You’re right. That’s … unfortunate.
This was exactly what I needed. Thanks so much for posting step by step instructions.
These steps worked perfectly! Thank you!!!
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similar problem here.
for some reason Plex has used the date 1st January 2098 as the “added_at” date in metadata_items for a few TV shows, so they are always at the front of the “recently added” row.
i now can’t use SQLlite to manually set the “added_at” date.
how can i do this on my Synology NAS where the plex server is hosted?
Your files likely have the wrong date on them. Fixing the file timestamps and then re-adding the content should fix it without having to mess with the database.
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which dates are likely to be wrong?
fixing that, if they are wrong, and re-adding them will still put them at the start of the “recently added” row until something newer is added though.
however, the dates on the files don’t appear to be wrong
As someone with a Syno NAS as well, I just need to ask: did you specifically try the solution I spell out above? (Specifically: here) The problem with using SQLite now is that Plex has added triggers to the table, which the simple command-line updates can’t work with properly, so editing the db directly requires that they be removed first and then replaced after the edit.
If you are using SQL queries instead of clicking with the mouse, you might as well use the SQL command line which comes with Plex server directly.
Thus saving you from first removing and then adding back all those triggers and indices, because the Plex version of course can handle these.
You can use Plex server for Windows or Mac or Linux if you use a NAS which doesn’t allow you to open a command line.
You just need to make sure to shut down the server on the NAS, then copy the database file over to the desktop computer, make the changes, then copy the file back to the NAS.
How to use the SQL command line which comes with Plex server is shown in here: Repair a Corrupted Database | Plex Support
your post mentioned 2 options, but you only spoke about option 2, which is probably the least desirable option.
i know what SQL commands to run to fix the issue - so option 1 would have been the one i went for.
i can putty on to the NAS, but whether that gives me enough access i have no idea.
You should be able to determine the location of the plex data folder on your particular brand of NAS.
If you can reach that path with your terminal window, chances are good.
Only thing to keep in mind is that if you do anything which involves creating the database anew (like the “repair” procedure), you might have to fix ownership and access permissions on the database file afterwards. Because the terminal session doesn’t necessarily run under the same user account as the Plex server.
The problem for me is that I was never able to get option 1 to work. I tried, but every suggestion from others was incompatible with Syno. However option 2 works really well, and is surprisingly easy. I even packaged it up into a shell command file, and just run that after logging into the box via ssh.
i can indeed reach the paths
the Plex installation
/volume1/Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server
and the path where Plex SQLite is
/var/packages/Plex Media Server/target
however at that point i am at a loss.
i know what SQL query i need to run, but i am used to using GUIs (SQL Management Studio etc) rather than command line
I finally was able to change my “Date Added” to the “Release Date” with this command on Ubuntu 20.04 with Plex installed from “Ubuntu Software”.
(I use to edit these with “sqlite3” commands but an update broke that and I have switched to using the “Plex Media Server --sqlite” command instead and now it works again)
You have to hover the mouse over the Movie cover of the movie that you want to move and note the number, edit the number in the command erasing 58127 and adding the number of your movie:
…key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F58127&context=library%3Acontent.library~0~0
Then run the commands below to stop Plex, edit the database, and restart Plex:
sudo snap stop plexmediaserver.plexmediaserver
sudo /snap/plexmediaserver/current/Plex\ Media\ Server --sqlite "/var/snap/plexmediaserver/common/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db" "UPDATE metadata_items SET added_at = originally_available_at WHERE id='**58127**';"
sudo snap start plexmediaserver.plexmediaserver
If you sort your movies “by Date Added” you will notice that the movie isn’t at the very top of the list anymore and has moved to the date it was originally released.
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How can I do this on the Windows version, been struggling for 3 weeks and even opened my own thread with no luck on a simple guide on doing this. I have the .db file and location of everything but I cannot use Plex’s SQlite to save my life.
I answered in your thread.
right, still can’t get this to work.
i’m doing this via putty (plex server on synology nas).
when trying to run
“/var/packages/Plex Media Server/target/Plex SQLite.exe” “com.plexapp.plugins.library” "update metadata_items set added_at=originally_available_at where added_at > datetime(‘now’);”
i get
-sh: syntax error near unexpected token `(’
the SQL part of the script is/should be correct
i also tried it without the " and also got the same error
so what’s the problem?
(i’m running the command from /volume1/Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases/)
You cut and pasted the line which messed with the quotation marks. You can try the below but you will probably have to type it.
"/var/packages/Plex Media Server/target/Plex SQLite.exe" "com.plexapp.plugins.library" "update metadata_items set added_at=originally_available_at where added_at > datetime('now');"
Yup, looks like the slanted ’ that you are using.
strange, i cut/pasted the query from DBrowser into notepad (plain txt), and then into putty.
not sure why it had a slanted apostrophe at any stage, and it’s not slanted in the saved notepad file…
ok so now it runs, but is saying no such table exists, which makes no sense as the table does exist?
user@ds1019:/volume1/Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases$ "/var/packages/Plex Media Server/target/Plex SQLite" "com.plexapp.plugins.library" "update metadata_items set added_at=originally_available_at where added_at > datetime('now');"
Error: no such table: metadata_items
