Jellyfin Media Disappears After Reboot: Fix Missing Mounts

Quick answer

If Jellyfin media disappears after reboot, the media disk or network share probably did not mount before Jellyfin scanned the library.

Check:

findmnt /mnt/media
ls -la /mnt/media

If findmnt returns nothing and the folder is empty, Jellyfin is looking at the mount-point directory rather than the real disk.

Why this happens

Linux can leave the mount-point folder in place even when the disk is not mounted.

Example:

Expected disk: /mnt/media
Actual state:  empty local directory at /mnt/media

Jellyfin starts, scans the empty directory, and the library appears to vanish.

Confirm the disk is missing

Run:

findmnt /mnt/media
lsblk -f
ls -la /mnt/media

Also check available space:

df -h /mnt/media

If the reported filesystem is your Ubuntu root filesystem rather than the media disk, the mount failed.

Use the disk UUID in fstab

Find the UUID:

lsblk -f

Back up /etc/fstab:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.backup

Edit it:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Example ext4 entry:

UUID=YOUR-UUID /mnt/media ext4 defaults,nofail 0 2

Create the mount point if needed:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/media

Test the configuration without rebooting:

sudo mount -a
findmnt /mnt/media

Fix any error before rebooting.

Check permissions after mounting

Once mounted, test access as Jellyfin:

sudo -u jellyfin ls -la /mnt/media

If that returns Permission denied, apply the correct ACL or group access.

See Give Jellyfin Access to Media Folders on Ubuntu.

Make Jellyfin wait for the mount

For local mounts, a correct /etc/fstab entry is often enough.

For slow network shares or unusual storage, Jellyfin may start before the mount is ready.

Create a systemd override:

sudo systemctl edit jellyfin

Add:

[Unit]
RequiresMountsFor=/mnt/media
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

Then reload systemd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart jellyfin

This makes the service depend on the media path.

Watch for files written into the empty mount point

A download service can write files into /mnt/media while the real disk is absent.

Later, when the disk mounts, those files become hidden underneath the mounted filesystem.

To investigate safely:

1. Stop services that write to the path.
2. Confirm the disk contents are backed up.
3. Unmount the disk.
4. Inspect the underlying mount-point directory.

Do not move or delete files until you know which filesystem you are viewing.

Network shares

For SMB, CIFS, or NFS mounts, check:

findmnt -t cifs,nfs,nfs4

Network mounts may need options such as:

_netdev
x-systemd.automount
nofail

Use credentials files rather than placing passwords directly in /etc/fstab.

Test the complete reboot path

Reboot:

sudo reboot

After reconnecting, run:

findmnt /mnt/media
sudo -u jellyfin ls -la /mnt/media
systemctl status jellyfin --no-pager

Then open Jellyfin and scan the affected library.

Related guides

• Jellyfin Library Not Showing Files
• Jellyfin Cannot Access an External USB Drive
• Jellyfin Not Scanning New Files
• Install Jellyfin on Ubuntu

Recap

When media disappears after reboot, verify the mount before changing Jellyfin.

Use a stable UUID entry, test it with mount -a, verify Jellyfin permissions, and make the service wait for the media path when necessary.