ev0rtex / docker-plex-media-server

Dockerized Plex Media Server

• latest latest public (as described here)
• autoupdate installs latest on start (see below for differences)
• 0, 0.9, 0.9.14, 0.9.14.6 (or similar) are like latest but for a specific version

Dockerized Plex Media Server: Plex organizes your video, music, and photo collections and streams them to all of your screens (mobile, TV/Chromecast, laptop...).

Usage

It is recommended to provide two mount points writable by user 797 (that plex random UID inside the container for safety, alternatively use --user flag):

• /config: To somewhere to hold your Plex configuration (can be a data-only container). This will include all media listing, posters, collections and playlists you've setup...
• /media: To one or more of your media files (videos, audio, images...).

Example:

$ mkdir ~/plex-config
$ chown 797:797 -R ~/plex-config
$ docker run -d --restart=always -v ~/plex-config:/config -v ~/Movies:/media --net=host -p 32400:32400 wernight/plex-media-server

Once done, wait a few seconds and open http://localhost:32400/web in your browser.

The flag --net=host is only required for the first run, so that your can login locally without password (without SSH proxy) and see the "Server" tab in the web UI (see troubleshooting section below). If you want Avahi broadcast to work then keep --net=host even after being logged in, but this will be somewhat less secure.

The --restart=always is optional, it'll for example allow auto-start on boot.

Features

• Small: Built using official Docker Debian and official Plex download (takes 85 MB instead of 180 MB for Ubuntu).
• Simple: One command and you should be ready to go. All documented here.
• Secure:
  • Runs Plex as plex user (not root as Docker's Containers don't contain).
  • Downloads and installs the official binaries.
  • Avoids PID 1 / zombie reap problem (if plex or one of its subprocesses dies) by running directly plex.

Comparison of main Plex Docker containers

Image	Size	Runs As	PID 1 Reap	Slim Container	Plex Pass
wernight/plex-media-server		user	Safe	Yes	Supported
linuxserver/plex		user	Safe	No	No
timhaak/plex		root	Unsafe	No	Supported
needo/plex		root	Safe	No	No
binhex/arch-plex		root	Unsafe	No	No

Based on current state as of December 2015 (if you find any mistake please open a ticket on GitHub).

Upgrades and Versions

Plex Media Server does not support auto-upgrade from the UI on Linux. If/once it does, we'd be more than happy to support it.

There are two ways to keep up to date:

• Using wernight/plex-media-server:latest (default) – To upgrade to the latest public version do again a docker pull wernight/plex-media-server and restart your container; that should be it. You may use a tagged version to use a fixed or older version as well. It works as described here.
• Using wernight/plex-media-server:autoupdate (for users who want the really latest) – Installs the latest public or Plex Pass release each time the container starts. It has a few differences compared to what is described here:

  • Runs as root initially so it can install Plex (required), after that it runs as plex user.

  • Supports PlexPass: Premium users get to download newer versions shortly before they get public. For that set two additional environment variables (only be used to retrieve the latest official download URL and cleared after that) like:

    $ docker run -d --restart=always -v ~/plex-config:/config -v ~/Movies:/media --net=host -p 32400:32400 -e PLEXPASS_LOGIN='<my_plex_login>' -e PLEXPASS_PASSWORD='<my_plex_password>' wernight/plex-media-server:autoupdate
    

Environment Variables

You can change some settings by setting environement variables:

• PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_MAX_STACK_SIZE ulimit stack size (default: 3000).
• PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_MAX_PLUGIN_PROCS the number of plugins that can run at the same time (default: 6).
• PLEXPASS_LOGIN your Plex Pass username or e-mail (used only on the :autoupdate tagged image).
• PLEXPASS_PASSWORD your Plex Pass username or e-mail (used only on the :autoupdate tagged image).

Troubleshooting

• I have to accept EULA each time?!
  • Did you forget to mount /config directory? Check also that it's writable by user 797.
• Cannot see Server tab from settings!
  • Try running once with --net=host. You may allow more IPs without being logged in by then going to Plex Settings > Server > Network > List of networks that are allowed without auth; or edit your_config_location/Plex Media Server/Preferences.xml and add allowedNetworks="192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0" attribute the <Preferences …> node or what ever your local range is.
• Why do I have a random server name each time?
  • Either set a friendly name undex Plex Settings > Server > General; or start with -h some-name.
• Which port do I need to open on my firewall/router?
  • Even if you're using --net=host or --port 0.0.0.0:32400:32400 flag, you'll still need to redirect port 32400 on your router to your machine running Plex, else you'll only be able to access it from within your LAN and you won't be able to Chromecast and other things. Remember to also check your firewall. Note that you can use another port if you so desire.

Backup

Honestly I wish there was a more official documentation for this. What you really need to back-up (adapt ~/plex-config to your /config mounting point):

• Your media, obviously!
• ~/plex-config/Plex Media Server/Media/
• ~/plex-config/Plex Media Server/Metadata/
• ~/plex-config/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases/

In practice, you may want to be safer and back-up everything except may be ~/plex-config/Plex Media Server/Cache/ which is pretty large and you can really just skip it. It'll be rebuild with the thumbnails, etc. as you had them. But don't take my word for it, it's really easy for you to check.

Feedbacks

Having more issues? Report a bug on GitHub.