emby Server plugin

Auto-generate theme videos & theme music for your TV shows — straight from Emby's own Intro markers. Now as a native plugin, no external script.

From script → plugin: this is the plugin version of my earlier command-line tool (Emby Theme Creator). Same idea, but it now runs inside Emby — no Python, no API key, no ffmpeg install, no path mapping. Just drop in a DLL and run it from Scheduled Tasks.

Source & downloads: github.com/Oratorian/emby-theme-maker  ·  grab the DLL from the latest release (GPL-3.0; releases carry a verifiable build attestation).

Most of us let Emby's Intro Detection scan our libraries so we can skip the openings. But those IntroStart / IntroEnd markers already point at the exact theme-song sequence of every show. This plugin reuses them: it cuts that segment out of a representative episode and drops it into the series folder as a looping backdrop video (and, optionally, theme music) that plays on the detail page. See it as an alternative to the TV-Theme plugins.

No manual clipping, no hunting for openings, nothing to install alongside Emby — if Emby detected the intro, you get a theme.

How it works

1. Reads each series' intro markers directly from Emby (in-process — no HTTP, no API key).
2. Picks a representative episode per series (median intro length — robust against cold opens / creditless specials).
3. Uses Emby's built-in ffmpeg to cut [IntroStart → IntroEnd], re-encode with fade in/out, and write the result where Emby expects it — then it kicks off a library scan so the new themes show up.

video →  SeriesFolder/backdrops/theme.mp4  (h264/aac video backdrop)

audio →  SeriesFolder/theme.mp3  (theme music, series root)

both  →  both of the above, in one pass

Highlights

• Native plugin — one self-contained DLL, no Python, no external ffmpeg, no API key, no path mapping. It uses the server's own ffmpeg and item database.
• Runs from Scheduled Tasks — set it on a schedule or run it on demand, with progress and last-run status in the dashboard.
• Preview task — a read-only "Theme Maker: Preview" task logs exactly what would be generated (source episode, intro span, already-has-theme) before you write anything.
• Full settings page — mode (video / audio / both), quality (CRF, preset, max height, peak-bitrate cap), fades, audio language, output names, parallel jobs, and an optional "only under this folder" scope.
• Safe by default — never overwrites an existing theme unless you enable Overwrite; even protects a hand-curated theme-music/ folder.
• Atomic writes — a cancelled run never leaves a half-written file, and an overwrite never leaves a series themeless.
• Idempotent — re-run any time and it only fills the gaps.

Requirements

• Emby Server with Intro Detection already run on your shows (that's where the markers come from).
• That's it — the plugin uses Emby's bundled ffmpeg and reads your items directly. No API key, no separate install.

Quick start

1. Grab EmbyThemeMaker.dll (attached below, or from the latest GitHub release) and drop it into your Emby plugins folder, then restart the server.
2. Open Dashboard → Theme Maker and set your options (mode, quality, etc.).
3. Dashboard → Scheduled Tasks → run Theme Maker: Preview (read-only) first to see what it would do, then Theme Maker: Generate to create the files. Add a trigger if you want it to run on a schedule.

Tip: Emby only registers new theme files on a full library scan. The plugin triggers one for you automatically at the end of a generate run (toggleable in the settings).

Notes

• Built for Emby 4.9.x (tested on 4.9.5.0, Windows & Linux).
• Bare-metal / VM installs where Emby can write into your series folders. (Container/NAS setups where the series folders aren't writable by the server won't be able to drop the theme files.)
• Series with no detected intro are simply skipped and logged.
• Everything it does is logged to the Emby log with a [ThemeMaker] prefix.
• Provided as-is by a fellow user — feedback, issues and PRs welcome!

 

EmbyThemeMaker.dll

Edited July 7 by Oratorian

[MediaIntelNUC 49]

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing, gave this a try and it works great!

Nice to see an actual plugin with great options to customize

One question though, will it get support for movies aswell sometime in the future?

N/

[Oratorian 57]

3 minutes ago, MediaIntelNUC said:

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing, gave this a try and it works great!

Nice to see an actual plugin with great options to customize

One question though, will it get support for movies aswell sometime in the future?

N/

That is something I am already experimenting with.
The problem, a move has no markers for intros. Only maybe chapters.
It would be either something like, generate a random 110sec clip or scan for Chapters and for scenes with high average bitrates, which suggests heavy action scenes.

[MediaIntelNUC 49]

Great!

I use Powershell scripts available at the moment but a plugin would off course be much better.

Discovered one thing now, when running it on a new folder (Documentary series) that it skippes ceratain series folders.

I have deleted all backdrop and trailer folders in each series folders and ran it again, but it skippes same series again, any tips for troubleshooting on my end?

Im guessing folder structure isnt the issue since its all the same structure and some gets added properly

Thanx!

[Oratorian 57]

7 minutes ago, MediaIntelNUC said:

Great!

I use Powershell scripts available at the moment but a plugin would off course be much better.

Discovered one thing now, when running it on a new folder (Documentary series) that it skippes ceratain series folders.

I have deleted all backdrop and trailer folders in each series folders and ran it again, but it skippes same series again, any tips for troubleshooting on my end?

Im guessing folder structure isnt the issue since its all the same structure and some gets added properly

Thanx!

This plugin depends that emby hold intromarkers on the series. If emby doesn't have intros for it, the plugin skips it.
But that is certainly fixable. ChapterAPI lets you create IntroStart and IntroEnd markers, which is exactly what my plugin looks for.

This way you could even make them for movies, just set IntroStart/IntroEnd markers with ChapterAPI. For Movies you could use that trick to get favorite scenes as Backdrops.

Edited July 8 by Oratorian

[MediaIntelNUC 49]

Thanx!

Will look inte that:)

[Oratorian 57]

Ok I went through a lot of iterations for Movies, but, Emby isn't creating Intro markers for movies. So my best solution is, grab the ChapterAPI plugin from the plugin Store.

1. Create IntroStart/IntroEnd markers in ChapterAPI of your favortite scenes
2. Run my plugin to get the backdrops/theme.mp4
3. Remove the Intromarkers via ChapterAPI afterward.

[TecEmbryo 12]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to create such helpful tools. They're exactly what I'm looking for. The "Theme TV Show Songs" in Emby seems to be broken; I haven't been getting any Theme.mp3 files for weeks.

Your tool comes in very handy.

But I'm already stuck at: "drop it into your Emby plugins folder, then restart the server." - I can barely turn my Synology NAS on and off - I need help with everything else. So how do I get the DLL into a plugin folder that I can't find? Can you help me with that?

[Neminem 1783]

@TecEmbryo

Have a look at the documentation.

Plugins Overview | Emby Documentation

Emby Server Data Folder | Emby Documentation

[TecEmbryo 12]

21 minutes ago, Neminem said:

Have a look at the documentation.

Many thanks for your help! I have check and see ... nothing for a "Tecembryo". I can only find instructions for deleting or modifying, not for adding anything. Never mind, I don't dare try it, so I'll just have to do without.

[Oratorian 57]

1 hour ago, TecEmbryo said:

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to create such helpful tools. They're exactly what I'm looking for. The "Theme TV Show Songs" in Emby seems to be broken; I haven't been getting any Theme.mp3 files for weeks.

Your tool comes in very handy.

But I'm already stuck at: "drop it into your Emby plugins folder, then restart the server." - I can barely turn my Synology NAS on and off - I need help with everything else. So how do I get the DLL into a plugin folder that I can't find? Can you help me with that?

Did you install Emby as a docker service on Synology?

[Oratorian 57]

Manually installing an Emby plugin on Synology — DLL drop

For plugins that aren't in the catalog — a third-party plugin shipped as a .dll (sometimes inside a .zip). Drop the DLL into Emby's plugins folder and restart. The only Synology-specific trick is finding that folder.

Native or Docker? The steps are the same — only the plugins-folder path differs depending on whether you installed the Emby .spk package from Package Center or you run Emby in Container Manager / Docker. Both paths are below.

Step 1 — Find your plugins folder

The plugins folder sits directly below Emby's data folder. Don't guess the path — Emby tells you where it is: open Dashboard → 3-dot menu → Get Server Info (or check the Paths section) and note the data folder, then look for plugins just under it.

native .spk →  typically /volume1/@appdata/EmbyServer/plugins/

    (a hidden system folder — reach it over SSH or WinSCP; confirm the exact path from Dashboard first)

Docker    →  inside the folder you mapped to /config, e.g. /volume1/docker/emby/config/plugins/

    (a normal shared folder — just browse to it in File Station)

Step 2 — Drop the DLL in and restart

1. Stop Emby Server before copying anything — Package Center for a native install, Container Manager for Docker.
2. If the plugin came as a .zip, unzip it and locate the .dll.
3. Copy the .dll into the plugins folder from Step 1. Replacing an older copy? Rename the old one to .dll.old first.
4. Fix ownership/permissions — the step people miss on a NAS. Make the new .dll match the owner and permissions of the other .dll files already in that folder, or Emby won't load it.
5. Start Emby Server again.
6. Confirm it under Dashboard → Plugins → My Plugins.

Docker tip: because the plugins folder lives in a normal shared folder, you can do the whole thing from File Station — no SSH needed. The native package hides its data under @appdata, so SSH (or WinSCP) is the practical way in.

If the plugin doesn't show up

• Server wasn't fully stopped when you copied the DLL — stop it, recopy, start.
• Wrong ownership/permissions on the .dll — match it to the neighbouring plugin files.
• Wrong folder — re-check the data-folder path in Get Server Info; the file belongs in plugins, directly below it.
• Check the server log for a load error mentioning the plugin.

In short: stop the server, drop the DLL into the plugins folder below your data folder, match the file's permissions to its neighbours, start again.

[Oratorian 57]

@Luke
Sorry to poke you, but how do plugins get access to the emby Repo?

Edited 1 hour ago by Oratorian

[Luke 42745]

Hi, send a message to @ebr

[Oratorian 57]

 

Theme Maker · What's New

Movies are now supported — via ChapterAPI intro markers

Theme Maker builds a per-title theme video/music from an intro's IntroStart → IntroEnd span. Emby only auto-creates those markers for episodes, so movies were skipped. Now you can point it at a movie by setting the markers yourself — e.g. around a favourite scene — using the Chapter API / Chapter Editor.

01   Why movies needed a manual step

Theme Maker is marker-driven: it reads an item's IntroStart/IntroEnd chapter markers and cuts exactly that span. Episodes get those markers from Emby's intro detection; movies don't. So for a movie you simply provide the span — mark the seconds you want the theme cut from — and Theme Maker treats it exactly like an episode. Delete the markers afterward if you like; the theme file stays.

02   How to make a movie theme

1	In Theme Maker settings, turn on Include movies (default: off, so existing series-only setups are unaffected).
2	On the movie, add two chapter markers via the Chapter API / Chapter Editor: one of type IntroStart and one of type IntroEnd, bracketing the scene you want as the theme.
3	Run Theme Maker: Preview (read-only) to confirm it sees the movie — the log shows '<Movie>' (movie): source intro … — then run Theme Maker: Generate.
4	The theme lands in the movie's own folder — backdrops/theme.mp4 and/or theme.mp3 — exactly like a series. You can remove the markers now; the theme file remains.

Mind the length limits. The marked span must fall between Minimum intro length (default 8s) and Maximum intro length (default 150s) — a span outside that range is silently skipped. So a ~2-minute favourite scene works out of the box; if you want a longer theme, raise Maximum intro length in settings first. Standard Pad start / Pad end and fade settings apply to movies too.

03   Good to know

• Off by default. If you don't enable Include movies, nothing changes — series are processed exactly as before.
• One folder per movie is assumed (standard Emby layout). The theme is written to the folder that contains the movie file.
• No markers = skipped, cleanly. A movie without IntroStart/IntroEnd just logs "no intro markers" and is left untouched — no errors.
• Same encode pipeline. Movies use the identical ffmpeg cut, downscale, fade and audio-language handling as series — nothing to configure separately.

TL;DR: Enable Include movies → set IntroStart/IntroEnd on the movie via Chapter API (8–150s span) → Generate → get backdrops/theme.mp4 + theme.mp3 in the movie folder.

Download	github.com/Oratorian/emby-theme-maker/releases Grab the latest EmbyThemeMaker.dll from the newest release.
Source	github.com/Oratorian/emby-theme-maker Source, README and issue tracker.