Threadfin: set up an IPTV proxy for Plex

What Threadfin does

Plex, Emby and Jellyfin were built to record TV from tuner devices, not from IPTV playlists. Threadfin bridges the gap: it presents your IPTV channels to the media server as if they came from a tuner, with a clean channel list and matching guide data.

1. Merges your M3U playlists and XMLTV guides, including external ones, and updates them automatically.
2. Lets you choose and map channels, with bulk editing and up to three backup channels mapped to each active channel.
3. Serves the result to your media server, which then shows the channels in its own Live TV guide and can record them.

Before you start

• A media server that supports tuner-based live TV: Plex needs a Plex Pass for Live TV and DVR, Emby needs Emby Premiere, and Jellyfin needs version 10.7.1 or newer.
• An always-on machine to run Threadfin, usually the same one as the media server.
• Your playlist and guide links. With an Xtream Codes login, build both first with our Xtream Codes to M3U converter.

Set it up

1. Run Threadfin in Docker using the fyb3roptik/threadfin image, publishing port 34400. The project’s examples set PUID, PGID and TZ, and keep configuration in a volume mapped to /home/threadfin/conf (with temporary files in /tmp/threadfin).
2. Open the web interface at your machine’s address on port 34400 and complete the setup wizard.
3. Add your M3U playlist and XMLTV guide.
4. Filter and map channels. Keep only the channels you watch, and map each one to its guide entry.
5. Set the tuner count to the number of streams your subscription allows at once, so the media server doesn’t try to open more than your provider permits. See too many connections.
6. Connect your media server. In Plex, add a DVR tuner and choose Threadfin; see IPTV in Plex. In Jellyfin or Emby, add Threadfin as a tuner in the Live TV settings; see Jellyfin IPTV.

Tips

• Keep the channel list lean. Tuner-based setups are easier to manage, and faster to load, with a curated list.
• Use backup channels for important channels, so Threadfin can switch source if one fails.
• Guide matching relies on channel IDs; see “EPG not available” for some channels.
• Schedule updates daily so channel addresses and guide data stay current.

Threadfin, xTeVe or Dispatcharr?

Threadfin is the maintained successor to xTeVe, focused on feeding media servers. Dispatcharr is a broader stream and guide manager with more outputs (including an Xtream Codes API for player apps), built-in DVR and multi-user access. See Dispatcharr vs Threadfin vs xTeVe.