Plex is a streaming media server that helps you organize your video, music, and photos and stream them to your devices anytime and anywhere.
You can installPlexx on Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, Windows, and NAS systems.
This guide will show you how to set up the Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 22.04.
Install Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 22.04
The Plex Media Server installation process is straightforward, and it won’t take much of your time. But, first, import the Plex server’s signing key to the system.
wget -qO - https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/plex-keyring.gpg
Then, add the Plex media server repository.
echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/plex-keyring.gpg] https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb/ public main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plex.list
And then, update the repository index and install the latest version of the Plex Media Server.
sudo apt update sudo apt install -y plexmediaserver
Once you start the Plex Media Server service, check its status using the below command.
sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver
Output:
● plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled) Active: active (running) since Tue 2022-05-24 14:17:15 EDT; 12s ago Process: 3392 ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c /usr/bin/test -d "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR}" || /bin/mkdir -p "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR}" (code=exited, stat> Main PID: 3400 (Plex Media Serv) Tasks: 112 (limit: 11818) Memory: 200.3M CPU: 7.217s CGroup: /system.slice/plexmediaserver.service ├─3400 "/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Plex Media Server" ├─3505 "Plex Plug-in [com.plexapp.system]" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plug-ins-5bd057d2b/Framework.bundle/Contents/Resources/Versions/2/Python/bootstrap.py --server-ve> ├─3600 "/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Plex Tuner Service" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Tuner/Private /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Tuner/Shared 1.26.2.5797-5bd057d2b 326> ├─3641 "Plex Plug-in [com.plexapp.agents.opensubtitles]" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plug-ins-5bd057d2b/Framework.bundle/Contents/Resources/Versions/2/Python/bootstrap.> ├─3643 "Plex Plug-in [com.plexapp.agents.localmedia]" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plug-ins-5bd057d2b/Framework.bundle/Contents/Resources/Versions/2/Python/bootstrap.py > ├─3645 "Plex Plug-in [com.plexapp.agents.plexthememusic]" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plug-ins-5bd057d2b/Framework.bundle/Contents/Resources/Versions/2/Python/bootstrap> ├─3734 "Plex Plug-in [com.plexapp.agents.none]" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plug-ins-5bd057d2b/Framework.bundle/Contents/Resources/Versions/2/Python/bootstrap.py --serv> └─3741 "Plex Plug-in [com.plexapp.agents.thetvdb]" /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plug-ins-5bd057d2b/Framework.bundle/Contents/Resources/Versions/2/Python/bootstrap.py --s> May 24 14:17:15 ubuntu2204 systemd[1]: Starting Plex Media Server... May 24 14:17:15 ubuntu2204 systemd[1]: Started Plex Media Server.
Create Media Folder for Plex
You may need to create directories for placing movies and tv shows if you do not have them already. Here, for this demo, I will make a folder /movies and change the ownership of the folder so that the Plex media server can access it.
sudo mkdir /movies sudo chown plex.plex /movies/
Set up Plex Media Server
Open a web browser and access the Plex Media setup page by going to the below URL.
Follow the on-screen instruction to set up Plex media server.
1. To use the Plex server, you will need to grant access to this newly installed Plex Media Server on your Plex account. So, sign to your Plex account through Google, Facebook, Apple, or Email account or create a new Plex account with the email by clicking on Sign up with email.2. Once you sign in or up for the new account, you will get the How Plex Works page. Click GOT IT.
3. Close the Plex Pass pop-up if you do not want to subscribe for Plex pass features.
4. Set the Plex Server Name on the next screen and click the Next. Leave the box checked for – Allow me to access my media outside my home.
5. On the Plex Media Server set up, click on ADD LIBRARY and select the Library type based on your media folder type and then Name the library. Finally, click NEXT.
6. Click the BROWSE FOR MEDIA FOLDER and choose the media folder manually or type the folder path you created earlier and then click ADD.
7. Finally, click Add Library.
8. You should see the added library now. Then, click NEXT.
9. Click DONE to complete the Plex Media Setup.
Scanning Files on Plex Media Server
Upon completing the Plex Media Server setup, you will see the blank media page.
To see your Plex server, click on MORE.
You may need to ALLOW INSECURE CONNECTIONS by clicking on Plex Server Name. Insecure connections will only be allowed when you’re on the same network as the server.
To list your personal movies collection, click three dots (…) next to your media library (Films) and click Scan Library Files.
Wait for a few minutes. Then, the movies you have uploaded should be listed in the Movies library.
Access Content Using Plex Apps
Plex player apps are available for Android, iOS, Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, and many more devices to play music, photos, videos, and online content from Plex Media Server.
Update Plex Media Server
When a new version of Plex Media Server is released, you can update it through Ubuntu’s/Linux Mint’s standard Software Update tool or by running the following commands in your terminal.
sudo apt update sudo apt --only-upgrade install plexmediaserver
Conclusion
That’s All. I hope you have learned how to install Plex on Ubuntu 22.04.