what does it take to get the library updated after copying new tv show to the library? I copy some new shows. Then tell it to scan the library and the new shows don’t show up.
Please describe your setup. Linux? Windows? Pc? NAS?
How do you have the show named?
The regular command is “Scan Library Files”.
If that doesn’t add the newly added files, check in this order:
- on Linux-based platforms: access permissions of the newly added folders and files. Plex media server is running under its own user account, so that account has to have at least “read” permission.
- are the newly added files actually valid video files? Files in archive containers (rar, zip, etc.) are not recognized. Files with 0 Byte size are ignored as well.
- folder structure and file names. https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/your-media/naming-and-organizing-tv-shows/
Keep in mind that you don’t add individual shows to the Plex library, but point Plex only to the overall folder which has all shows stored in it.
I have a PC that records OTA tv programs. They are stored in a folder called recordings. The next day I move all folders from recordings to a NAS to a folder called TV Shows. I watch the TV shows on a LG TV.
Plex typically does handle that type of scenario pretty reliably so might need more specifics to track down why it’s not working for you.
Occasionally Plex might get bugged out and restarting Plex Server can help - worth a try if you haven’t already. It’s uncommon but it’s happened to me.
Do you have any of the autoscan options enabled or are you doing scans purely manually?
Do you have any other libraries or sources (besides OTA) that are working okay? What I mean is are other files being identified and it’s just the OTA sourced files that are having a problem?
How are your shows\folders named and structured? How is the library setup in Plex? You mentioned that you moved folders from one location to the TV Shows library but don’t detail what those folders and files are named or organized and those names\organizations are usually the main key to scans picking up those new files.
Might be helpful to add server logs grabbed shortly after you’ve added a few new files. That’ll help find any scanning errors.
Which version of the Plex server app? The Plex Public release is way behind on fixes as they focus on the new transcoder and fixes are only going into the new transcoder version which is severely delayed because of the new transcoder work. I’ve been using the beta for a bit - to get those fixes - and it’s been fine so you might give that a try.
Those details will help others pin down why you’re having this specific issue.
I found the scan automatically when changes to the library. So I set it and will wait to see if that works.
You will probably wanna go ahead and share those details I recommended to help troubleshoot because manual scan is more reliable than the autoscan and you already said the manual scan didn’t work so my assumption is that it won’t fix the problem.
The manual scan finally worked last night. Not sure why it failed the first or second time.
This morning I move last nights recorded tv shows. They showed up on the plex library. So the automatic option seems to have worked.
