Help & FAQ

Fill in the account request form (username, name and email). Sam reviews every request.

Once approved you get a welcome email with a link to a 2-minute welcome tour (the link works for 7 days). On the tour's last card click Set my password; you then get a “Reset your password” email whose link works for 48 hours to choose your password. Then sign in everywhere with your username and that password.

Request an account → Replay the welcome tour (no account needed)

Yes. Your Sam's Labs account (username + password) works for Jellyfin, movie & TV search, Audiobookshelf, music search, DroppedNeedle and Navidrome, on the websites and in phone and TV apps, including music apps like Navibeat or Substreamer. One username, one password, everywhere.

Manage your account or change your password at auth.samslabs.org.

Yes. Sign up for the weekly what's new email at samslabs.org/newsletter.html. Every Monday morning it lists the movies, shows, music and audiobooks added that week (no email if nothing new was added).

Enter your username or email, then click the confirmation link we send to the email on your account (it works for 48 hours). Every weekly email has a one-click unsubscribe link, or use the Unsubscribe button on the same page.

Accounts that aren't used for 60 days are paused. Nothing is deleted: your history, playlists and progress are kept. You get a reminder email a week before.

To keep your account active, just sign in once in a while, at auth.samslabs.org or in any of the apps.

Paused already? Go to samslabs.org/reactivate.html, enter your username or email, and open the link we email you (it works for 48 hours). Then sign in with your usual username and password.

Service	Web	Phone / TV app
Jellyfin movies & TV	jellyfin.samslabs.org → username + password	Server https://jellyfin.samslabs.org, then username + password
Movie & TV search movie & TV requests	movies.samslabs.org → Sam's Labs sign-in page (same sign-in as music). Search, see if it's already here, and tap Request	Use the website on your phone
Audiobookshelf	abs.samslabs.org → “Login with Sam's Labs”	Server https://abs.samslabs.org → “Login with Sam's Labs” → sign in on the page that opens
Music search music requests	music.samslabs.org → Sam's Labs sign-in page. Search, tap Request, and it starts downloading right away	Use the website on your phone
Audiobook search audiobook & ebook requests	books.samslabs.org → Sam's Labs sign-in page. Search for a book or author and tap Request (or Request ebook). Sam OKs it, then it downloads by itself and shows up in Audiobookshelf	Use the website on your phone
DroppedNeedle full music site	Need more? needle.samslabs.org → single sign-on (SSO) button (same Sam's Labs sign-in)	Use the website on your phone
Navidrome music	navi.samslabs.org → Sam's Labs sign-in page	Server https://navi.samslabs.org, then username + password (details)

Install the Jellyfin app on your TV or streaming stick, enter the server https://jellyfin.samslabs.org and sign in with your Sam's Labs username and password. Typing on a TV remote is slow: in the TV app choose Quick Connect, then approve the code on your phone at jellyfin.samslabs.org (your profile → Quick Connect).

Yes. auth.samslabs.org is our own sign-in page. Navidrome, music search, movie & TV search, audiobook search, Audiobookshelf (“Login with Sam's Labs”) and DroppedNeedle (SSO button) send you there and bring you back once you're signed in. You stay signed in for a while, so the next app usually opens without asking again.

• Jellyfin: the official Jellyfin app (Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, LG, Samsung), Swiftfin (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV), or Streamyfin. Desktop: just use the website or Jellyfin Media Player.
• Audiobookshelf: the official Audiobookshelf app (Android, iPhone). SoundLeaf, ShelfPlayer, Plappa and Prologue (iPhone) and Lissen (Android) also support “Login with Sam's Labs”.
• Music (Navidrome): Navibeat, Amperfy or play:Sub (iPhone), Symfonium or Tempus (Android), Substreamer (Android, iPhone), Feishin or Supersonic (computer). Sign in with your Sam's Labs username and password (how).
• Movie & TV search, music search and DroppedNeedle: no app needed. The websites work well on phones.

An audiobook app without the “Login with Sam's Labs” option needs a separate Audiobookshelf password. Ask Sam to set one.

Music apps (Navibeat, Substreamer, Symfonium, Amperfy and other Subsonic apps) use the same Sam's Labs username and password as everything else. In the app, add a server:

• Server: https://navi.samslabs.org
• Username: your Sam's Labs username (not your email address)
• Password: your Sam's Labs password

Changed or reset your password? Use the new one in your music apps too.

Sign in once at auth.samslabs.org with your username and password (or reset your password), wait a minute, then try the app again. Make sure you typed your username, not your email, and the server https://navi.samslabs.org. Still stuck? Ask Sam.

Go to books.samslabs.org and sign in with your Sam's Labs account. Type a title or an author. Each result shows the cover, author, narrator, length and series. Tap Request.

If the book is already in the library you'll see Listen now instead, which opens it in Audiobookshelf.

Sam OKs each audiobook request first (he can switch that off for you). After that it usually shows up in Audiobookshelf within an hour or two. Track it under My requests on books.samslabs.org or on downloads.samslabs.org.

Not found yet means no copy was found; it's checked again every 6 hours for 2 weeks. Rare or brand-new books may never turn up. You can ask for up to 10 books an hour.

Open My requests on books.samslabs.org and tap Cancel while it's still waiting or being looked for.

Yes. Tap Request ebook under a book. Ebooks go into their own Ebooks library in Audiobookshelf. When it's ready, tap Read now, then Read, to read it in your browser or the Audiobookshelf app.

Sam OKs ebook requests first too (he can switch that off for you). Ebooks are usually quicker than audiobooks, but not every book has an ebook copy, especially new or less-known ones.

Under any book that's part of a series, tap Follow this series. When a new book comes out, or you finish the newest one we have and the next one is out, the next book is asked for you by itself, the same as if you'd tapped Request. You'll see something like “Book 4 requested for you” under Series you follow in My requests.

It asks for one book at a time, at most 3 a day, and never asks for the same book twice. To stop, tap Stop following under Series you follow.

Want them all now? Tap See the whole series, then Request the whole series. It only happens when you tap it (up to 15 books).

The top of books.samslabs.org shows the books you're partway through in Audiobookshelf, with how much is left. Tap Open in Audiobookshelf to pick up where you left off. Near the end of a book in a series, Keep going opens the next book, or asks for it if we don't have it yet. It's only shown to you.

At least 12 characters, with at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one special character (like ! # ? @). Already have a password? It keeps working; the new rules apply the next time you change or reset it. A longer password (a short phrase) is easier to remember and harder to guess.

Go to auth.samslabs.org, click Reset password? and enter your username. You'll get an email from Sam's Labs with a link that works for 48 hours. Check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive within a few minutes.

After 5 wrong passwords within 10 minutes, sign-in for that username pauses for 1 hour. That protects your account from guessing. Wait an hour, or reset your password. Too many wrong tries from one place can also block that connection for a while.

Everything on samslabs.org works from anywhere: Jellyfin, Navidrome, Audiobookshelf, movie & TV search, music search, audiobook search, DroppedNeedle, the account request form and your account page.

Ask Sam: reply to any Sam's Labs email (it goes to sam@samslabs.org). Tell him which app, which device, and what you see. Check the status lights on the home page to see whether a service is down.