Ombi on a Seedbox: Media Requests for Plex, Emby, Jellyfin

What Ombi Is

Ombi is a media request platform. Friends and family browse it, click request on a movie or show, and Sonarr or Radarr handles the rest. The big differentiator: Ombi was the first request app to support Plex, Emby, and Jellyfin all at the same time, well before Seerr or Overseerr's Jellyfin support landed.

Heads Up: Ombi vs Seerr

Honest comparison:

• Ombi. Older, supports Plex/Emby/Jellyfin, slower release cadence, UI feels dated.
• Seerr. Newer, supports the same three media servers, more active development, modern UI.
• Overseerr. Plex-only, slowed development, predecessor to Seerr.

For most fresh installs, Seerr is the right pick. Ombi makes sense if you're on it already and don't want to migrate, or if you specifically prefer its older UI.

The rest of this guide covers Ombi specifically.

Why Run It on a Seedbox?

Ombi has to be reachable from your viewers' phones and stay in sync with Plex/Emby/Jellyfin and your *arr apps. A seedbox is the natural home:

• Public HTTPS URL, no port forwarding
• One-click install in the panel alongside everything it talks to
• 24/7 uptime
• 10 Gbit upload, so the catalogue loads fast for your viewers
• EU servers in Luxembourg, France, and Netherlands

Installing Ombi

Open the Bytesized Panel, find Ombi in the app catalog, click install. The panel handles the binary, the reverse proxy, and the URL.

Click "Open" to land on the setup wizard.

First-Run Setup

1. Pick your media server. Plex, Emby, or Jellyfin. Sign in with the appropriate auth. Ombi pulls your library so it knows what you already have.
2. Connect Sonarr. URL (use the internal URL from the panel) and API key.
3. Connect Radarr. Same as Sonarr.
4. Set up notifications. Discord, email, Telegram, all supported.

After that, send a Plex/Emby/Jellyfin invite to your friends; they sign in to Ombi with the same credentials.

How Requests Flow

A user clicks "Request" on a title. Ombi checks your library; if it's not there, it sends the request to Sonarr (TV) or Radarr (movies). They find it, hand it to your download client, and the file shows up in your library.

The requester gets a notification when the title becomes available. Same model as Overseerr or Seerr.

Multi-Server Support

Ombi's edge over Overseerr is multi-server support. If you run a Plex server for some friends and a Jellyfin server for others, Ombi can talk to both at once and route requests differently per user group.

Most people don't need this; if you only run one media server, the multi-server feature is overhead you can ignore.

Common Gotchas

Plex auth fails. Ombi uses Plex.tv OAuth. Sign in to plex.tv first, then come back to Ombi.

Sonarr connection refused. Use the internal URL from the panel, not the public HTTPS one. Internal is faster and not subject to Cloudflare.

Title shows as "available" but isn't there. Library scan in Plex/Emby/Jellyfin hasn't run. Force a scan; Ombi picks it up on the next sync.

UI feels slow. Ombi has been getting heavier; on the smaller plans, larger libraries can take a moment to render. If responsiveness matters, Seerr is the modern alternative.

FAQ

Is Ombi free? Yes. Free and open source.

Should I use Ombi or Seerr? Seerr for new installs. Ombi if you're on it and don't want to migrate.

Does it support Jellyfin? Yes. Always has, before Seerr did.

Can multiple users request? Yes. Per-user request limits and approvals are supported.

Will it work with my existing Sonarr quality profiles? Yes. Ombi sends the request with whatever profile you've assigned by default; per-user overrides are also possible.

Ready to Set It Up?

Browse Appbox plans, install Ombi from the panel, sign in with your media server. If you're starting fresh, Seerr is probably the better default.