Perfect! Here’s everything you need — broken down into three stages, from quick setup to full self-hosted control.

🧩 Part 1: Install and Connect ZeroTier

✅ Step 1: Create a ZeroTier account

Go to https://my.zerotier.com/

Sign up (only to create your private network — it’s free)

Click “Create a Network”

Give it a name

Note the Network ID

✅ Step 2: Install ZeroTier on your devices

🖥️ On your PC (Windows/Linux/Mac):

Download from: https://www.zerotier.com/download

Install and run

Join your network with:

zerotier-cli join <your-network-id>

(or click in the tray app if using the GUI)

📱 On your Android phone:

Install the ZeroTier One app from Google Play

Open the app, paste the network ID, tap Join

✅ Step 3: Authorise your devices

Go back to my.zerotier.com

Under your network, you’ll see your PC and phone listed

Tick “Auth” to allow them on the network

Note the IPs assigned (e.g. 10.147.17.34)

🎶 Part 2: Access Jellyfin + Symphonium Over ZeroTier

✅ Step 1: On your PC (Jellyfin server):

Open Jellyfin settings → Dashboard → Network

Ensure “Allow remote connections” is enabled (This just means other IPs — not the internet — can connect)

✅ Step 2: On your phone (Symphonium):

Open Symphonium

Add a new Jellyfin library

For the server address, enter:

http://<zerotier-ip-of-your-PC>:8096

e.g. http://10.147.17.34:8096/

It should connect exactly as it does on home Wi-Fi!

No public ports, no tailscale, no cost 🎉

🛠️ Part 3: Optional – Self-Host Your Own ZeroTier Controller

Only needed if you want to avoid using their cloud control plane. Not needed for basic private use.

✅ Requirements:

A Linux machine (can be your PC or a VPS if you change your mind)

Some CLI familiarity

Quick Guide:

1. Install Docker

2. Run:

docker run -d
–name zerotier-controller
-p 9993:9993/udp
-v zerotier-one:/var/lib/zerotier-one
zyclonite/zerotier-controller

3. You’ll now control your own ZeroTier networks, not theirs.

Docs: https://github.com/zyclonite/zerotier-controller

🔐 Even if you stick with their hosted controller, your traffic is still end-to-end encrypted. Self-hosting just removes the cloud coordination step.

✅ TL;DR:

Task Done

ZeroTier installed and devices connected ✅ Jellyfin accessible via ZeroTier IP ✅ Public internet avoided ✅ Self-hosting ZeroTier controller (optional) Available when ready

Let me know if you’d like help testing connection, optimising for battery/wake-on-LAN, or even integrating LAN fallback + ZeroTier for seamless home/away streaming.

Yes — an old Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS is perfectly capable of hosting a ZeroTier controller! It’s low-power, quiet, and ideal for self-hosted network services.

Here’s how to get it up and running.

🛠️ Self-Hosting a ZeroTier Controller on Raspberry Pi (PiOS)

✅ Requirements:

Raspberry Pi with PiOS Lite or Full (Debian-based)

Internet access (Ethernet or Wi-Fi)

Static IP on your LAN (recommended)

Port UDP 9993 open on your LAN (only needed if other clients are connecting over LAN)

🔧 Step-by-Step: Install Docker and the Controller

1. Update and install Docker

Open a terminal on your Pi or SSH in:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y curl -sSL https://get.docker.com/ | sh sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in (or reboot) to activate Docker group access.

2. Run the ZeroTier controller in Docker

docker volume create zerotier-one

docker run -d
–name zerotier-controller
–restart unless-stopped
-p 9993:9993/udp
-v zerotier-one:/var/lib/zerotier-one
zyclonite/zerotier-controller

This starts the controller and creates a persistent volume.

3. Initialise the Controller

After a few seconds, you’ll have config files generated inside the container volume. To extract your identity.secret and create/manage networks, you can either:

Option A: Exec into the container

docker exec -it zerotier-controller bash

Then use the zerotier-cli inside the container:

zerotier-cli status zerotier-cli listnetworks zerotier-cli createnetwork

Option B: Install the CLI on your Pi (outside Docker)

This gives you easier long-term control, but it’s optional. Let me know if you want help setting this up.

4. Connect clients to your Pi’s controller

On each device (PC, phone, etc.):

Install ZeroTier as normal

Instead of the default control plane, point the client to your Pi

This requires updating the local.conf to override the default controller (ask if you’d like help with that — it’s a little involved but totally doable).

🧪 Notes & Tips

Your Pi can stay on your LAN. It doesn’t need a public IP if your devices are already on the same network or are able to relay.

If you do want this to work outside your LAN, you’d need to:

Port forward UDP 9993 (if your router allows it), or

Run a small VPS relay or drop it entirely and let ZeroTier do relaying automatically (works 95% of the time)

✅ Summary

Task Possible on Pi? Notes

Host ZeroTier controller ✅ Lightweight and runs well Use with Jellyfin via ZeroTier ✅ No public exposure needed Use Docker ✅ Simplifies setup Avoid external services ✅ No Tailscale, no cloud

Let me know if you’d like:

Help setting up the network manually on the Pi

Step-by-step for configuring your clients to talk to your own controller

Instructions for adding DNS, wake-on-LAN, or file access over ZeroTier too

Your Pi just became your private VPN brain 🧠💻