Wizarr: Automatic User Invitations for Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, and More

If you run a media server for friends or family, you know the pain: manually creating accounts, sending invites, and resetting passwords. Wizarr automates that whole flow. It's a self-hosted invitation system that lets users sign up for your media server without you lifting a finger.

Think of it as a lightweight, headless landing page for your Plex or Jellyfin instance. Users visit a link, enter their email, and get sent an invite with setup instructions. No admin dashboard needed, no manual approval.

What It Does

Wizarr is a standalone web app that integrates with your media server's API to handle user invitations. You configure it with your server URL, an admin token, and a few settings. After that, it generates a unique signup link you can share.

When a new user visits that link, they fill in their email and optionally a short message. Wizarr then:

• Creates a new user account on your media server
• Sends them a welcome email (or a direct link to instructions)
• Optionally adds them to a default library or user group

It currently supports Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby. The code is open source, written in Python with Flask, and stored locally in a SQLite database.

Why It's Cool

The most obvious use case is onboarding new users for your shared media server. But there's more to it.

No admin dependencies. You can share the invite link publicly in a Discord channel or on a forum. Wizarr handles signups without you having to approve each one. That's great for communities or semi-public servers.

Customizable invite flow. You can set a custom message for each invite, limit the number of allowed signups, or expire the link after a certain time. It gives you control without complexity.

Self-contained. It runs in Docker or as a standalone process. No external services required — not even a SMTP server if you prefer manual invites. The built-in SQLite database means zero configuration for persistence.

Works offline-ish. Since it's a local web app, you don't rely on cloud providers. Your invite system stays up even if your internet goes down (though obviously new users can't reach it without internet).

How to Try It

Clone the repo and run it with Docker (easiest way):

git clone https://github.com/wizarrrr/wizarr
cd wizarr
docker compose up -d

Then open http://localhost:5000 and follow the setup wizard. You'll need your Plex/Jellyfin/Emby server URL and an admin token (check your media server's settings for this).

Alternatively, run it directly with Python:

pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

Full docs are in the GitHub repo's README. There's also a demo link in the repo (but it's a live instance, so don't abuse it).

Final Thoughts

Wizarr is a small, focused tool that solves a real friction point. If you're tired of manually adding users to your media server, it's worth the 5-minute setup. The code is straightforward, so you can extend it (like adding Discord bot integration or rate limiting) without feeling overwhelmed.

It's not trying to be a full user management platform. It's just a smarter way to handle invites. For a self-hosted media server that's starting to see real usage, that's exactly the kind of automation you need.

via @githubprojects