Plexamp 4.13.1 opens blank in Linux, no logs

Plex Labs
1

Server Version#: latest stable always
Player Version#: various

I’ve been using AppImages to run plexamp on linux mint clients on my LAN, currently 4.12.4. It is reasonably well behaved .

Today I downloaded plexamp 4.13.1 appimages to two PCs. On both when started it opens and stays on a blank window or form. No logs are created in the expected usual place (./cache/plexamp…)

Any clues as to what might be happening?

UPDATE: I thought I had it fixed, but not really. Running the appimage on LMDE7, which is wayland AFAIK, initally it’s back to the blank window and no log. Starting it from the shell I get

./Plexamp-4.13.1.AppImage
Main: restoring window state from /home/pierre/.config/Plexamp/window-state-plexamp-main.json
Linux: Registering MPRIS service.
Checking for update
Update for version 4.13.1 is not available (latest version: 4.13.1, downgrade is disallowed).
checkForUpdatesAndNotify called, downloadPromise is null

After a couple of minutes the plexamp starts to render on a white background and a timer cursor.

PS: 4.12.4 continues to work OK

2

Same here. I’m running the AppImage on my chromebook. 4.12.4 worked fine, but I just get a blank UI when I load it up.

My hunch would be something to do with wayland, but using GDK_BACKEND=x11 didn’t make a difference.

Here’s what I see when I start it from the terminal:

```
davidlumm@penguin:~/Applications$ ./Plexamp-4.13.1.AppImage
[29322:0417/093522.394865:ERROR:ui/ozone/platform/wayland/common/drm_render_node_path_finder.cc:45] drmGetDevices2() has not found any devices: No such file or directory (2)
[29322:0417/093522.908290:ERROR:ui/ozone/platform/wayland/host/wayland_zwp_linux_dmabuf.cc:306] drmGetDeviceFromDevId() returned an error: No such file or directory (2)
[29383:0417/093523.240808:ERROR:ui/ozone/platform/wayland/common/drm_render_node_path_finder.cc:45] drmGetDevices2() has not found any devices: No such file or directory (2)
Main: restoring window state from /home/davidlumm/.config/Plexamp/window-state-plexamp-main.json
Linux: Registering MPRIS service.
Checking for update
Update for version 4.13.1 is not available (latest version: 4.13.1, downgrade is disallowed).
checkForUpdatesAndNotify called, downloadPromise is null
```

3

I don’t use mint or chromeos (I’m on fedora) however have you tried installing the flatpak version ? I have mint on a VM and it worked okay. It was confirmed here Plexamp Appimage Lost Icon(s) - #2 by aubrey.wodonga that the recommendation from plex development is to not use the AppImage and to use flatpak instead.

4

I find flatpak more trouble than a fix. Every ten seconds it wants authorization for something. PITA

UPDATE: Just tested that. Same result. Empty window. But my opinion on flatpak remains.

5

That’s what I suspect also. I’m about to install LMDE (Mint Debian) into a partition for amusement purposes. I’ll report back.

6

Correct. The image runs fine and as expected on LinuxMint Debian 7 (LMDE7).

Let that be my motivator to make the move.

Cheers

7

(There was a major upgrade to Electron, which supposedly helped some things, but apparently broke others; sadly kind of par for the course with desktop Linux :frowning:)

8

4.13.2 unfortunately didn’t fix it. After a bit of debugging with my mate ChatGPT I’ve tried a variety of different flags etc to resolve this issue, but there appears to be some stuff hardcoded in the later version of electron that isn’t present in the older versions. Such is life, as you say.

For now I’ve prevented auto-update by locking the intermediate folder: chmod -R -w ~/.cache/plexamp-updater/ and downgraded to 4.12.4. I’ll try again in a while when ChromeOS has had some updates and hopefully electron has too :crossed_fingers:

9

Since migrating to Debian, and a bit of house cleaning, everything now seems well behaved for me. I’m now on plexamp 4.13.2.

Apologies if this seems a “it works for me” reply. It’s not.

Maybe a process of elimination would be to boot off a live USB and run the latest plexamp from there?

10

Another option for Linux desktop users who’d like to run Plexamp is the headless version. (Ignore that it says it’s for Raspberry Pi; it supports x86-64 as well.)

You can control it via your mobile device if you use Plexamp there, or you can use its embedded web app (http://ip.addr.of.host:32500).

11

This “headless” concept eludes me. Completely.

I’ve installed on my server hosting pms, have it running under systemd, which in turn says “running”. But how in the world to I access it and control it. The advice is got to http://host:32500 - which times out very nicely.

12

Did you claim it yet? For the first run, you should run it directly from the command line using something like:
node /path/to/plexamp/js/index.js

It should direct you to visit https://plex.tv/claim to obtain a claim code and enter. After doing so, you should see a message that Plexamp is signed in and ready, after which it will exit. You can then run it again from the command line or via a systemd service.

This describes the process, but it may be a tad out-of-date (it may not be):
https://forums.plex.tv/t/plexamp-on-the-raspberry-pi/791500

I just set up a new Plexamp headless install a Pop OS VM and it worked as expected.

Note that Plexamp headless requires node.js version 20.x.x (not later). You can find standalone binaries for that version here:
https://nodejs.org/dist/v20.20.2/node-v20.20.2-linux-x64.tar.xz

13

Thanks, but I gave up. Too much obfuscation too much time wasted on too little rward