#Mac mini server website how to
#Mac mini server website install
#Mac mini server website archive
#Mac mini server website pro
#Mac mini server website series

The Coronavirus lockdown has not only made me think about building this Mac mini server, but has taken me back to one of my previous areas of work more than over the past few years – web design, specifically with WordPress. Time will tell which works best, but give Plex its due – it’s simple to get the server up and running, and it works well with Apple’s libraries as well. Especially for films and TV shows it might prove to be a better bet than the Apple options.

#Mac mini server website how to

I have also experimented with Plex and Plex Media Server to do all of the above tasks – how to do it is explained here. Music, Films, Photos – the Plex alternative Moving photos between Libraries will be done with Power Photos, an App I already own that costs $30.ġ2. To choose which Library to open, we then simply hold down ALT when starting the Photos App on each Mac.

#Mac mini server website archive

Then we will each have a sort of Archive Library for older photos, and those two Libraries will be stored on the server.

#Mac mini server website pro

Both my MacBook Pro and my partner’s MacBook Air will have 2 Photos libraries – a small one for everyday use that will reside on each Mac (and act as the System Library in each case, and in my partner’s case will also synchronise with iCloud). So here a file sharing system is the way to do it. And here Apple’s bind-in to store photos in iCloud is even stricter than for music and for films.

I might have 150Gb of music, but I have 500Gb of Photos. This allows shows to be viewed on an iPhone in the TV App, and on the other Macs too.

The answer is rather similar – use Home Sharing.

#Mac mini server website install

For this I have installed Handbrake on the Mac mini (guide here), and decrypting them using libdvdcss (explained here) installed with Homebrew (guide about how to install it here).īut just as with the music, how do you share this? All of those DVDs hanging around are going to be ripped and saved to the Mac mini.

#Mac mini server website series

But there are a few series I have bought over the years, and some DVDs too. I can play music on my MacBook Pro or iPhone, with the file on the Mac mini, and the output is sent to the AirPort Express.Īnyone who knows me well knows I am not a big film or television watcher. Last but not least, does all of this work with the old AirPort Express 1st Generation that is connected to the hifi in the living room? Yes. You could of course make a completely separate Apple ID for your server, but then you have headaches with 2FA and app purchases, so I have stuck to using my own Apple ID and my partner using this for Home Sharing. So my partner’s iPhone has her Apple ID as the main one, but my Apple ID for Home Sharing – because my Apple ID is the one that is set for Home Sharing on the Mac mini. The confusing thing with Home Sharing that Apple does not explain on its explanation page is that you can use a different Apple ID for Home Sharing than for the main Apple ID on your device. Here, and elsewhere on the net when travelling, “Home Sharing” has to be used, and is explained here – note this must not be confused with Family Sharing. To other Macs on the network (but not elsewhere) “Share media with guests” works – the Library appears in Music (or, on older Macs, iTunes) on the network. Also as an External DVD Drive is currently connected so as to rip the few other CDs and DVDs I have here, these CDs will then be saved to the Mac mini library and then also accessible to the other devices connected here. This makes an orderly media library on the Mac mini. The setup in the Music App and in Media Sharing in System Preferences is: It all starts with Apple Music on the Mac mini. The answer is initially simple, but there were some glitches to get it just right. But playing this music at home (and on the road as well if possible) – and indeed from multiple devices – is one of the central aims of the server project. I do not want 150Gb of music on my MacBook all the time (note: I will keep some mp3s on the MacBook, but just a few thousand), and I do not want to pay for enough iCloud storage to store them all there too. I have more than 28000 mp3 files, ripped from CDs I got rid of long ago. Music, Films, Photos – the Plex alternative.

Do read part 1 about the requirements and the hardware, and part 2 about the repairs and the network setup first. This is part 3 of the series about the Mac mini server.