How to install Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 20.04

Plex is an open-source, free software through which you can easily stream videos, photos, and audio files on your computer, smartphones, and tablets from any location around the world using the internet. It is a full-featured media server where you can manage or store your TV shows, videos, movies, music, images, and much more using an attractive interface. It supports various features by which you can create your favorite music and movies playlist and synchronize the media files for offline use. Using plex media server, you can stream local TV channels to your device and watch your favorite TV shows. Plex media server applications can install almost all operating systems such as Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora, etc.), Windows, FreeBSD, and Mac.

This how-to guide will demonstrate to you how to install Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 20.04 system.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 20.04 distribution should install your system.

You should have sudo or root privileges for installation.

Methods to install Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 20.04

Plex media server can install on Ubuntu 20.04 Linux system using the following two different methods:

1. Install Plex Media Server using official Plex repository
2. Installing Plex Media Server using the. deb package

Method 1:

Install Plex Media Server using official Plex repository

Plex media server is not present in the official Ubuntu repositories. However, you can install it by enabling the official Plex media apt repository on your Ubuntu 20.04 distribution. Execute the below-mentioned command to import the GPG key and include the plex apt repository to your system:

$ curl https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key | sudo apt-key add –

$ echo deb https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb public main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plexmediaserver.list

Once the Plex media repository is added and enabled, update the packages list and install the Plex media server using the apt command:

$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt install plexmediaserver

Method 2:

Plex Media Server installation using the .deb package

To install the Plex media server using this method, download the plex media .deb package from the official Plex website by using the following wget command:

$ wget https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-media-server-new/1.20.4.3517-ab5e1197c/debian/plexmediaserver_1.20.4.3517-ab5e1197c_amd64.deb

Navigate into the Downloads directory and run the following command to install the downloaded .deb package on Ubuntu 20.04 system:

$ sudo apt install ./plexmediaserver_1.20.4.3517-ab5e1197c_amd64.deb

Use the following command to start the Plex media service:

$ sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver

Display the running status of the Plex media server by executing the below-mentioned command:

$ sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver

In the above screenshot, you can see that the plex media server is active and running on this Ubuntu system.

Start and configure the Plex web interface

Plex media server web interface can be accessed using the port ‘32400’. To launch the web interface of the Plex media server, type the below-mentioned URL in the address bar of your system browser:

http://IP-address:32400/web

The following login web interface of the Plex media server will display on your system:

You can sign in using your existing google account or can create a new account for a user. After login into the plex media server, it shows the interface on which you can see how the plex media server will work. Click on the ‘Got it’ to continue the configuration.

Assign a suitable name to your server or continue with the default server name and mark the check box. Click on the ‘Next’:

You can also add a library by using the ‘Add Library’ option.

In the next interface, you will select the library type.

Browse for the media folder and click on the ‘Add Library’.

After completing the configurations, click on the ‘Done’.

The added libraries will display in the web dashboard of the Plex media server.

Updating Plex media server

In the market, when a new version is released, you can update the Plex media server by typing the below-given commands:

$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt install --only-upgrade plexmediaserver

Conclusion

We demonstrated two different methods in this tutorial for the installation of the Plex media server on Ubuntu 20.04.  We have seen how to configure the Plex media web interface and manage media libraries.

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