Yes, EVENTUALLY plugins will stop in all clients as the clients slowly update and get rewritten. The responses above are not wrong,
These statement are not quite correct. The more correct statement is that the plugin area will not be added for new clients. To the user it may appear that it was removed, but that’s not really the case.
This is really just semantics. The point is that sooner or later (in the case of roku, sooner) manual plugins will not be available in the client apps. You seem to really want to avoid saying that.
Edit: I guess you say it in this post. I don’t think you were being clear/entirely up front previously though.
Sorry, I thought I was clear. Plugins may not be available in clients in the future due to the clients being replaced by newer rewrites, like the Roku. Current iterations of clients that do have plugin support will not actively have that support removed. When a client may go through a rewrite is unknown so we can’t say when/if specific clients will lose support.
Got it.
Now all that needs to be done, is leave available legacy clients that still support plugins, until such time that plugins are completely removed from the server.
ExportTools can be rewritten into a stand alone app or into a WebApp, if the developer want’s to do that.
He’s however not sure yet about what to do, if anything at all 
Dearest Export Tools developer…
How I love thee…
Let me count the ways…
If any Roku devs out here in the Plex forum world could make time, please convert Rarflix old Roku SDK API into just enough new SDK to make plug-ins work until Plex removes plug-ins from the server entirely.
The Roku Beta being re-written for the new SDK will not get Plug-ins, and Roku stops supporting the old SDK internal to Rarflix Jan 2019.
(I just realized, most of my shared users over the past month seem to be Roku users. I’m less than half of the Roku bar)
(Graph compliments www.tautulli.com)
Do not think this will happen. The only roku dev was hired by plex for the official, and after that I have not seen one person even attempt to do a custom channel. He was it. Roku is just that much harder to program for than say android and to best honest ios and Android have most all the programmers nowadays. If you look at how long it is taking them to rewrite the plex app just imagine anyone else doing it. Pretty much give up on plugins. 
This is heartbreaking. 2% of active Plex users can’t be correct. I just went to see if there was a Twitch.tv plugin and realized they killed it all. I use plugins almost daily.
It depends on the methodology. They didn’t say what they exactly counted. Without knowing the numerator and the denominator it’s hard to interpret the result.
For instance, I manage a server, and that server is accessed by about 10 users. Each user on average uses it on about 3 devices.
No one in my group uses plugins on their clients because the plugins used are trakt.tv, webtools and subzero, all server plugins.
So if you were to count the number of servers, the percentage would be 100%, 1 out of 1.
If you go by the number of users, it would be 1 out of 10, or 10% because only my server uses plugins.
If you count the number of devices using plugins, it would be 1 out of 30, or about 3.3%, only my server.
In reality, all of the users and devices in my network benefit from the plugins (because they are used for server maintenance). But the user and device number plex collects would not reflect that.
So yeah, not sure what plex counted when they came up with the 2% number
Indeed.
Much like the number of users that, if a media server host decides to leave the Plex environment, would no longer be counted at all because those users only use Plex due to the host’s use of Plex.
I too of course don’t know other than my own personal server group, but know no less than 17 of my 20 shared users will no longer use Plex, free or otherwise, as they will/may ‘follow me’ so they can continue viewing the shared personal photos and home movies, in addition to the bonus ‘commercial’ media I share with them, through the next product I may use.
I see in a few other threads several are already “switching”, and I’m curious of the extent.
Removing plugins makes plex a less viable choice for a lot of their loyal customers. I use multiple plugins to make my Plex experience something I enjoy. If they are no Longer supported I will not be updating and be jumping ship.
In my case I’m taking 8 people with me.
They were simply Plex end-users because of me and are now Emby end-users because of me.
Interestingly, I first dabbled with Emby around 18 months ago and soon came running back.
At that time I had 5 users and even back then when Plex wasn’t on a downward spiral (my personal opinion) 4 of those users were really disappointed when I said “we” were going back to Plex.
Now though, there is no turning back. Emby has faults and Plex has faults. But only one of the two have devs who listen to opinion and seem determined to improve their product, rather than at best let their product stagnate and at worst destroy it.
Well I guess I won’t be paying for your service anymore. Time to switch to a plex alternative. Lets be honest, I used plugins exclusively to expand my media library infinitely. Take that away and I might as well pay for a real service. lol
Add me to the disappointed list.
At this time about all i use plex for anymore is a few plugins (because most of the plugin don’t work anymore), i have just about switched over to KODI completely.
Because i never bought a Plex Pass so no Live TV support or Kodi support. Even though i like the GUI of plex better for my TV shows and Movies, i am still running the old version clients 3.13 just before you change the layout as i never liked the new layout.
With WMC and ServerWMC and KODI clients and a remote i find i have a very good media center with ZERO monthly cost.
This has ended up about the same as SD HDHR DVR software. I just about singed up for that when it first started and many years later it still does not do what they said it would DRM support for Cable cards.
I never singed up for Plex Pass as my setup would not really gain anything by doing so.
So in both cases i would have laid out money for either lifetime or monthly FEEs and not using anymore as feature are dropped.
Rainey
WHERE ARE MY PLUG-INS? Looks like goodbye PLEX…
Plugins going, problems with Android client, and live tv/pvr broken with my enigma2 receiver means I too will be looking at a different solution.
Two of my friends have already given up on Plex, I don’t want to, I bought a lifetime pass, but I need a product that does what it did when I bought into it, not the US centric news feed and Tidal version I see now.
Best option for now is don’t update Plex on iPhone or iOS, plugin is still available. Use Chromecast option from there
I just discovered that my plugins aren’t working on the new UI! I used that feature! The fact that I could still access my fav channels was why I cut the cord! Please reconsider your decision to drop this feature!
The clients follow the server platform. If an admin switches platforms then so to do the users. 
I know of NO USERS who have kept on using Plex clients for News, Podcasts or Web Shows. These just aren’t compelling at all to justify still using those services when the admin removes the server that you use.
I don’t really count “users” per say as I’d have no clue what that total would be. I know I’m responsible for nearly 50 servers (and growing) switching from Plex to Emby however and I know all those “users” moved as well.
There is not one reason for switching other than saying it seems Plex is “moving in the wrong direction from my/our needs”. Media servers is about OUR CONTENT AND CONTROL and not somebody else’s idea of the content. When the UI changes and I can’t represent my/our libraries the way we want them to look it’s a problem.
When we have options like web shows, news, podcasts, tidal show up and we can’t globally turn it off since this has ZERO to do with out content that’s a problem.
When my media server can’t share network tuners with other apps properly or easily allow mixing of both cable and antenna sources (and not support IPTV) that’s a problem.
When features being used like music+, Cloud servers, cloud sync or plugin/channels is being removed that’s a problem.
When after a couple of years the clients still don’t have a good EPG/guide and allow all users setup on the system to use these features it’s a problem.
When the system stops working because of a network router issue or Plex having a downed server that’s a problem especially when inhouse and a client in the next room from the server on the same FAST network can’t play back media, that’s a MAJOR PROBLEM.
When dev resources are spent on things that don’t matter to “core” functionality (VR, PlexAmp, News, Podcasts, Web Shows, Tidal, etc) and “core” features have bugs that go months/years without fixing that’s a problem.
When basic feature like playback on a local network have message thrown up even direct playing that the network is to slow, that’s a problem.
When mobile syncing doesn’t work reliably or rarely, need I say it? That’s a problem.
I could go on and on for a while with similar things but I think I made the point I’m after. It’s not ONE THING in particular that’s driving people away. It’s many “little” things together that add up to a BIG PROBLEM. Plex is no longer about “my media” or “my way” or presenting my media.
Plex is slowing taking over how my media looks and works. What content is available (regardless if I want it or not) and how it’s presented and I’ve lost control over it to a great extent. The only way for me to take back control is to use different software that puts me back in control.
All of this makes me very sad! Plex was an EXTRAORDINARY set of software in it’s day and I’ve invested thousands of hours in it. It’s really hard to let go because it has so much potential but this potential is being squandered. For me, each new release just seems to grow in a direction I’m not wanting to follow.
I think a lot of people in the forum feel this way as well. We all hang on, but deep down, know the fun ride is gone as Plex will never be that EXTRAORDINARY set of software ever again.
Plex has brought me a lot of joy in the past, but mostly heart ache these days with each new release. 
