Ensō FAQ: answers before you install

Yes. Ensō is a client for Jellyfin, the free software media system. It has no library of its own and provides no films or series, so it works only with a Jellyfin server that you or someone you know runs. No server yet? Start with the Jellyfin documentation, and once it runs, connect Ensō to it.

No. Ensō is developed independently and is not affiliated with the Jellyfin project. The Jellyfin project builds its own apps for Apple devices, such as Swiftfin, and there are several others. The comparison puts them next to Ensō, using only what each app says about itself, and says where another app may suit you better.

Ensō is developed and tested against Jellyfin 12, the current series. We do not publish a list of older versions that work, so we cannot promise one. A few features depend on the server: the buttons that skip intros and recaps appear only where the server has marked them. If something fails with your version, tell us which one on the feedback page.

iPhone with iOS 16 or later, iPad with iPadOS 16 or later and Apple TV with tvOS 17 or later. A companion app for Apple Watch (watchOS 9 or later) works as a remote control. Offline downloads exist on iPhone and iPad; the Apple TV app streams from your server. More on iPhone and iPad and on Apple TV.

Ensō is coming to the App Store. We will announce the launch on this website, so this is the place to watch. We have no release date to give you yet, and until the launch the app cannot be downloaded. In the meantime you can see what it does on the pages for iPhone and iPad and Apple TV.

Pricing will be announced before launch, so there is no price to give you yet. What other Jellyfin apps for Apple devices cost today, and what you get for it, is in the comparison, checked at their own websites in October 2026: Swiftfin, Infuse and Streamyfin are free to download, and Infuse sells an optional Pro tier.

Type your server’s address, for example 192.168.1.50 or media.example.com. Ensō tries the usual https and http variants and uses the one that answers. Then it asks your server for a Quick Connect code (Jellyfin has it switched on by default) that you confirm in a Jellyfin session where you are already signed in; that works with SSO as well. On the code screen you can choose to sign in with user name and password instead; if the server has Quick Connect switched off, Ensō shows that password screen right away. Step by step: Connect to your server.

Yes, if your server can be reached from the internet, for example through your own domain and a reverse proxy. Enter that address when you connect. Use https with a certificate your device trusts: Ensō checks it the way the system does and refuses one the system does not accept. Ensō needs no server of ours and uses no relay; it talks to your server directly. On iPhone and iPad, mobile data gets a 10 Mbit/s data saver unless you change it in Settings.

Ensō itself never re-encodes video. MKV and other files that Apple’s player does not open are fetched as the original and repackaged on your device, so your server only sends the file. The server steps in for some files and settings, for example video other than H.264 or HEVC, HEVC above level 5.1, H.264 with Dolby Digital sound while pass-through is off, a quality limit below the file’s bitrate (on mobile data, 10 Mbit/s by default) and a connection that cannot keep up. Direct play lists them; Avoiding transcoding helps if your server does more than you expect.

Yes. MKV and other containers that Apple’s player cannot open are read by Ensō’s playback engine and played on the device. This works for H.264 and HEVC video. Sound the player cannot take, such as DTS or TrueHD, is converted on the device. Other video formats, for example VP9 or MPEG-2, are left to the server to convert. We do not publish a full list of supported formats. How it works: Direct play.

When Ensō plays a file itself, it passes the video to Apple’s player without re-encoding it. What your screen shows depends on the file, the device and the TV. A title’s page shows an HDR10 or Dolby Vision badge when your server reports one; the badge is a label, not a promise. We do not publish a list of supported HDR formats. If the server has to re-encode the video, for example because of a quality limit, the picture is no longer the original and HDR can be lost.

The Audio & Subtitles button in the player lists the tracks of the file. Audio starts in the language saved in your Jellyfin user settings, or in your device’s language if none is saved. Text subtitles in the file (for example SRT, ASS or WebVTT) are shown by Ensō, with a size and a background you set under Settings → Subtitles; the styling of ASS subtitles is simplified. Picture-based subtitles from discs (PGS, VobSub) are not offered in the track list.

Yes, on iPhone and iPad (not on Apple TV). Choose the original file or a smaller copy that your server re-encodes; the dialog shows the expected size first. Smart Downloads keep the next episodes of a series ready. An interrupted download, even one cut off by closing the app, carries on where it stopped the next time Ensō runs. By default downloads wait for Wi-Fi. An MKV saved as the original plays in Ensō only. Offline downloads has the details.

Yes. Add several accounts, on one server or on several, and choose who is watching when the app starts (“Who’s Watching?”). Each account keeps its own library, history and downloads, and a file that two accounts have is stored only once on the device. While parental controls are locked, switching, adding and removing accounts needs the PIN. See Accounts and servers.

Yes, once you switch them on. You choose the highest age rating; FSK, MPAA and TV ratings are understood. Titles above it, and titles with no rating at all, are hidden until someone unlocks with the PIN, or with Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone and iPad. The limit applies to that device only, not to your Jellyfin account. A parent can also give single unrated titles an age of their own. How it reads ratings and what it cannot protect: Parental controls.

No. Searching by title works everywhere and forgives typing mistakes and missing punctuation, so “swat” finds “S.W.A.T.”. Searching with a sentence, such as “comedies under 90 minutes”, works in German and English on every device through built-in rules. On an iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 26 and Apple Intelligence turned on, the device’s own model reads what the rules do not understand and writes “What happened so far”. It all stays on the device; Apple TV has no such model. See Smart search.

Yes, but it is a remote control, not a player. It lists the devices on your Jellyfin server that you can control, such as an Apple TV, iPhone or iPad that is playing something, shows what each one plays, and has buttons for play or pause, next and stop. It signs in through the iPhone app. You cannot watch films on the Watch. See iPhone and iPad.

Not yet. A CarPlay integration is currently in the works, but it is not part of the app today, and we cannot say when it will be. The apps that exist now are for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, plus the Apple Watch remote; you find them on the pages for iPhone and iPad and Apple TV.

Not on its own. There are no analytics, no advertising and no accounts with us, and the app contains no third-party software for analytics, advertising or attribution. Ensō talks to the Jellyfin server you enter. Only when you choose to send a report or an idea does something reach us, and only what the form shows you before you tap Send. The privacy policy has the details.

On your Jellyfin server; Ensō only asks it for what you open. On your device Ensō keeps your server address, user name and access token (in the Keychain), your settings, artwork, a local list of titles for search, and your downloads. The Apple Intelligence features run on the device and send no titles or descriptions anywhere. Nothing from your library goes to us. See the privacy policy.

The app speaks 73 languages and variants, from Afrikaans to Welsh, including right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. It follows your device’s language, or you choose one under Settings → General → Language. This website comes in 65 languages. The translations were not written by native speakers, and the smaller languages are the least certain; if something reads wrong, please tell us on the feedback page. Titles and descriptions come from your Jellyfin server, in the language it has them in.

On iPhone and iPad, open Settings → Support and choose Report a Problem or Suggest an Idea, or shake the device to report a problem with a picture of the screen. On Apple TV, Settings → Support shows a QR code that leads to the same form on this website. You can also go to the feedback page directly. Nothing is sent until you tap Send, and the form shows what goes with your message.