Dockerized Plex Media Server.

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 -p 32400:32400 wernight/plex-media-server

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

If you want Avahi broadcast to work, add --net=host but this will be more insecure. Without it you may also not see the Server tab unless the server is logged in, see troubleshooting section below.

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

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).
  • Avoids PID 1 / zombie reap problem (if plex or one of its subprocesses dies) by running directly plex.

Comparison of main Plex Docker containers (view on GitHub)

Image	Base	Runs As	PID 1 Reap	Slim Container	Upgrade from UI
wernight/plex-media-server	Debian	user	Safe	Yes	No
linuxserver/plex	Ubuntu	user?	Safe	No	Yes
timhaak/plex	Ubuntu	root	Unsafe	No	Yes
needo/plex	Ubuntu	root	Safe	No	Yes?
binhex/arch-plex	Arch	root	Unsafe	No	?

Based on current state as of July 2015.

Upgrades and Versions

To upgrade to the latest version do again a docker pull wernight/plex-media-server and that should be it. Currently Plex auto-upgrade does not seem to be properly supported (probably because this image runs a single plex process and not initd).

You may use a tagged version to use a fixed or older version.

Environment Variables

You can change some settings by setting environement variables:

• PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_MAX_STACK_SIZE ulimit stack size (default: 3000).
• ENV PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_MAX_PLUGIN_PROCS the number of plugins that can run at the same time (default: 6).

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.

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.