# Watch-Aware Preloader

Watch-Aware Preloader is a self-hosted media servers app. An Unraid plugin that warms the Linux page cache with the media each household user is most likely to play next, so playback starts instantly instead of waiting for an array disk to spin up. It is open source and self-hosted, installable on Unraid.

Canonical page: https://ourlocalhost.com/app/7141/watch-aware-preloader

## Description

An Unraid plugin that warms the Linux page cache with the media each household user is most likely to play next, so playback starts instantly instead of waiting for an array disk to spin up. Unlike preloaders that guess from filesystem modification time, this derives intent from your media server's own watch state: resume points, next-up episodes, recently-added items, and what each user has actually been watching. Emby and Jellyfin (10.9 or later) are supported. Items in an active playback session are excluded, since those disks are already spinning. Each preload is sized by playback seconds rather than a fixed byte count, using the bitrate the server already reports, so a 4K title and an SD one both cover the spin-up window. Resume candidates are warmed from the byte offset where playback will actually resume, not the file head, and the file tail is warmed too so a mid-file seek does not stall reading.

## Platform availability

Available on 1 of 9 platforms: Unraid.

## Health score

55/100 (Fair), based on 3 of 4 factors.
- Maintained: 100 (last commit 3 days ago)
- Popular: 6 (1 GitHub stars)
- Easy to install: 25 (1 install platform, install notes)

## Links

- Unraid: https://ca.unraid.net/apps/watch-aware-preloader-1rkztqj16o0svz?q=Watch-Aware%20Preloader
- GitHub: https://github.com/sydlexius/watch-aware-preloader
- Official website: https://sydlexius.github.io/watch-aware-preloader/
- Documentation: https://sydlexius.github.io/watch-aware-preloader/install/

## Common questions

### Do I need a specific Emby or Jellyfin version?

It supports Emby and Jellyfin 10.9 or later.

### Will it preload an item that is already in an active playback session?

No. Items in an active playback session are excluded because those disks are already spinning.

### Does it help when a client transcodes the stream?

The benefit applies to direct-play or direct-stream clients. A transcode makes the server read the whole file off disk, which a bounded preload cannot cover.

### Can the preloaded read itself wake the drive?

A warm read is served from RAM and leaves the drive in standby. The disk only spins up when playback runs past the warmed window.

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Source: Our Local Host (https://ourlocalhost.com/app/7141/watch-aware-preloader), the self-hosted and open-source app directory.