In Linux and on NAS devices, the preferences.xml file in the main Plex Media Server directory contains the corresponding settings. So, that means there isn’t anything else special that you need to back up.
What about uploaded posters? Plugins? Those can’t be contained in a preferences.xml file. There has to be other stuff too that isn’t self contained in a single xml file that I’m not thinking of.
If I wanted to tar all that up and back it up - how would I do that?
The best, really only, backup to have is a complete backup of the entire directory structure.
This is a ‘snapshot’ of everything Plex knows about your media
Please make absolute certain you read and perform the TOP half of that article first
Back Up Main Plex Media Server Data
For your operating system, make a backup of the main Plex Media Server data directory. The location will vary by platform.
Tip!: In many cases, you may find it beneficial to “zip” or “tar” (or similar) the contents of the data directory. The larger your library, the more useful this may be for you as it could otherwise take a very long time to process thousands of individual small metadata files.
Tip!: For Windows and Linux systems, you can exclude the Cache directory, if desired. That can save space and time in the transfer.
Related Page: Where is the Plex Media Server data directory located?
On every Linux based system, backing up the main data will also backup the Preferences.xml data.
