# DBRepair development **URL:** \ **Category:** Apps & Creations\ **Created:** [December 14, 2022, 3:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dbrepair-development/822684 "2022-12-14T03:57:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1329
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dbrepair-development/822684/1329 "2026-09-30T01:56:23Z")
😈 Peek at the readme. **Comments Welcomed!** - The README will be getting a lot of attention over the next 3 weeks to get all the old ‘script-isms’ out of it and fully updated with all the new capabilities. This is a working draft. It’s got new and (obviously) old content. I’ll get it cleaned up these next few weeks. Don’t be confused when you suddenly see a disconnect. # README 🎉 Windows Users:\*\* Beginning with DBRepair 26.10.00, DBRepair is no longer a shell script. It’s a fully stand-alone executable program on Linux, macOS and Windows. Previous versions of DBRepair required separate `.bat` or `.ps1` scripts, which have now been completely deprecated. Just download, extract, and run. DBRepair is a standalone utility run from a command line (terminal, Command Prompt/PowerShell, or ssh/putty session) on the local host machine. It must have sufficient privileges to read/write the databases. Because DBRepair is distributed as a compiled executable, it requires no external runtime dependencies. If sufficient privileges exist (root/Administrator), and are supported by the environment, the options to start and stop PMS are presented as well. ## Situations and errors commonly seen include: ``` 1. Searching is sluggish or broken 2. Database is malformed / damaged / corrupted 3. Database has bloated from media addition or changes 4. Damaged indexes / Rows out of order 5. Tables, Indexes, or other items missing from databases (seen in logs) 6. Importing data from other databases (watch history) 7. Cleaning up operational temp files which PMS has forgotten ``` ## Functions provided The utility accepts command names. Command names may be upper/lower case and may also be abbreviated (4 character minimum). The following commands (or their number), listed in alphabetical order, are accepted as input. ```plaintext AUTO(matic) - Intelligently, stop PMS, check the databases, do what's needed, and restart PMS as needed. CHEC(k) - Check the main and blob databases integrity (includes FTS index check) DEFL(ate) - Deflate a bloated PMS database (faulty statistics data) EXIT - Exit the utility EXPU(nge) - Remove view history/statistics for non-existent, NULL, or age-expired accounts HIST(ory) - Show the command history of this session IGNOre/HONOr - Ignore/Honor constraint errors when IMPORTing additional data into DB. IMPO(rt) - Import viewstate / watch history from another database ORPH(ans) - Search for and report any orphaned media items PRUN(e) - Remove old image files from PhotoTranscoder cache & all temp files left by PMS QUIT - Quit immediately, keeping all temporary database files REIN(dex) - Rebuild the database indexes (includes FTS indexes) REPA(ir) - Extract and rebuild usable databases from the existing data REPL(ace) - Replace the existing databases with a PMS-generated backup REVE(rt) - Revert the databases to immediately before a selected history index SHOW - Show the log file STAR(t) - Start PMS (not available on all platforms) STAT(us) - Report status of PMS (run-state and databases) STOP - Stop PMS (not available on all platforms) VACU(um) - Vacuum the databases ``` ### The menu The menu gives you the option to enter either a ‘command number’ or the ‘command name/abbreviation’. For clarity, each command’s name is ‘quoted’. ```plaintext Database Repair Utility for Plex Media Server (_host_configuration_name_) Version 26.10.00 Select 1 - 'stop' - Stop PMS. 2 - 'automatic' - Stop, Check, Repair/Optimize, and Resume as needed. 3 - 'check' - Perform integrity check of database and FTS indexes. 4 - 'vacuum' - Remove empty space from database without optimizing. 5 - 'repair' - Repair/Optimize databases. 6 - 'reindex' - Rebuild database indexes. 7 - 'start' - Start PMS 8 - 'import' - Import watch history from another database independent of Plex. (risky). 9 - 'replace' - Replace current databases with newest usable backup copy (interactive). 10 - 'show' - Show logfile. 11 - 'status' - Report status of PMS (run-state and databases). 12 - 'history' - Show command history of this session. 13 - 'revert' - Revert DBs to immediately before history index. 21 - 'prune' - Remove old image files from PhotoTranscoder cache & all temp files left by PMS. 22 - 'expunge' - Remove view history of non-existent Plex accounts 23 - 'deflate' - Deflate a bloated PMS main database. 31 - 'orphans' - Search for and report any orphaned media items. 42 - 'ignore' - Ignore duplicate/constraint errors. 98 - 'quit' - Quit immediately. Keep all temporary files. 99 - 'exit' - Exit with cleanup options. Enter command # -or- command name (4 char min) : ``` ## Hosts currently supported Because DBRepair is a standalone binary, it runs natively across a wide variety of environments. The utility must be run locally on the host where the data resides. 1. Windows (Native executable) 2. Apple (macOS) 3. Linux (Workstation & Server - multiple distributions) 4. FreeBSD (14+) 5. NAS Appliances (ASUSTOR, Netgear OS5, QNAP QTS/QuTS, Synology DSM 6/7, Western Digital OS5) 6. Docker containers via ‘docker exec’ (Plex, [Linuxserver.io](http://Linuxserver.io), BINHEX, HOTIO, Podman) # Installation ### Available Packages DBRepair is packaged as a `.zip` archive for easy downloading. Each archive contains the standalone executable for the target platform, along with the `README.md`, `ReleaseNotes`, and `License.md` files. The following architectures are supported: - **Windows (64-bit):** `DBRepair-windows-x86_64.zip` - **macOS (Apple Silicon):** `DBRepair-darwin-arm64.zip` - **macOS (Intel):** `DBRepair-darwin-x86_64.zip` - **Linux (Intel 64-bit):** `DBRepair-linux-x86_64.zip` - **Linux (ARM 64-bit):** `DBRepair-linux-arm64.zip` - **Linux (ARM 32-bit):** `DBRepair-linux-arm32.zip` ### Downloading It is highly recommended to download the packaged `.zip` archive for your system. Navigate to the latest release: [DBRepair Latest Release](https://github.com/ChuckPa/DBRepair/releases/latest) and download the appropriate `.zip` file for your platform from the **Assets** section. _(Advanced users: Raw binaries are also available in the release assets if you prefer to download only the executable without the bundled documentation)._ ### Moving the downloaded utility ``` Where to extract and place the utility varies from host to host. Please use this table as a reference for where to put the extracted files. Some hosts will not be listed here by name (e.g. Unraid, Proxmox). They will likely be supported by the container/VM PMS runs in. ``` ```plaintext Vendor | Shared folder name | Recommended directory -------------------+---------------------+------------------------------------------ Windows | Downloads | C:\Users\YourName\Downloads Apple | Downloads | ~/Downloads Arch Linux | N/A | Anywhere ASUSTOR | Plex | /volume1/Plex Binhex | N/A | Container root (adjacent /config) Docker (Plex,LSIO) | N/A | Container root (adjacent /config) Hotio | N/A | Container root (adjacent /config) FreeBSD (14+) | N/A | Anywhere Kubernetes | N/A | Container root (adjacent /config) Linux (wkstn/svr) | N/A | Anywhere MacOS | N/A | Anywhere Netgear (ReadyNAS) | "your_choice" | "/data/your_choice" QNAP (QTS/QuTS) | Public | /share/Public SNAP | N/A | Anywhere Synology (DSM 6) | Plex | /volume1/Plex (change volume as required) Synology (DSM 7) | PlexMediaServer | /volume1/PlexMediaServer (change volume as required) Western Digital | Public | /mnt/HD/HD_a2/Public (Does not support 'MyCloudHome' series) ``` ``` Plex, inc and LSIO docker images are included in "Docker" platform category independent of the actual host. Additional hosts and docker images can easily be supported in almost all cases with appropriate path information. Please contact me as needed. ``` ### Getting a usable command line session ``` 1. Windows Open a Command window (cmd.exe or PowerShell). Right-click and "Run as Administrator" if required. 2. Linux Open a terminal session and elevate to the root (sudo) user. 3. Accessing a NAS Open a terminal/command line window on your computer. type: ssh admin-username@IP.addr.of.NAS ``` ### General installation and usage instructions ``` 1. Open your browser to https://github.com/ChuckPa/DBRepair/releases/latest 2. Download the appropriate `.zip` archive for your OS and architecture. 3. Place the archive in the appropriate directory on the local host system. 4. Open a command line session (usually Command Prompt, Terminal, or SSH). 5. Elevate privilege level to Administrator or root (sudo) if needed. 6. Extract the `.zip` archive. 7. Change directory (`cd`) into the extraction directory. 8. Give the binary 'execute' permission if on macOS/Linux (`chmod +x dbrepair`). 9. Invoke `dbrepair.exe` (Windows) or `./dbrepair` (macOS/Linux). ``` ### EXAMPLE: To install & launch on Windows (PowerShell) ``` cd C:\Users\YourName\Downloads Expand-Archive -Path DBRepair-windows-x86_64.zip -DestinationPath .\DBRepair cd .\DBRepair .\dbrepair.exe ``` ### EXAMPLE: To install & launch on Synology DSM 6 / DSM 7 ``` cd /volume1/Plex # use /volume1/PlexMediaServer on DSM 7 sudo bash unzip DBRepair-linux-x86_64.zip chmod +x dbrepair ./dbrepair ``` ### EXAMPLE: Using DBRepair inside containers (manual start/stop included) #### (Select containers allow stopping/starting PMS from the menu. See menu for details) ``` sudo docker exec -it plex /bin/bash # Download, extract, and run # Example assumes you have wget installed in the container wget https://github.com/ChuckPa/DBRepair/releases/latest/download/DBRepair-linux-x86_64.zip unzip DBRepair-linux-x86_64.zip chmod +x dbrepair ./dbrepair ``` ### EXAMPLE: Using DBRepair on regular Linux native host (Workstation/Server) ``` sudo bash cd /path/to/download/directory unzip DBRepair-linux-x86_64.zip chmod +x dbrepair ./dbrepair auto exit ``` ### EXAMPLE: Using DBRepair from the command line on MacOS (on the administrator account) ``` osascript -e 'quit app "Plex Media Server"' cd ~/Downloads unzip DBRepair-darwin-arm64.zip # Or -x86_64 depending on Mac processor chmod +x dbrepair ./dbrepair ``` ## Typical usage This utility can only operate on PMS when PMS is in the stopped state. If PMS is running when you startup the utility, it will tell you. A. The most common usage will be the “Automatic” function. ``` Automatic mode is where DBRepair determines which steps are needed to make your database run optimally. For most users, Automatic is equivalent to 'Check, Repair (no reindex required)'. This repairs minor damage, vacuums out all the unused records, and rebuilds search indexes in one step. ``` B. Database is malformed (Backups of com.plexapp.plugins.library.db and com.plexap.plugins.library.blobs.db available) Note: You may attempt “Repair” sequence ``` 1. (3) Check - Confirm either main or blobs database is damaged 2. (9) Replace - Use the most recent valid backup -- OR -- 2. (5) Repair - If Replace fails, use Repair (5) - (Replace can fail if the database has been damaged for a long time.) 4. (99) Exit ``` C. Database is malformed - No Backups 1. (3) Check - Confirm either main or blobs database is damaged 2. (5) Repair - Salvage as much as possible from the databases and rebuild them into a usable database. 3. (99) Exit D. Database sizes excessively large/bloated when compared to amount of media indexed (item count) 1. (2) Auto - Perform automated check, repair of the deflated database 2. (99) Exit E. User interface has become ‘sluggish’ as more media was added 1. (3) Check - Confirm there is no database damage 2. (5) Repair - You are not really repairing. You are rebuilding the DB in perfect sorted order. 3. (99) Exit F. Undo Undo is a special case where you need the utility to backup ONE step. This is rarely needed. The only time you might want/need to backup one step is if Replace leaves you worse off than you were before. In this case, UNDO then Repair. Undo can only undo the single most-recent action. (Note: In a future release, you will be able to ‘undo’ every action taken until the DBs are in their original state) G. HTTP 500 errors when adding to collections / FTS index corruption This occurs when standard integrity\_check passes but FTS (Full-Text Search) indexes are corrupted. Symptoms: Adding items to collections fails, updating metadata fails, “database disk image is malformed” during UPDATE operations even though Check reports databases are OK. ``` 1. (3) Check - Will show "FTS index damaged" message 2. (6) Reindex - Rebuild indexes including FTS 3. (99) Exit Alternatively, use (2) Automatic which will detect and repair FTS issues automatically. ``` Special considerations: ``` 1. As stated above, this utility requires PMS to be stopped in order to do what it does. 2. - This utility CAN sit at the menu prompt with PMS running. - You did a few things and want to check BEFORE exiting the utility - If you don't like how it worked out, -- STOP PMS -- UNDO the last action and do something else -- OR do more things to the databases 3. When satisfied, Exit the utility. - There is no harm in keeping the database temp files (except for space used) - ALL database temps are named with date-time stamps in the name to avoid confusion. 4. The Logfile ('show' command) shows all actions performed WITH timestamp so you can locate intermediate databases if desired for special / manual recovery cases. ``` Community feedback has resulted in: ``` "98" or "Quit" - Get out now without deleting the temp databases (Usually used only during unexpected failures) "99" or "Exit" - Preferred way to exit and cleanup temp databases ``` Notice: If command line EOF is encountered before Exit/Quit command received, DBRepair will quit and KEEP all temporary files. Also please be aware the utility understands interactive versus scripted mode. ## Command line options To avoid confusion and making the menu complicated, a few command line options have been added. To use DBRepair when the container / host cannot be identified, --databases allows you to specify the pathname from whichever context (namespace) DBRepair will be running in. ``` --databases Specify the path to the directory which contains the PMS databases. ``` DBRepair contains its own statically-linked SQLite library, so no separate “Plex SQLite” path is needed. When operating with this option, DBRepair will indicate it’s in Manual configuration mode. You may still use other command line commands (batch mode) or use it normally in interactive mode. If DBRepair can perfectly identify the version of your databases, you will have full capabilities If not, DBRepair will look for your PMS-generated databases and use them as additional identification. ## Scripting (command line arguments, aka ‘batch’) support Certain platforms don’t provide for easy command line access. To support those products, this utility can be operated by adding command line arguments. Another use of this feature is to automate Plex Database maintenance ( Stop Plex, Run a sequence, Start Plex ) at a time when the server isn’t busy. If you want simple automatic maintenance, “auto exit” is all that’s needed. The command line arguments are the same as if typing at the menu. Example: ./dbrepair auto exit (or `.\dbrepair.exe auto exit` on Windows) This executes: Stop PMS, Automatic (intelligent check/repair), Start PMS, and Exit commands ## Exiting If no command modified the databases during the session, `exit` closes immediately with nothing to clean up. If a command did modify the databases, you will be asked whether to keep the interim temp files created during this session. If you’ve encountered any difficulties or aren’t sure what to do, don’t delete them. You’ll be able to ask in the Plex forums about what to do. Be prepared to present the log file to them. ## Sample interactive session This is a typical manual session if you aren’t sure what to do and want the tool to decide. ```plaintext $ ./dbrepair Database Repair Utility for Plex Media Server (_host_configuration_name_) Version 26.10.00 Select 1 - 'stop' - Stop PMS. 2 - 'automatic' - Stop, Check, Repair/Optimize, and Resume as needed. 3 - 'check' - Perform integrity check of database and FTS indexes. 4 - 'vacuum' - Remove empty space from database without optimizing. 5 - 'repair' - Repair/Optimize databases. 6 - 'reindex' - Rebuild database indexes. 7 - 'start' - Start PMS 8 - 'import' - Import watch history from another database independent of Plex. (risky). 9 - 'replace' - Replace current databases with newest usable backup copy (interactive). 10 - 'show' - Show logfile. 11 - 'status' - Report status of PMS (run-state and databases). 12 - 'history' - Show command history of this session. 13 - 'revert' - Revert DBs to immediately before history index. 21 - 'prune' - Remove old image files from PhotoTranscoder cache & all temp files left by PMS. 22 - 'expunge' - Remove view history of non-existent Plex accounts 23 - 'deflate' - Deflate a bloated PMS main database. 31 - 'orphans' - Search for and report any orphaned media items. 42 - 'ignore' - Ignore duplicate/constraint errors. 98 - 'quit' - Quit immediately. Keep all temporary files. 99 - 'exit' - Exit with cleanup options. Enter command # -or- command name (4 char min) : auto Stopping PMS. (60 second max delay) Stopped PMS. Checking the PMS databases... Main DB is OK. Blobs DB is OK. Main and Blobs databases are healthy - nothing to do. Starting PMS. Started PMS. ...[Menu Redisplayed]... Enter command # -or- command name (4 char min) : exit $ ``` Note: `exit` only prompts about keeping/discarding temporary work files when a command actually modified the databases during the session. In the example above, nothing needed repair, so it exits immediately with no prompt. ## Logfile The logfile (DBRepair.log) keeps track of all commands issues and their status (PASS/FAIL) with timestamp. This can be useful when recovering from an interrupted session because temporary files are timestamped. ```plaintext 2023-02-25 16.14.39 - ============================================================ 2023-02-25 16.14.39 - Session start: Host is Synology (DSM 7) 2023-02-25 16.14.56 - StopPMS - PASS 2023-02-25 16.16.06 - Check - Check com.plexapp.plugins.library.db - PASS ... 2023-02-25 16.38.58 - Session end. ``` # Command Reference: ### Automatic Automatic provides fully automated processing in one step: it stops PMS if running, checks the databases, repairs/optimizes only if damage is found (reindexing is included as part of Repair), and resumes PMS afterward. If the databases are already healthy, Automatic does nothing further and exits quickly. In its current state, it will not automatically replace a damaged database from a backup (future) ### Check Checks the integrity of the Plex main and blobs databases. Also performs FTS (Full-Text Search) index integrity checks. FTS indexes can become corrupted even when standard integrity checks pass, causing operations like adding items to collections to fail with “database disk image is malformed” errors. If FTS corruption is detected, use ‘reindex’ (option 6) or ‘automatic’ (option 2) to rebuild the FTS indexes. ### Deflate Repairs a known error in the PMS main database “statistics\_bandwidth” table. After repairing it, it purges all the errant data from the table (reducing DB size) This task can take a significant amount of time. It’s frequently used when the DB size is an order of magnitude above what it should be (e.g. 31 GB vs 206 MB). Reductions from 134 GB to 210 MB have been realized. Deflating is an integral part of Auto & Repair functions. (Auto will deflate the databases for you if needed). ### Exit Exits the utility and removes all temporary database files created during processing. To save all intermediate databases, use the ‘Quit’ command. ### Expunge Removes view history and statistics left behind by accounts that no longer exist in Plex (account ID “0”, NULL accounts, or accounts inactive beyond an age threshold). The age threshold defaults to 180 days and can be changed with `--expungeage N` (or the `DBREPAIR_EXPUNGEAGE` environment variable), up to a maximum of 3000 days. When complete, Expunge prints a report listing each removed account (name or account ID) and its last-active date, plus the total number of accounts removed. ### Ignore / Honor Toggle the state (ON/OFF) of the IGNORE flag. When ON, Duplicates and UNIQUE constraint errors will be ignored. Caution is advised as other errors will be ignored during initial processing. In ALL cases, DBRepair will never allow a bad database to be created. ### Import Imports (raw) watch history from another PMS database without ability to check validity ( This can have side effects of “negative watch count” being displayed. Caution is advised. ) ### Orphans Searches for and reports media items (tracks, albums, episodes, etc.) that are orphaned in the database - present but not connected to their parent item. Playback is unaffected, but a normal ‘Scan Files’ won’t fix this. Orphans reports the specific library and item(s) affected so you can decide whether to use Plex’s ‘[Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064)’ procedure or reload the missing media files to resolve it. ### Prune Checks the PhotoTransoder cache directory for JPG, JPEG, and PNG files older than 30 days and removes them. Under normal operation, PMS manages this automatically. Under certain conditions, PMS will fail to prune them (which is run during Scheduled Maintenance) This command allows you to manually remove what PMS would do normally during that Scheduled Maintenance. Prune will give you a report of the number of files removed upon completion. #### Info: Initial pruning might take longer than expected. Execution time, using a Synology DS418 as benchmark, is approximately 100,000 image files per 2 minutes. ### Reindex Reindex does a quick “Reindex” of the existing databases. It’s not needed under normal “auto” or “repair” actions. These indexes are used by PMS for searching (both internally and your typed searches) ### Repair If not already checked, performs an in-depth check and then repairs as needed. Extracts/recovers all the usable data from the existing databases into text (SQL ascii) form. Repair then creates new SQLite-valid databases from the extracted/recovered data. The side effect of this process is a fully defragmented database (optimal for Plex use). 100% validity/usability by Plex is not guaranteed as the tool cannot validate each individual record contained in the database. It can only validate at the SQLite level. In most cases, Repair is the preferred option as the records extracted are only those SQLite deemed valid. ### Replace Looks through the list of available PMS backups. Starting with the most recent PMS backup, 1. Check the both db files 2. If valid, offer as a replacement choice 3. If accepted (Y/N question) then use as the replacement else advance to the next available backup 4. Upon completion, validate one final time. ### Quit Exits the utility but leaves the temporary databases intact (useful for making exhaustive backups) ### Show Shows the activity log. The activity log is date/time stamped of all activity. ### Start On platform environments which support it, and when invoked by the ‘root’ user, the tool can start PMS. If not the ‘root’ user or on a platform which doesn’t support it, “Not available” will be indicated. ### Stop On platform environments which support it, and when invoked by the ‘root’ user, the tool can stop PMS. If not the ‘root’ user or on a platform which doesn’t support it, “Not available” will be indicated. PMS must be in the stopped state in order to operate on the database files. #### Stopping / Starting in Containers (Special Considerations) Stopping/starting PMS in containers depends on the container execution control mechanism Some images are designed with an “Always Running” philosophy and do not allow the tool to stop/ start PMS while under program control. In these image types, the only mechanism, subject to time constraints of any health check, is to type: kill -15 $(pidof ‘Plex Media Server’) at the container command line prior to invoking dbrepair and waiting for PMS to shutdown. After DB tasks are completed, and you’ve exited the container, restart it normally through your normal ‘docker start’ mechanism. If your container (Image) supports start/stop , it will be shown in the menu for you to use. If not, you’ll need to disable health checks before safely running this tool. ### History Shows the command history for this session (what was run, when, and its status), so you can decide what point to ‘Revert’ back to if needed. ### Revert Reverts the databases to their state immediately before a selected point in this session’s History. Choose the point from the ‘History’ listing. ### Status Reports the current status of PMS (running/stopped) and the databases for this session. ### Vacuum Instructs SQLite to remove the empty/deleted records and gaps from the databases. This is most beneficial after deleting whole library sections. For most users, the “automatic” command is the best method. It will regenerate the SQLite indexes as part of the process. ### Sqlite (hidden developer/debugging command) `.sqlite` (must be typed in full - it is not part of the numbered menu and does not appear in `SHOW`) launches a small, self-contained interactive SQLite shell (REPL) built directly into DBRepair, using the exact same statically-linked SQLite/ICU build the rest of the tool uses. It always starts connected to a scratch in-memory database - use `.open` to connect to a real file. Useful for inspecting database state directly - checking FTS index health, row counts, schema, or running ad-hoc SQL - without needing a separate SQLite binary that understands Plex’s ICU collation/tokenizer. Dot-commands available inside the shell: ```plaintext .bail on|off - Stop (nonzero exit) on the first statement error. Off by default. .close - Close the active connection; reports whether the handle actually cleared. .dbinfo - Show page size, page count, encoding, and auto_vacuum mode. .echo on|off - Print each statement's SQL text before its output. Off by default. .exit / .quit - Leave the shell. .ftsinfo - Show row counts for an FTS4 table's shadow tables (_content/_segments/_segdir/_docsize/_stat). .indexes [pattern] - List indexes, optionally filtered by table name pattern. .open [--readonly|--readwrite|--create] - Close the current connection and open . --readwrite and --create behave identically (read-write, create if missing) - matching real sqlite3's own .open default. --readonly restricts to read-only. Also accepts the short forms RO/RW/CREATE. .schema [pattern] - Show CREATE statements, optionally filtered by name pattern. .slots - List the 4-slot connection pool: which slot is active, its path, and open/closed state. .tables [pattern] - List tables/views, optionally filtered by name pattern. ``` Any other input is treated as SQL and executed against the active connection. Example (checking FTS health from the command line without a separate SQLite build): ```plaintext ./dbrepair .sqlite sqlite> .open --readonly /path/to/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db sqlite> .ftsinfo fts4_metadata_titles_icu ``` # Environment Variables DBRepair now supports the use of environment variables to allow customization of some operations. #### WARNING: Use of these variables may adverse impact PMS operation or performance. USE WITH CAUTION. ## DBREPAIR\_CACHEAGE - Specify the maximum age for PhotoTrancoder Cache images to be retained Default DBREPAIR\_CACHEAGE is set at 30 days. You may override this by setting DBREPAIR\_CACHEAGE=N, where N is the number of days worth of cache image you wish to retain. When using interactively, DBRepair will prompt you to confirm OK to remove and show you the cache age Example: export DBREPAIR\_CACHEAGE=20 ```plaintext Enter command # -or- command name (4 char min) : remove Counting how many files are more than 20 days old. OK to prune 4497 files? (Y/N) ? ``` ## DBREPAIR\_PAGESIZE - Allows setting the Plex SQLite ‘page\_size’. Normal Linux (ext4, xfs) filesystems do not need this customization because the filesystem block size = 4096. ZFS users sometimes need to customize their datasets to improve I/O performance (HDDs vs SSDs). This capability allows them to compensate for some of those losses. If present, sets the Plex SQLite ‘page\_size’ for both Main and Blobs databases. If not present, the default page size for the host OS is used (typically 4096 to match the OS page size). When in use, you will see the message: “Setting Plex SQLite page size ($DbPageSize)” This will be shown on the console output and reported in the logfile. ### Constraints: ``` 1. Must be a power of 2, with 1024 (2^10) as the Plex default. (per SQLite 3.12.0 documentation). Any invalid value provided will be rounded up to the next integral value (1024, 2048, 4096 ... 65536) This may or may not be the value you intended. Caution is advised. 2. May not exceed 65536 (per SQLite 3.12.0 documentation). Any value exceeding 65536 will be truncated to 65536. ``` ### Validation If the value of DBREPAIR\_PAGESIZE is not compliant with requirements, a new value will be selected. Typing errors will be rounded up (e.g 65535 vs 65536) to the next multiple of 1024 before validation is performed. If the value is invalid, an error will be printed and recorded in the logfile. The next higher power of two will be selected. If the value is too large, it will be reduced to the SQLite maximum of 65536. ### Management If you attempt to optimize your database but find the resultant performance is not to your liking, you may try another value and run “automatic” again. If you ultimately decide to run with the default values (4096), 1. Remove the environment variable. 2. Run DBRepair again using “automatic”. Your databases will revert to the host OS’s default. # Special considerations - MANUAL CONFIGURATION Manual configuration is enabled by supplying the --databases command line argument. It must precede all other options or commands on the command line. –databases “/path/to/Databases” DBRepair contains its own statically-linked SQLite library, so no separate “Plex SQLite” path needs to be specified. In manual configuration, DBRepair cannot identify which running PMS instance (if any) owns the specified path, so it will not stop/start PMS itself. Stop PMS yourself first; DBRepair will refuse to proceed and tell you to if it detects PMS running. Scripted Example: ./dbrepair --databases “/real/host/directory/…/Databases” auto prune Interactive Example: ./dbrepair --databases /real/host/directory/…/Databases # Special considerations - Synology DSM 7 Using DBRepair on Synology DSM 7 systems with Task Scheduler requires special handling. DSM 7 has additional security (app-armor). Care must be taken to not violate this. One exception must be implemented. Care must be used to implement. ### DSM 7 - Step 1 - Designate a DSM username which will run DBRepair ``` - Creating a to-task username with a complex password is best practice - Create a Scheduled task, user-script: - Runs as root - Emails you the result - Is not scheduled - Is disabled in the Task Scheduler task list Contents of the user-script are: ``` ```bash #!/bin/bash # # This script grants the given syno username (your username) # the ability to elevate to 'root' privilege for use with DBRepair # # Set your desired Syno username here (no spaces in the username) MyUsername="chuck" # Confirm username exists if ["$(id "$MyUsername")" = ""]; then echo ERROR: No such user \'$MyUsername\' exit 1 fi # Remove old record sed -i s/^${MyUsername}.\*$// /etc/sudoers # Add myself to sudoers echo "$MyUsername" 'ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL' >> /etc/sudoers ``` ### DSM 7 - Step 2 - Run DBRepair as the designated username With the security now set, DBRepair can be invoked from Task Scheduler. Download and place the extracted `dbrepair` binary in the desired location (PlexMediaServer shared folder ok) Make certain it’s executable. Create Scheduled Task - User-Script to run DBRepair - Runs as the selected username - Emails you the result - Runs on the schedule you desire (Weekly after PMS scheduled tasks completed is optimal) ```bash #!/bin/bash # Go to the PlexMediaServer shared folder cd /var/packages/PlexMediaServer/shares/PlexMediaServer # Run an intelligent "Stop PMS - Automatic - Start PMS" and exit sequence sudo ./dbrepair auto exit ``` --- _[View the full topic](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dbrepair-development/822684)._