Music albums not visible via DLNA when browsing music libraries (aggregated folders + IsFavorite filter issues)

[Stlouislee]

Problem

When browsing music libraries through DLNA clients, music albums may not appear correctly due to two bugs in the DLNA plugin's ControlHandler.cs:

1. IsFavorite filter bug: The isFavorite parameter defaults to false, which causes query.IsFavorite = false to be set. In Jellyfin's query system, IsFavorite = false means "show only non-favorites", not "show all items". This incorrectly filters out favorite albums from DLNA results.

2. Aggregated library folder bug: Music libraries in Jellyfin are often CollectionFolder types that aggregate multiple physical folders. The original code only queries by single Parent ID, which fails to find albums stored in different physical folders under the same music library.

Evidence

IsFavorite Filter Behavior

In Jellyfin's InternalItemsQuery.cs, IsFavorite is defined as bool? (nullable boolean):

• null = no filter (show all items)
• true = show only favorites
• false = show only non-favorites

The repository layer in BaseItemRepository.cs uses equality comparison:

if (query.IsFavorite.HasValue)
{
    whereClause += " AND UserData.IsFavorite = @IsFavorite";
}

This means passing IsFavorite = false explicitly excludes favorites, rather than applying no filter.

CollectionFolder Aggregation

In CollectionFolder.cs, music libraries can aggregate multiple physical folders via PhysicalFolderIds. The main app uses LibraryManager.SetTopParentIdsOrAncestors() to convert CollectionFolder references to physical root IDs for querying.

The DLNA plugin's original code only used:

query.Parent = item;

This fails for CollectionFolder types because the albums' actual parent is a physical subfolder, not the CollectionFolder itself.

Proposed Fix

1. Change IsFavorite assignment from:

   query.IsFavorite = isFavorite;

   to:

   query.IsFavorite = isFavorite ? true : null;

2. Add fallback query strategies for album children:

   • First try Folder.GetItems()
   • Then try LibraryManager.GetItemList() with Parent parameter
   • Finally try LibraryManager.GetItemList() with AncestorIds parameter
   • For CollectionFolder types, aggregate results from all physical library folders

Environment

• Jellyfin version: 10.11.6
• DLNA plugin version: (latest)
• Affected clients: All DLNA clients when browsing music libraries

[rossdonald]

I also had a look at this and came to the same finding. It's really just that one-line fix.

query.IsFavorite = isFavorite ? true : null;

It's actually a bug in the main jellyfin code that I reported here jellyfin/jellyfin#16625. But changing the line in the DLNA plugin will fix it.

I didn't look at the CollectionFolder Aggregation issue.

[Qtax]

I also think that just by marking an item as favorite it shouldn't be removed from the list of all items by default.

So I would also appreciate the suggested change in general, functionality wise: to keep items marked as favorites, and not exclude them from the main list by default.

[danjj84]

Is there an easy fix for this or do we need to wait for an update to the plugin or jellyfin?

[batekulve]

Is there an easy fix for this or do we need to wait for an update to the plugin or jellyfin?

Based on the description of the issue, putting all of your files in one folder might be a workaround. I'll try this out tonight and get back to you.

[batekulve]

No, that didn't fix it. It actually made the tracks I moved show up in fewer places. So don't do that.

[danjj84]

Yup it won't work. It's the way the DLNA plugin is presenting the folders when broadcasting the UPNP/DLNA.n

The bug is explained by @rossdonald perfectly with a fix, although we need the plugin code to be amended or the code adjusted. Not sure who will do it or when.