📽️ Watch History & Playback Data Guide¶
This guide shows how to find movie watching history for your Jellyfin (and other media server) apps.
🎬 Jellyfin Watching History¶
Overview¶
- Jellyfin instance:
jellyfin.hoth.systems - Namespace:
media - Pod:
jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768(or similar pod name) - Status: Running (5d23h uptime)
🔍 Method 1: Jellyfin Web UI (EASIEST)¶
Access Your Dashboard¶
# Open your Jellyfin UI
https://jellyfin.hoth.systems
# Navigate to:
# 1. Login to your account
# 2. Go to Library → Movies
# 3. Click on "Play State & Progress" in left sidebar
# 4. Sort by "Date Watched" to see most recent
API Endpoint for Recent Activity¶
# Access jellyfin API (port-forward if needed)
kubectl run jellyfin-api --rm --restart=Never --image=jellyfin/jellyfin:latest -- \
bash
# Inside the container:
# http://localhost:8096/Web/index.html
# Or use the external URL directly
🔬 Method 2: Execute into Jellyfin Pod¶
Get the Pod Name¶
# List jellyfin pods
kubectl get pods -n media | grep jellyfin
# Example output:
# jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 1/1 Running 0 5d23h
Access Files Inside Container¶
# List /config/data directory
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c "ls -la /config/data/"
# Check for database
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c "ls -la /config/data/data/"
# Check playstate.dat if exists
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c "ls -la /config/data/data/playstate.dat 2>/dev/null && cat /config/data/data/playstate.dat | tail -20 || echo 'Using database for playstate'"
Query the Database¶
# If you have a SQLite database, query recent playback
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c '
cd /config/data/data/
if [ -f jellyfin.db ]; then
sqlite3 jellyfin.db "SELECT * FROM PlaybackProgress ORDER BY PlayProgress DESC LIMIT 10;"
fi
'
Check Config Files¶
# View Jellyfin config
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c "ls -la /config/"
# Check for user data
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c "ls -la /config/data/"
# Access media library
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c "ls -la /media/"
📡 Method 3: Jellyfin API Calls¶
Get Recently Played (via API)¶
# If Jellyfin exposes API, you can use it
# Replace USER_ID with your user ID (usually 0 or 1)
curl -X GET \
-u USER:password \
"https://jellyfin.hoth.systems/Users/USER_ID/ViewHistory" \
-H "Accept: application/json"
Get Now Playing¶
🎯 Method 4: Immich (For Photo/Video Watching History)¶
If you're also looking for video watching via Immich:
# Immich is also running in media namespace
kubectl get pods -n immich
# Access Immich
# Your Immich URL would be listed via:
kubectl get ingress -A | grep immich
Immich features: - Media library with play history - Playback progress tracking - Recently viewed items
📊 Method 5: Check Activity Logs¶
View Recent Activity¶
# Tail jellyfin logs
kubectl logs -n media jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 -f | grep -i "playback\|playitem\|finished"
# Search for playback events
kubectl logs -n media jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 -f | grep -iE "PlaybackProgress|PlayItem"
Filter Playback Events¶
# Look for finished playback events
kubectl logs -n media jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 --tail=500 | grep -i ".*finished watching.*movie"
# Or look for session events
kubectl logs -n media jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 --tail=1000 | grep -iE "session|playback"
🐳 Method 6: Using Jellyfin Client¶
Recommended Tools¶
JellyWatch (Docker container for viewing stats): - Pulls data from your Jellyfin instance - Shows viewing history - Library statistics - Live session monitoring
Jellyfin Docker Dashboard: - Provides detailed stats - Playback counters - User statistics
🎬 Finding Your Last Watched Movie¶
Quick Command¶
# Most straightforward: Web UI
# Go to jellyfin.hoth.systems
# Check History/Resume section
# Alternative: Check the database
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- bash -c '
echo "=== Recent Playback Events ==="
# Your database path might vary
DB_PATH=/config/data/data/jellyfin.db
if [ -f "$DB_PATH" ]; then
sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" "SELECT PlaybackProgress, Name, ImageTag FROM PlaybackProgress ORDER BY PlaybackProgress DESC LIMIT 10;"
else
echo "Database not found at standard location. Try:"
echo "ls -la /config/data/data/"
fi
'
Check Pod for Files¶
🔍 Troubleshooting¶
No Data Found?¶
-
Check if you've been watching:
-
Check database initialization:
-
Verify Trakt sync:
Database not found?¶
# Jellyfin may store playstate differently depending on version
# Common locations:
ls /config/data/data/playstate.json 2>/dev/null
ls /config/data/data/playstate.dat 2>/dev/null
ls /config/data/playstate.db 2>/dev/null
Permission Issues¶
# Make sure you have right permissions
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- whoami
kubectl exec -n media <pod-name> -- id
🎯 Pro Tips¶
Set Up Monitoring¶
# Watch for recent activity
watch -n 30 'kubectl logs -n media jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 --tail=50 | tail -20'
Enable Logging¶
# Add to Jellyfin HelmRelease if needed
# Configure better logging retention
# Check pod resource limits
kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n media
Archive Old Logs¶
# For debugging, archive logs before they disappear
kubectl logs -n media jellyfin-56b44757fc-lx768 --tail=1000 > jellyfin-activity.log
📝 Summary¶
To find your last watched movie:
- 🌐 Easiest: Visit
https://jellyfin.hoth.systems, check History - 🔬 Most detailed: Execute into
<pod-name>pod and check/config/data/data/ - ⚡ Fastest: Use kubectl logs to search for recent playback events
Most common locations for playstate:
- /config/data/data/jellyfin.db (SQLite database)
- /config/data/data/playstate.json or .dat
- Some versions store it in the main database in a different table
Cluster: main · Namespace: media · App: jellyfin
Docs: nerd.dad Homelab