Set access and limits

Silo is in active development before 1.0. These guides are updated frequently.

Start with an access group for people who should have the same libraries and limits. Change one account only when it needs an exception.

Administrator accounts cannot belong to access groups. Group policies apply only to regular user accounts.

Create an access group

1. Open Admin > Access Groups and choose New group.
2. Name the group, for example Guests, and create it.
3. Open the group. Under Libraries & playback, choose the libraries and playback quality it can use.
4. Review Downloads & requests and Concurrent streams. Under Permissions, choose which permissions member accounts may receive.
5. Choose Save changes.

Use Default for new users only if this should become the starting group for future accounts. Check its library access before making it the default.

A group permission only makes the permission available. Turn on Marker Editing or Metadata Curation for each account that needs it; both the group and the account must allow the action.

Assign a person to the group

1. Open Admin > Users, choose the person, then Edit.
2. In Access, select the group. Leave inherited values alone unless this account needs a different setting.
3. Check Limits and save.
4. Reopen the user’s Overview to review the permissions and limits it shows.

An account can override its group. If a group change seems to have no effect, look for an override on the account.

Inherited means the value comes from the access group. An account without a group shows Server default instead; an administrator account shows Admin default.

Choose limits that fit the task

Stream bitrate limits use Mbps in the web forms. Choose Unlimited, a preset, or Custom and enter a value such as 8 for 8 Mbps. This is a per-stream limit. Values below 1 Mbps trigger a low-quality warning.

Max streams limits simultaneous playback. Max transcodes limits sessions that need conversion. With video transcoding off, a device that can’t play the original file can’t play it at all.

Download permission and permission to create transcoded downloads are separate controls. Request access is also separate from the request quota and approval rules in Requests.

Marker Editing and Metadata Curation let a trusted user correct media in the libraries they can access, without making them a server administrator.

Check household restrictions

Account access determines which libraries the household can use. Profile restrictions narrow that access for one person; they cannot grant access to libraries the account cannot use.

The household’s primary profile can configure Maximum content rating, Maximum advisory age, and Restrict libraries in the web profile editor. See Set parental controls for the steps. When both rating limits are set, titles must pass both.

Titles with no age rating, in Admin > Settings > Library & Metadata under Browsing, decides whether profiles with a content-rating limit see titles that have no rating or are marked Not Rated (NR). Hide from profiles with a ceiling is the default; Show to every profile lets them through. A rating Silo can’t read stays hidden from those profiles either way.

Missing advisory ages are handled per profile instead: the profile’s Hide titles without an advisory age switch applies when Maximum advisory age is set.

Check the active profile when testing access. Use a regular household account and its restricted profile: administrator accounts have broader authority.