I have an SSD as my main drive in Windows. Due to the high cost of SSDs, this drive is only 128 GB. I keep my media collection on a separate 2TB mirror array, and I keep most of my programs on a separate 2TB drive. I noticed that my metadata for Plex is stored in my user's appdata folder and the meta data is a little over 5GB at the moment. I would like to move this to one of my other drives and free up needed space on C. Is it possible to change the location of this metadata?
yes, in the PMS General Settings click "Show Advanced Settings" and  you will see
"The path where local application data is stored"
You can then point it were you want.
Thanks! I had actually done that, but it hadn't refreshed the metadata in the new location. That seems to have done the trick. Thanks again for the reply!
Necrothread force go!
Hit this as well.
- Fresh install.
- Web ui: select new metadata location before any library is added.
- Add movie library.
- Watch scan.
- Text metadata is populated.
- But the cover are is not.
A scan of the pile-o-JPGs in the new metadata location show backdrops and thumbs from the movie, but not the actual movie poster.
yes, in the PMS General Settings click "Show Advanced Settings" and you will see
"The path where local application data is stored"
You can then point it were you want.
Currently using plex on a pogoplug using Arch Linux and am not able to find "The path where local application data is stored" and Im unclear where the BIF data is being stored as I did not install plex to it's own directory in order to use a Symlink. can anyone give me help?
To add to this: I also want to migrate my ~/library/application support/media folder off my root drive in favor of a larger drive (my root SSD is only 128GB), but I'm not seeing the option to change the path in advanced settings on Ubuntu running PMS 9.9.7. My media folder is nearly 65GB, so it's not an ideal location.
I can create a symlink if I need to, but figured it'd be better to use the PMS setting, if it's still available, before trying to use symlinks.
EDIT: Due to the lack of responses, I went ahead and shut down my PMS service, migrated the folder to another drive, and symlinked it to the original ~/library/application support/media location. It's working perfectly, so while I would have loved to see the option to set the directory in PMS (or at least find out *why* it was removed), everything is dandy.
The easiest will be modifying the /etc/default/plexmediaserver file and specifying the location.
Stop Plex
First thing you will need to do is to stop Plex Media Server
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">etc</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">init</span><span style="color:#008080;">.d</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:#008080;">plexmediaserver </span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">stop</span></div>
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Make sure all Plex services are killed
Next run this command to make sure all Plex services are killed and no longer running
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">killall</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">-</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">u</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">plex</span></div>
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Copy Metadata and Index Data to new location
Now copy all of the current meta and index data to the new location, this may take a while depending on the size. This is assuming that Plex data is stored at â/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Supportâ which is the default for Debian based Plex Media Server installs. This command below should copy the Application Support directory to the /new/dir/to/plex, ultimately making it â/new/dir/to/plex/Application Supportâ
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">cp</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">-</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">rf</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support'</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">new</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">dir</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">to</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">plex</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span></div>
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Move old directory to .OLD in case of issues
Now we will move the old directory to .OLD in case we need to restore it if there are any issues
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">mv</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support'</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support.OLD'</span></div>
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Create symbolic link to new directory
Next we will create a symbolic link to the new location for our meta and index data
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">ln</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">-</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">s</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/new/dir/to/plex/Application Support'</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support'</span></div>
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Change owner of new location to Plex
We now have to update the permissions and change the owner to Plex otherwise there will be issues
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">chown</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">-</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">R</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">plex</span><span style="color:#008080;">.plex</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support'</span></div>
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Start Plex Media Server
Next we will start Plex Media Server to make sure everything worked correctly. After issuing the command below, login to Plex via http://ipofserver:32400/manage and make sure everything is still the same and working correctly.
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">etc</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">init</span><span style="color:#008080;">.d</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">/</span><span style="color:#008080;">plexmediaserver </span><span style="color:rgb(0,45,122);">start</span></div>
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Remove old Meta and Index Data files
As long as everything works correctly, you can now remove the old directory we renamed in case of any issues.
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<div style="color:rgb(99,100,103);margin:0px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,0,0);">rm</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);">-</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">rf</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,224);"> </span><span style="color:rgb(221,17,68);">'/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support.OLD'</span></div>
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Voila, you have now moved your Meta and Index data to a new location, profit!
https://smyl.es/how-to-move-plex-metadata-and-index-data-to-new-driver-andor-directory-location/
robot2xl, can you help explain why you need the symlink? If youâve edited the /etc/default/plexmediaserver file, shouldnât any references be directed towards the new location?
I tried without the symlink and it of course failed, so I see why you included it. I was just wondering if you knew the specifics of how this worked, so that we can better understand what plex is doing.
This method doesnât work for me on Fedora 23. The âPlexMediaServerâ config file is located at /etc/sysconfig, but changing the PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR value there did not seem to matter at all. It appears to be kept by the software in some other location. I can find no such item in the Settings of the web application.
Can someone shed some light on this? I would really like to move my metadata onto my NAS server.
Thanks,
Dave
If you ask here: https://forums.plex.tv/categories/linux
you will more likely find someone with Linux experience.
@convas said:
yes, in the PMS General Settings click âShow Advanced Settingsâ and you will seeâThe path where local application data is storedâ
You can then point it were you want.
Is that setting still there ? I couldnt find it. My metadata are ~ 22GB and my space on / still 6gb left 
@Boecki_83 said:
Is that setting still there ? I couldnt find it. My metadata are ~ 22GB and my space on / still 6gb left
Yes, it is still there.
Unless your server is not running on Windows.
Under Linux you need to use a Symlink. For further instructions on this, please ask in the https://forums.plex.tv/categories/linux forum.
Hello All - Needing to move the metadata off my local boot drive to create space - is this still the current method to use or is there a new easier method via a tool/GUI that can me used in moving the Plex Application Support metadata from one drive to another? Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Vin.
@VinBob said:
Hello All - Needing to move the metadata off my local boot drive to create space - is this still the current method to use or is there a new easier method via a tool/GUI that can me used in moving the Plex Application Support metadata from one drive to another? Thanks in advance!
You might have better luck in the Mac server forum, I think.
https://forums.plex.tv/categories/mac
Regarding some of the earlier posts, the symlink is needed due to environment variable is hard coded in this file on debian/ubuntu, /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/plexmediaserver.service.
Not sure why they have a variable set but arenât using it for startup. You could always change the service file but then a potential exists for an update squashing that.
I also donât know of another method. Iâm currently setting the variable in /etc/default/plexmediaserver and creating the sym link from /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support to the new desired location.
Robert
1 Like
Just to add to this, Iâve just got this working moving the directory on my Raspberry PI 3 from the sdcard to my USB drive (NTFS). Quite important as it had used 6GB of my 16GB card and filled it up! Iâm using Plex v2.13.0. Just to help anyone doing anything similarâŠ
- I started with just the symlink, but ended up having to change /etc/default/plexmediaserver as well. This might make the symlink unnecessary but Iâm not sure.
- There doesnât seem to be a /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/plexmediaserver.service on Raspian - Plex seems to using init.d, not systemd.
- I also changed the Transcoder temp directory (in Server Advanced Settings) to point back to a directory on sdcard (not within the symlinked directory!). This is probably unnecessary but might speed up transcoding. The Pi 3 isnât great at transcoding at the best of times so I thought it wouldnât hurt.
- You must mount the NTFS drive using the âexecâ option or else the Transcoder will fail (with error message âconversion failed. transcoder crashed or failed to start up. its exit code was 1â in the Log). This is because the codecs are within the Application Support directory and these need to be executable. I also added the âusersâ and âpermissionsâ options which I think were needed to allow me to chown the files to âplex:nogroupâ. The mount point is chownâed to âpi:piâ. My full entry in /etc/fstab is as follows:
UUID=385A0D5A5A0D1672 /media/pi/Seagate ntfs-3g defaults,nosuid,users,permissions,exec,nodev,locale=en_GB.UTF-8 0 0
(that should be all on one line)
On openSuse Tumbleweed I just moved the âMetadataâ, âMediaâ and âCacheâ folders to the new location and Symlinked them. No need to change anything else.
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