Where Is the Emby Server Data Folder?
Where Emby Server keeps its program data on Windows, Linux and macOS, and which subfolder holds the database.
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Emby Server keeps its database, metadata, images and transcoding temp files in one program data folder. On Windows that is %APPDATA%\Emby-Server\programdata, on Linux /var/lib/emby, on macOS ~/.config/emby-server. Your actual movies and shows live wherever your libraries point; this folder is the catalog about them.
The dashboard prints the live path under the server info menu, which settles version differences faster than any guide. Stop the server before copying anything: the SQLite database corrupts easily under a live backup.
Where Emby stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Emby-Server\programdata
Paste %APPDATA%\Emby-Server\programdata into Explorer. The library database is data\library.db inside it. Dashboard > server info shows the same path while the server runs.
/var/lib/emby
Needs root or the emby user to read. Debian, Ubuntu and Docker installs all converge here. Back up the whole folder with the service stopped (sudo systemctl stop emby-server first).
~/.config/emby-server
Same data subfolder layout as the other platforms. The dashboard server info menu prints the exact path for your install.
Frequently asked questions
Which file is the actual Emby library database?
The data subfolder below programdata, in a file called library.db. Stop the server first, copy the file, then restart. A corrupt database gets replaced with the matching .db backup Emby keeps alongside it.
Can I migrate Emby Server from Windows to Linux by copying the folder?
Copy programdata across, but expect path surgery: library folders point at OS specific roots, so Windows drive letters need remapping to Linux mounts. The server dashboard shows every broken path after the move for fixing in one pass.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.