Plex
This Software Has Been lacking Built in simple Backup and restore of Metadata since its inception!
Just a simple export\zip button of metadata…then a import\unzip
Even cross platform Back up and Restore of all meta data…
example: I have a plex server now with hundreds of audio, tv and movie meta data!
Including the stuff i corrected manually …on a PC
what if the PC crashes? (would be nice to have a backup periodically)
what if i want to move it to Apple IOS ,Linux
What if i want to move it to a NAS (WD , Drobo, Synology ect.)
A simple backup/restore Import/Export of metadata feature IS a MUST !!!
as of now the only solutions
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re-invent the wheel and re-correct every bit of metadata missed as the server Rebuilds it.
As our Librarys Grow this task gets more and more daunting
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dig around in windows and try and zip up the meta data + reg entrys ect ect
Sorry toooooooo Complicated for most People…
Those are not the only solutions. There are tons of backup programs out there that can back up all your data, not just your Plex metadata. I use a program called Duplicati, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
There is a help page showing which Plex folders to back up.
There are help pages to assist you in moving a Plex installation to another server.
Sorry Your Missing My Point… This Function should Be Built into plex… Built into the Server Software Itself… a single back up and restore button … we shouldn’t have to rely on third party software to back up Plex metadata or
Hunt around to find and Manually zip up metadata / cach / ect
All the work Required to back up and fully restore a plex system… should have been built into the server Software From the Beginning! In my opinion!
Cheers.
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100% agree. Plex users often have multiple Os’s and move things around. I’ve spend years dialing in my Win Plex Server (custom posters, collections, ect…), but recently I wanted to move to a mac mini server to save electricity and have a smaller footprint, but after hours of work I gave up trying to migrate between Os’s (it’s all but impossible from what I can tell). For the foreseeable future there is no way I can move off of Windows without dedicating dozens of hours (or more) of work rebuilding from scratch.
Ideally plex would create a simple ‘backup and restore’ option that allows you to backup your server on a schedule, and to create a .plx file (or whatever) that can be restored to any supported Os. IMO it wouldn’t be that hard. The meta data and artwork for each piece of content are already given unique identifiers, plex would simply have to create a log file identifying these data and during the restore process it could redistribute those files to the appropriate folders (which would vary based on which Os is being used). My guess is that the people at plex have done the math and not enough people have asked for this feature to dedicate the resources to developing it? Too bad.
there is already a built-in backup, but it doesn’t include the other important item ‘preferences.xml’/registry info (which control server identity and several server settings).
the database, and the preferences are the only 2 things absolutely needed, the metadata/thumbs/etc can all be regenerated.
but yes I completely agree that some kind of import/restore function which would accept a backup zip of the database+preferences to easily restore would go a long long way to making life easier for both the admin and for the plex support team (when someone screws up or needs to move their system, just ‘restore from backup’!)
I am searching for these capabilities for a slightly different reason.
My media is all on an external Raid-5 drive.
Plex keeps the library and metadata on the hosting computer.
My original Plex Media Server PC suddenly started crashing and became unreliable.
So I installed Plex Media Server on a second PC.
Now I have two servers with identical content. This keeps my content available, but whenever I add or change anything, I must do any customization twice.
I should be able to customize one server, then export that and import to the other server. If this capability is implemented correctly, then it should/would also allow porting the customizations and data across platforms.
Metadata cannot simply be regenerated, as it doesn’t reliably match the content.
It looks impossible to save the configuration of my PMS (Plex_conf) hosted on WD PR4100. I’m not talking about the media (movies and music) that normally appear in the Finder. I’m talking about the Plex app metadata. The Plex_Conf directory is not accessible, neither directly from the Finder (MacOS) nor from GoodSync type backup programs, nor from internal NAS backup utilities. What should I do to backup Plex_conf from my WD PR4100 and, if there is a problem, to restore?
Thank you all
Much needed, including cross OS compatible restore. (Windows to MacOS and Vice Versa) as these are the two most used consumer OS’s. For consumers I mean people who don’t know linux and use GUI OS not terminal/powershell etc.
+1000
it is ridiculous that things like custom metadata, playlists, sonic analysis, and watch status cannot be easily exported. if you’re like me and have built up a lot of these over the years and you suddenly need to start over, whether that be due to a corrupted database, dead hard drive, etc, having the option of reimporting this stuff would be a godsend. I have wanted to migrate my server over to another machine and run it on Linux, but I can’t do that since I would be forced to give up all of this other data that Plex doesn’t let you export (mainly the music playlists)
The fact that Plex is missing basic backup and restore functions, is shocking. And to every fanboy justifying that this either isn’t needed or something else along those lines. Why are you advocating for a bad/worse user experience, regardless of the reason?! Having proper functions like these, would only make Plex a objectively better product!
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I hate to say it but you are wasting your request. This has been suggested several times, but since it’s not a POPULAR idea they don’t give a SH*T. The most they will do is suggest you adopt the kludge of a Powershell Script that someone took the time to develop and post here, but that “workaround” has it’s own issues and requires some technical knowledge by the end user (that many won’t have) in order to use. They can release hundreds if not thousands of other changes a year, but this WILL NOT happen. Because it’s not considered “important”. The only way they will pay attention is if people start leaving Plex for other platforms that do provide this functionality.
