Time to update media library

Plex Media Server
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Server Version#: 4.147.1
Player Version#: ??
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>

I have been adding a Music Library for over 3 days now. It has 50,000+ music tracks, around 432GB. Is this length of time normal?

Also when I add more music, does it just scan the newly added tracks?

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Assuming your mean “analyze” (loudness, smart transitions) instead of scan. It will take quite some time to analyze that many tracks. “Loudness analysis allows various features, such as loudness leveling and smart transitions. It can take a long time to complete when analyzing many tracks, and cause high CPU usage.” (From Server Settings/Library)

Analysis typically happens during overnight maintenance window, though you can force it

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One thing to speed things up could be to expand the maintenance window in Settings > [Server Name] > Scheduled Tasks (Time at which tasks start to run / ... stop running) – giving the server more time to work its magic. If the window is too tight, it’ll need so many more nights.

Full fledged sonic analysis for 50,000+ tracks will take some time (and Sonic features should only show once this is complete).

1 Like
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I was adding the Music Library for the first time from a 2TB USB drive. It has now finished after over 80 hours !

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I checked that setting and it was only 02:00-05:00. I was adding the music from a 2TB USB drive for the first time. It was running all the time so nothing to do with the schedule.

How do I add new music to the library? Does the update just look at the new files?

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If you add a library folder to a library, Plex will scan that for media files (organized according to its naming schema). After that initial scan, every new scan will check for updated and newly added files to be cataloged.
Plex will usually look for a file’s “hash” to avoid re-cataloging files you just renamed, unless you also made some other significant updates.

Scanning can be handled in different ways:

  • Manually – by triggering Scan Library Files on the library’s context menu
  • Periodically – scanning for changes in a configurable frequency
    1. Enable Settings > [Server Name] > Library > Scan my library periodically
    2. Specify the frequency Library scan interval (e.g. hourly or daily).
  • Automatically – performing a scan if the server OS informs Plex about changes to the library folder and its content → this will usually work with internal drives; with Windows it should also work on USB connected drives (iirc, not 100% sure about the latter); such change notifications don’t usually work on network drives.
    1. Enable Settings > [Server Name] > [Library] > Scan my library automatically
    2. Optionally enable the Run a partial scan when changes are detected and Include music libraries in automatic updates options

So, as for adding media to the library… just add your files and go for one of the 3 scanning options.

Did Plex pick up your files to start with?
Your original post wasn’t clear if the media isn’t showing at all or if it’s simply still being processed. Once the scan is done, Plex should list your music – the other scheduled activities will only add more features (e.g. listing sonically similar artists / albums / songs, allowing for Plexamp radios).

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It looks like all my music is now in the Plex library. I will add some more this week and run one of the options you have given me - thanks.

Now need to add as a service to my Sonos set up.

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https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/player-apps-platforms/sonos/

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Thanks for the link. Will take a look.