Script to auto update Plex media server version

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Hi,

I was annoyed a while back that I had to update my plex media server manually. I don’t mind that it’s upgraded immediately when it’s out so why do it manually. So I wrote a script to do this for me. See bottom.

What the script does: it compares the current installed version with the latest version. If the latest version is newer, it will download and install it. It will also create a log for it in the ~/Downloads/PlexMediaServerUpdate/ folder. Add the script to crontab to let it execute once a day (or any other frequency)

So the script:
In my home (cd ~), I have the script plexmediaserverupdate.sh.
Replace YOURNAME so it corresponds with your home dir
and replace PLEXTOKENHERE with your plex token ( Finding an authentication token / X-Plex-Token | Plex Support):

#!/bin/bash

MissingDownloadsDir=false
PlexMediaServerUpdateDir=false

#Check environment
if [ ! -d "/home/YOURNAME/Downloads" ]
then
  mkdir "/home/YOURNAME/Downloads"
  MissingDownloadsDir=true
fi
if [ ! -d "/home/YOURNAME/Downloads/PlexMediaServerUpdate" ]
then
  mkdir "/home/YOURNAME/Downloads/PlexMediaServerUpdate"
  PlexMediaServerUpdateDir=true
fi

cd "/home/YOURNAME/Downloads/PlexMediaServerUpdate"

if $MissingDownloadsDir
then
  echo "$(date) - Downloads directory was missing so it was created." >> "$(pwd)/PlexMediaServerUpdate.log"
fi
if $PlexMediaServerUpdateDir
then
  echo "$(date) - PlexMediaServerUpdate directory in Downloads was missing so it was created." >> "$(pwd)/PlexMediaServerUpdate.log"
fi

#Get downloadlocation
DownloadLocation=$(curl -I "https://plex.tv/downloads/latest/5?channel=8&build=linux-x86_64&distro=debian&X-Plex-Token=PLEXTOKENHERE" --stderr - | grep '^Location:' | cut -c 11- | tr -d '\r')

#Get versions
CurrentVersion=$(dpkg -s plexmediaserver | grep '^Version:' | cut -c 10- | sed -r 's/([0-9]{1,}\.[0-9]{1,}\.[0-9]{1,}\.[0-9]{1,})-.+?/\1/g')
DownloadVersion=$(echo ${DownloadLocation} | sed -r 's/http.{1,}([0-9]{1,}\.[0-9]{1,}\.[0-9]{1,}\.[0-9]{1,})-.+?/\1/g')

#Compare versions
if $(dpkg --compare-versions ${CurrentVersion} lt ${DownloadVersion})
then
  echo "Current version (${CurrentVersion}) is older. New version ${DownloadVersion} will be installed."
  Upgrade=true
else
  echo "Current version (${CurrentVersion}) is up to date."
  Upgrade=false
fi

#Upgrade version if newer
if $Upgrade
then
  wget -O "${DownloadVersion}.deb" "${DownloadLocation}"
  sudo dpkg -i "${DownloadVersion}.deb"
  rm "${DownloadVersion}.deb"
  echo "$(date) - Plex Media Server upgraded to version ${DownloadVersion}. Previous version was ${CurrentVersion}." >> "/home/YOURNAME/Downloads/PlexMediaServerUpdate/PlexMediaServerUpdate.log"
else
  echo "Plex needed no update."
fi

Schedule as a recurring task
I then added my script to crontab sudo crontab -e by adding the line:

0 14 * * * /home/diederik/plexmediaserverupdate.sh

After a while your log will say cat ./Downloads/PlexMediaServerUpdate/PlexMediaServerUpdate.log:

Mi 09 Dez 2020 14:00:21 CET - Plex Media Server upgraded to version 1.21.1.3759. Previous version was 1.21.0.3711.
Fr 11 Dez 2020 14:00:22 CET - Plex Media Server upgraded to version 1.21.1.3766. Previous version was 1.21.1.3759.
Mi 16 Dez 2020 14:00:22 CET - Plex Media Server upgraded to version 1.21.1.3795. Previous version was 1.21.1.3766.
Fr 18 Dez 2020 14:00:23 CET - Plex Media Server upgraded to version 1.21.1.3830. Previous version was 1.21.1.3795.
Di 05 Jan 2021 14:00:20 CET - Plex Media Server upgraded to version 1.21.1.3842. Previous version was 1.21.1.3830.
Mi 06 Jan 2021 14:00:20 CET - Plex Media Server upgraded to version 1.21.1.3876. Previous version was 1.21.1.3842.

Let me know if you have improvements on how to do this better!

2

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