I am trying to merge two other NAS's (QNAP and Synology) over the UGREEN Sparkbox. I noticed that I do not have permissions (maybe not the right word) to just drop the movies, TV shows, and other files straight into the folder that houses everything on jellyfin. Right now to move files from my Synology, I have enable rsync to start pushing files to the Ugreen. My question is, Is there a better way to do this so everything is in one location? I having fragmented locations for movies/tv shows and books not be ideal. Appreciate it all
7 replies
Chris wrote:
Yes, one folder is the goal — point everything at the single SparkBox media folder and let both rsync jobs land there. rsync is the standard way to move files between NAS boxes, so you're on the right track; just aim both the QNAP and Synology at that same media folder and keep the Movies / TV Shows / Books layout so Jellyfin picks them all up in one place. The permission part isn't something you broke — that media folder is looked after by the NAS's own file app, so a PC being blocked from dropping files straight in is normal. Going in over the network is exactly right. If you ever see a "Permission denied" when SparkBox moves files, run sudo sparkbox check-media-perms and it prints the exact safe fix.
Marauders wrote:
I am still having issues manually adding the files in the jelly fin fold. It seems I cannot search for the file location on the NAS home page.
Chris wrote:
Here's how to find it, and you don't need the NAS file manager for this. Open a terminal on the box and run: sudo sparkbox doctor. The very first block prints the exact path, labelled Media library folder (MEDIAROOT). On a UGREEN NAS that's usually /volume1/sparkbox-data/media, but your box will show its own. That folder is what Jellyfin reads, so point both rsync jobs (QNAP and Synology) into it and keep the Movies / TV Shows / Books layout. rsync works straight from that path, so you can skip hunting for it in the NAS home page entirely.
Marauders wrote:
rsync fails to connect to the media path shown in mediaroot. Possible issues are either a firewall or NAT not being configured correctly.
Chris wrote:
MEDIAROOT isn't something rsync logs into — it's just the destination folder on the UGREEN box. The "connect" part of that error is your Synology or QNAP reaching the UGREEN box itself, so your firewall/NAT hunch is the right place to look: make sure SSH is turned on for the UGREEN box and that you're using its IP from the Synology, with the media folder as the target path. Once a file actually lands there, if Jellyfin still doesn't show it, run sudo sparkbox check-media-perms — it prints the exact safe fix for the read-permission side.
Marauders wrote:
I am able to move the media onto the UGreen NAS. The problem I am having is moving the media from the folder on the UGreen NAS to a place where jellyfin can read it. I also tried using Syncthing but it also does not have permissions to place media files into the folder. The main goal is to consolidate all media into the sparkbox platform
Chris wrote:
This isn't a mistake on your end — the folder Jellyfin reads is owned by SparkBox's own app user (on purpose, so Jellyfin and the arr apps can all share it), while your NAS account and Syncthing run as different users. That ownership gap is why both get 'permission denied' there. To move files already sitting on the box, open File Browser — the built-in file manager; 'sparkbox urls' shows its address. It runs as that same app user, so it can drop them into the Media folder's Movies / TV Shows / Books. Going forward, aim rsync straight at the media path from 'sudo sparkbox doctor' so files land there in one hop with nothing left to move.