Jellyfin Album Art Guide (Music Library Artwork That Works)
Jellyfin is the go-to free, open-source media server — and like every media server, it has its own opinions about album artwork. This guide shows you which artwork Jellyfin actually picks up so your music library looks the way it should.
What artwork Jellyfin reads
Jellyfin keeps things simple and local-first. For music it uses:
- Embedded artwork — the cover stored inside each music file’s tags.
cover.jpgorfolder.jpgin the album folder — Jellyfin checks the album folder for a local image and uses it as the album cover.- Artist images — a
folder.jpgplaced in the artist folder (not the album folder) can serve as the artist image.
There is also a Save artwork into media folders library option: when enabled, Jellyfin writes the artwork it finds into your media folders. Note that enabling it later does not retroactively save existing art — you need a rescan with metadata replacement for that.
Set it up in 4 steps
- Get the artwork into your files or folders. Either embed the cover in every track (see how to embed album art) or drop a
cover.jpg/folder.jpginto each album folder. Keep the classic structure:Music / Artist / Album /. - Scan the library. In the Jellyfin dashboard, run Scan All Libraries (or scan just the music library) so Jellyfin picks up the new files.
- Refresh stubborn items. On an album that still shows no art, open it and choose Refresh metadata. For a full reset, use the refresh option that replaces existing images.
- Check the obvious. Image in the right folder? Named
folder.jpgorcover.jpg? File actually opens as a valid image? Most “not showing” cases are one of these.
Embedded art vs. folder.jpg — which is better for Jellyfin?
| What matters | Embedded in files | folder.jpg / cover.jpg |
|---|---|---|
| Survives moving files to a new server | Yes — art is inside the file | Only if you move the whole folder |
| Works in other players too | Yes (phone, car, other apps) | Only players that read the sidecar file |
| Effort for a big library | Batch-embed once with Mp3tag | One file per album folder |
Verdict: embedding wins for portability — the art can never get separated from the music. folder.jpg is the quicker fix if you only care about Jellyfin.
Where to get the artwork
Use Album Art Downloader to batch-find covers for your whole library, or the online tool for single albums. For the best free sources, see where to find high-resolution album covers.
Frequently asked questions