How to transfer Plex library from Windows to Linux?

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
7

@chuckconway said:
Moving Plex Media Server between Windows and Linux is possible.

I looked closer at the files in the Plex Media Server folder. Some the folders had OS specific files in them. I deleted those folders. I also deleted all the Cache folders. This left seven folders: Media, Metadata, Plug-in Support, Plugins, Scanners, Site Configurations, Thumbnails. Four folders contained data: Media, Metadata, Plug-in Support, and Plugins. In my research, these four folders contain the data and the media images for the library. The other three folders where empty.

It’s 2018 now… I just migrated from a Windows 10 Plex to a QNAP Plex using these instructions. However, these are the steps I used.

  1. Install Plex on QNAP (Linux)
  2. Configure Plex via the web interface. At this point you’ll have an empty library.
  3. Shutdown plex service on both machines (I stopped it in the QNAP processes window)
  4. Copy the Media, Metadata, Plug-in Support, and Plugins folders from Windows to QNAP
  5. Start Plex service on QNAP (Linux)
  6. Add the new Library paths to the respective categories. This will trigger a rescan of the files
  7. After completed scans of each category, edit the libraries and remove the old paths
  8. Follow the “Final Maintenance” instructions here
    https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/

I only had the (4) folders to move and I have a large library. Media, Metadata, Plug-in Support, and Plugins.

I originally zipped these (4) on the window machine and moved to the qnap and tried to unzip, but something failed in the unzipping process… so I just had to copy the (4) folders to the QNAP’s Plex folder. Use these instructions along with the link below and you should be golden!

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/

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