Hi,
PMS really needs to run as any other server software runs, meaning as a service. I use PMS on a mac mini, and it would be so much better if PMS could run without having to log into my personal account in order to start it up. Power outages and other users needing to log in make running PMS a problem sometimes. I’ve read a few posts on this, but it seems PMS doesn’t work properly in this mode. All we need is for PMS to support it, and users can come up with their own implementation.
You can also use nssm.exe
That’s what I use.
Need a Mac OSX solution.
nobody runs “servers” on desktop computers…including macs. Run it on linux/FreeBSD/whatever on a server…or a docker. then you can run it as a service. I believe you’re talking not about “server” software, but more like a daemon or something that just runs in the background…as a SERVICE (not server). Two different things.
I’m running it on a Dell Poweredge R230…with a UPS attached…like a real server. No problems.
@evanrich I get what you’re saying, it’s been a time-honored argument that if you’re looking for a pro server-like experience, run a server grade OS on server grade hardware. It’s fair to say that Plex isn’t marketing itself as a great headless linux media server though. The goal is (increasingly) to provide the easiest end-user setup and config process. I think something like what @leejk is asking for (essentially a daemonized PMS for OSes that support/require it to run without login) isn’t all that unreasonable.
From the end-user perspective, if there was a checkbox for “Auto start at machine boot” (or similar) during initial PMS config, you’d have nearly 100% of average users enabling that. The purpose of Plex Media Server after all is to be running whenever you need media. Be that on a dedicated server like you have, a Mac Mini like @leejk has, an old screenless iMac like I have, or even an Nvidia Shield like other users have. Plex in my opinion is clearly marketed as an over-the-top/add-on service for client OSes, with additional distros available for more traditional server OSes like FreeBSD. I’m not saying it would be easy to support running as a daemon on macOS (or even possible), but I think it’s a request worth making. I’ve been using Plex in some form since 2009 and this would certainly make my server setup much more functional. I can see why it’s not practical to have to login to use the PMS functions if you don’t have immediate access to the machine.
TL;DR - Server hardware is becoming less relevant in the software world where the average user never runs server OSes or hardware. Software seeking to provide always-on functionality should try to find a way to provide exactly that on client OSes (where possible and secure). It’s a challenge, certainly, but then again all software development is.
-Rob
Yes a dameon or service for PMS is the desired request. For a media “server” to be reliable for doing its job, it shouldn’t require any user intervention to start up.
Agree, it would be nice to have PMS support running as a service natively. Personally, I use FireDaemon to work around it on my Windows server, but it would be nice for it to word out of the box.
