Advanced Plex Configuration on macOS

Advanced Plex Configuration on macOS

Take your Plex server to the next level with advanced configurations and automation on macOS.

Homebrew-Based Management

Install Plex via Homebrew

# Install Plex Media Server
brew install --cask plex-media-server

# Install PlexConnect tools
brew install plex-media-player

Update Management

# Update Plex
brew upgrade --cask plex-media-server

# Check for updates
brew outdated --cask

Launch Agent Configuration

Auto-Start Plex

Create a Launch Agent for automatic startup:

nano ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.plexapp.plexmediaserver.plist
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.plexapp.plexmediaserver</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/Applications/Plex Media Server.app/Contents/MacOS/Plex Media Server</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/plex-stdout.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/plex-stderr.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Load the agent:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.plexapp.plexmediaserver.plist

Advanced Transcoding

Intel Quick Sync (Intel Macs)

For Intel Macs with integrated graphics:

  1. Settings → Transcoder
  2. Enable “Use hardware acceleration when available”
  3. Intel Quick Sync is automatically detected

Apple Silicon Optimization

For M1/M2/M3 Macs:

  • Hardware transcoding uses VideoToolbox
  • Enable in Settings → Transcoder
  • Supports H.264 and HEVC encoding

Transcoder Settings

# Find transcoder binary
ls "/Applications/Plex Media Server.app/Contents/MacOS/"

# Check VideoToolbox support
system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType | grep -i "Metal"

Database Management

Database Location

# Navigate to database
cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/Plex\ Media\ Server/Plug-in\ Support/Databases/

# List database files
ls -la *.db

Backup Database

#!/bin/bash
# plex-backup.sh

PLEX_DB="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases"
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/PlexBackups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Stop Plex for clean backup
osascript -e 'quit app "Plex Media Server"'
sleep 5

# Backup database
cp "$PLEX_DB/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db" "$BACKUP_DIR/library-$DATE.db"

# Restart Plex
open -a "Plex Media Server"

echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR/library-$DATE.db"

Database Optimization

# Optimize database (Plex must be stopped)
sqlite3 "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db" "VACUUM;"
sqlite3 "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db" "REINDEX;"

Automation Scripts

Library Scan Automation

#!/bin/bash
# scan-library.sh

PLEX_TOKEN="your-plex-token"
PLEX_URL="http://localhost:32400"
LIBRARY_ID="1"  # Get from /library/sections

curl -X GET "$PLEX_URL/library/sections/$LIBRARY_ID/refresh?X-Plex-Token=$PLEX_TOKEN"

Get Your Plex Token

# Method 1: From Plex Web
# Sign in → Open browser console → Copy X-Plex-Token from any API request

# Method 2: XML method
curl -u "username:password" "https://plex.tv/users/sign_in.xml" \
  -X POST -H "X-Plex-Client-Identifier: macOS-script"

Scheduled Maintenance

Create a cron job for regular maintenance:

crontab -e

Add:

# Daily library scan at 3 AM
0 3 * * * /path/to/scan-library.sh

# Weekly database backup at 4 AM Sunday
0 4 * * 0 /path/to/plex-backup.sh

# Monthly database optimization at 5 AM, 1st of month
0 5 1 * * /path/to/optimize-db.sh

Tautulli Integration

Install Tautulli

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Tautulli/Tautulli.git ~/Tautulli

# Install dependencies
cd ~/Tautulli
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

# Run Tautulli
python3 Tautulli.py

Create Launch Agent

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.tautulli</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/local/bin/python3</string>
        <string>/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Tautulli/Tautulli.py</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Tautulli</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Kometa (PMM) Configuration

Install Kometa

# Create directory
mkdir -p ~/Kometa && cd ~/Kometa

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Kometa-Team/Kometa.git .

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Basic Configuration

Create config/config.yml:

libraries:
  Movies:
    collection_files:
      - pmm: imdb
      - pmm: trakt
    overlay_files:
      - pmm: resolution
      - pmm: audio_codec
  TV Shows:
    collection_files:
      - pmm: imdb
      - pmm: trakt

plex:
  url: http://localhost:32400
  token: YOUR_PLEX_TOKEN

tmdb:
  apikey: YOUR_TMDB_API_KEY

radarr:
  url: http://localhost:7878
  token: YOUR_RADARR_API_KEY
  root_folder_path: /Movies
  quality_profile: HD-1080p

sonarr:
  url: http://localhost:8989
  token: YOUR_SONARR_API_KEY
  root_folder_path: /TV Shows
  quality_profile: HD-1080p

Schedule Kometa

# Run Kometa daily at 5 AM
0 5 * * * cd ~/Kometa && source venv/bin/activate && python kometa.py --run

Network Storage Integration

Mount NAS on Boot

Create a script to mount network shares:

#!/bin/bash
# mount-nas.sh

# Mount SMB share
mount_smbfs //username:password@nas.local/media /Volumes/Media

# Or use AFP
mount_afp afp://username:password@nas.local/media /Volumes/Media

Auto-Mount with Launch Agent

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.nas.mount</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/path/to/mount-nas.sh</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Monitoring and Logging

Custom Log Analysis

# View Plex logs
tail -f "$HOME/Library/Logs/Plex Media Server/Plex Media Server.log"

# Search for errors
grep -i "error\|warning" "$HOME/Library/Logs/Plex Media Server/"*.log

# Analyze transcoding
grep "transcoding" "$HOME/Library/Logs/Plex Media Server/Plex Transcoder Statistics.log"

System Monitoring

# Monitor Plex resource usage
top -pid $(pgrep "Plex Media Server")

# Check memory usage
ps aux | grep -i plex

# Network connections
lsof -i -P | grep -i plex

API Integration

Plex API Examples

# Get all libraries
curl -s "http://localhost:32400/library/sections?X-Plex-Token=TOKEN"

# Get library contents
curl -s "http://localhost:32400/library/sections/1/all?X-Plex-Token=TOKEN"

# Search library
curl -s "http://localhost:32400/search?query=inception&X-Plex-Token=TOKEN"

# Get server info
curl -s "http://localhost:32400/identity?X-Plex-Token=TOKEN"

Python Automation

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# plex-manager.py

from plexapi.server import PlexServer
import os

PLEX_URL = 'http://localhost:32400'
PLEX_TOKEN = os.environ.get('PLEX_TOKEN')

plex = PlexServer(PLEX_URL, PLEX_TOKEN)

# List all libraries
for section in plex.library.sections():
    print(f"{section.title}: {section.totalSize} items")

# Refresh specific library
movies = plex.library.section('Movies')
movies.refresh()

# Search and play
results = plex.search('Inception')
print(results)

Install the library:

pip3 install plexapi

Security Hardening

Network Restrictions

Limit access to specific IP ranges:

  1. Settings → Network
  2. Add to “LAN Networks”:
    192.168.1.0/24

Regular Security Checks

#!/bin/bash
# security-check.sh

echo "=== Plex Security Audit ==="

# Check open ports
echo "Open ports:"
sudo lsof -i -P | grep LISTEN | grep -i plex

# Check recent access
echo "Recent connections:"
tail -20 "$HOME/Library/Logs/Plex Media Server/Plex Media Server.log" | grep -i "auth\|session"

# Check for updates
echo "Current version:"
defaults read "/Applications/Plex Media Server.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString

Performance Tuning

Memory Settings

For large libraries, adjust memory settings:

# Increase file descriptor limit
sudo launchctl limit maxfiles 65536 200000

# Add to ~/.zshrc
ulimit -n 65536

SSD Optimization

If using SSD for transcoding:

# Create RAM disk for transcoding (8GB example)
diskutil erasevolume HFS+ "RAMDisk" `hdiutil attach -nomount ram://16777216`

# Point Plex transcoder to RAM disk
# Settings → Transcoder → Transcoder temporary directory: /Volumes/RAMDisk

Congratulations! 🎉

You’ve mastered advanced Plex configuration on macOS! Your server is now:

  • ✅ Automated with scripts and schedules
  • ✅ Backed up and optimized
  • ✅ Integrated with monitoring tools
  • ✅ Secured and hardened
  • ✅ Performance tuned

You’re now a Plex power user on macOS!