Headless installation no permissions to configure

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: plexmediaserver_1.41.6.9685-d301f511a_amd64
Player Version#: n/a

This is my first attempt on PLEX and I have a lot of struggle to understand, how it is to be configured
I have installed the latest version on a headless ubuntu server.
If I open the web frontend on a remote Windows machine I can log in using my new Plex account, but it prompts:
#########
Not authorized

You do not have access to this server.

You may be able to claim it by choosing “Open Plex…” from the Plex menu in the macOS menu bar or Windows system tray
###############
I tried to read the help pages, but they always point to a “local app”, which is not in place on a headless system.
The “Preferences.xml” also does not contain any of the information they ask to remove on their pages.
What do I miss in here?

2

Try the User Credential Reset Utility: GitHub - ChuckPa/UserCredentialReset: User Credential Reset utility for Plex

3

Hi all,
Hi @FordGuy61,
Thanks for the suggestion.
I found the solution: Plex server is required a localhost call to open the administrative interface.
I tried to find that hint in the manuals, but they are not clearly bringing up this point.
Indeed the forum engine in here pointed me to a thread AFTER I posted this one, saying exactly that.
In my case I had to open a SSH connection with a tunnel pointing to the plex instance on the remote server.
That enabled the browser on my Windows machine to do the needed configuration.
I wish this basic step would be written more clearly in the docs.

EDIT: Let me add the SSH line (abstracted):
ssh -L 127.0.0.1:32400:127.0.0.1:32400 [username]@[PlexServer]

In your browser open next -make sure, no proxy is enabled for localhost calls:
http://127.0.0.1:32400/web

This should open the Plex page as usual and enable the admin features.

4

The other way is to make an env var called PLEX_CLAIM and set the value to a claim code from Plex.tv/claim, restart your Plex service. It will authorize the server and then you can access via app.plex.tv

5

The User Credential Reset tool alleviates the need for an SSH tunnel. You still need terminal access, and root is also required.

Plex Documentation → Plex Media Server → Installation

You have to read to then end of the article, but it is mentioned in the Installation document, in the Opening the Plex Web App on a Device Other than the Server Itself section.

On a Different Network

If you’re on a different network than the server computer (or the entire “local network” is not in the private network IP ranges), you’ll first need to set up a SSH tunnel so that you can access things as if they were local.

6

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