Unable to add new directories

[devon_s1]

Server Version#: v1.42.2.10156-f737b826c - Ubuntu
Player Version#: 1.110.0.351-4e48eb83 - Windows
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>

Hi,

Yesterday, my PLEX server began giving me an error whenever I try to add a new directory that “Your changes could not be saved.”

After some reading, I thought this might be due to database corruption, and I went in and changed to backup versions of com.plexapp.plugins.library.blobs.db and com.plexapp.plugins.library.db. Weirdly, this fixed the issue for me to add one directory, and then I began getting the same error again. I tried using other backups and the server would no longer load.

I pasted below the server log output after I tried to add the directory for Season 2 of Andor. If anybody has any advice, I would really appreciate it. I’m happy to give more information if needed. Thank you!!

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Nov 19, 2025 16:23:58.487 [124933313461048] DEBUG - [Req#1e8] DirectoryBrowser: Decoded [L21udC9NSVJBQ0gvVGVsZXZpc2lvbi9BLUcvQW5kb3I=] to [/mnt/MIRACH/Television/A-G/Andor]

Nov 19, 2025 16:23:58.489 [124933345835832] INFO - Completed: [136.226.53.87:24053] 200 GET /services/browse/L21udC9NSVJBQ0gvVGVsZXZpc2lvbi9BLUcvQW5kb3I=?includeFiles=1 (8 live) #1e8 TLS GZIP 2ms 508 bytes (pipelined: 8)
Nov 19, 2025 16:23:59.796 [124933313461048] INFO - Request: [136.226.53.87:24053 (WAN)] GET /services/browse/L21udC9NSVJBQ0gvVGVsZXZpc2lvbi9BLUcvQW5kb3IvU2Vhc29uIDAy?includeFiles=1 (8 live) #1e9 TLS GZIP Signed-in Token (devon.s1)

Nov 19, 2025 16:23:59.796 [124933313461048] DEBUG - [Req#1e9] DirectoryBrowser: Decoded [L21udC9NSVJBQ0gvVGVsZXZpc2lvbi9BLUcvQW5kb3IvU2Vhc29uIDAy] to [/mnt/MIRACH/Television/A-G/Andor/Season 02]

Nov 19, 2025 16:23:59.798 [124933345835832] INFO - Completed: [136.226.53.87:24053] 200 GET /services/browse/L21udC9NSVJBQ0gvVGVsZXZpc2lvbi9BLUcvQW5kb3IvU2Vhc29uIDAy?includeFiles=1 (8 live) #1e9 TLS GZIP 2ms 350 bytes (pipelined: 9)

Nov 19, 2025 16:24:02.241 [124933343726392] DEBUG - Request URI too large; currently at 32818

[ChuckPa]

How are you trying to add media?

Are you adding one media folder at a time? (this will cause the error you show)

-or-

Do you have your media grouped (e.g /nas/media/movies)
and then add /nas/media/movies ?

Plex wants your media physically grouped by type
(Movies grouped by parent directory/ies)

We can have multiple media directories which we add to PMS.
( I have movies, movies2, animated, requested, and uhd )

We only add the parent directory which contains the media

Here is my ‘movies’ directory with it’s content

[chuck@lizum ~.1996]$ cd /vol/media/movies
[chuck@lizum movies.1997]$ find . -maxdepth 1 -type d -print | sort
.
./13 Minutes (2021) [1080p]
./2001 The Making of a Myth (2001) [480p]
./About Time (2013) [1080p]
./Above the Law (1988) [1080p]
./A Family Affair (2024) [1080p]
./After the Dark (2013) [1080p]
./Aliens (1986) [1080p]
./Amistad (1997) [1080p]
./Angels in the Outfield (1994) [1080p]
./Archive (2020) [1080p]
./Assassins (2021) [1080p]
./Atlas Shrugged II The Strike (2012)
./Atlas Shrugged Part I (2011) [1080p]
./Atlas Shrugged Part III Who is John Galt (2014)
./AVP Alien vs. Predator (2004) [1080p]
./Back to School (1986) [1080p]
./Basic (2003) [1080p]
./Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome (2012) [1080p]
./Before I Go to Sleep (2014) [1080p]
./Behind Enemy Lines II Axis of Evil (2006) [1080p]
./BlackBerry (2023) [1080p]
./Blade II (2002) [1080p]
./Blade Trinity (2004) [1080p]
./Burnt (2015) [1080p]
./Cannonball Run II (1984) [1080p]
./Casper (1995) [1080p]
./Charlie's Angels (2019) [1080p]
./Clash of the Titans (2010) [1080p]
./Click (2006) [1080p]
./Cloud Atlas (2012) [1080p]
./Colossal (2017) [1080p]
./Contagion (2011) [1080p]
./Cowboys & Aliens (2011) [1080p]
./Darkest Hour (2017) [1080p]
./Demolition (2016) [1080p]
./Denial (2016) [1080p]
./Dirty Harry (1971) [1080p]
./Dracula Untold (2014) [1080p]
./Edward Scissorhands (1990) [1080p]
./Elysium (2013) [1080p]
./Enough Said (2013) [1080p]
./Erin Brockovich (2000) [1080p]
./Escape Plan (2013) [1080p]
./Fantastic Four (2015) [1080p]
./Fatale (2020) [1080p]
./Final Destination (2000) [1080p]
./Final Destination 2 (2003) [1080p]
./Final Destination 3 (2006) [1080p]
./Final Destination 5 (2011) [1080p]
./First Knight (1995) [1080p]
./Flight of the Intruder (1991) [1080p]
./Friday (1995) [1080p]
./Friday After Next (2002) [1080p]
./Funny Farm (1988) [1080p]
./Geostorm (2017) [1080p]
./Ghostbusters (2016) [1080p]
./Gifted (2017) [1080p]
./Going in Style (2017) [1080p]
./Good Kill (2015) [1080p]
./Gravity (2013) [1080p]
./Great Expectations (1946) [1080p]
./Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023) [1080p]
./Hereafter (2010) [1080p]
./Higher Power (2018) [1080p]
./Hit Man (2024) [1080p]
./Hugo (2011) [1080p]
./I Am Number Four (2011) [1080p]
./Ice Castles (2010) [1080p]
./Immortals (2011) [1080p]
./Inception (2010) [1080p]
./Insidious Chapter 3 (2015) [1080p]
./In Time (2011) [1080p]
./Ithaca (2015) [1080p]
./Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit (2014) [1080p]
./Jeff Dunham All Over the Map (2014) [1080p]
./Jeff Dunham Beside Himself (2019) [1080p]
./Jeff Dunham Birth of a Dummy (2011) [360p]
./Jeff Dunham Controlled Chaos (2011) [720p]
./Jeff Dunham Minding the Monsters (2012) [480p]
./Jeff Dunham Spark of Insanity (2007) [1080p]
./Jeff Dunham Unhinged in Hollywood (2015) [1080p]
./JFK The Smoking Gun (2013) [720p]
./Joe Bell (2021) [1080p]
./John Carter (2012) [1080p]
./Judge Dredd (1995) [1080p]
./Just Getting Started (2017) [1080p]
./Killing Kennedy (2013) [1080p]
./Killing Lincoln (2013) [720p]
./King Arthur Legend of the Sword (2017) [1080p]
./K-PAX (2001) [1080p]
./Ladyhawke (1985) [1080p]
./Lancaster (2022) [1080p]
./Last Knights (2015) [1080p]
./Life of Brian (1979) [1080p]
./Life of the Party (2018) [1080p]
./Life on the Line (2015) [1080p]
./Limitless (2011) [1080p]
./Lincoln (2012) [1080p]
./Live Free or Die Hard (2007) [1080p]
./Logan (2017) [1080p]
./Lone Survivor (2013) [1080p]
./Macbeth (2015) [1080p]
./Man of Steel (2013) [1080p]
./Man of the Year (2006) [1080p]
./Mark Felt The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017) [1080p]
./Masquerade (2021) [1080p]
./Max Steel (2016) [1080p]
./Maze Runner The Death Cure (2018) [1080p]
./Maze Runner The Scorch Trials (2015) [1080p]
./Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) [1080p]
./Moonfall (2022) [2160p]
./Movie 43 (2013) [1080p]
./Muppet Guys Talking (2017)
./Muppets Most Wanted (2014) [1080p]
./Murder by Death (1976) [1080p]
./Murder on the Orient Express (2017) [1080p]
./Never Let Go (2024) [1080p]
./Next (2007) [1080p]
./Night at the Museum Secret of the Tomb (2014) [1080p]
./Nine to Five (1980) [1080p]
./Noah (2014) [1080p]
./Non-Stop (2014) [1080p]
./Now You See Me (2013) [1080p]
./Now You See Me 2 (2016) [1080p]
./Oblivion (2013) [1080p]
./Old (2021) [1080p]
./Operation Avalanche (2016) [1080p]
./Oppenheimer (2023) [1080p]
./Pacific Rim (2013) [1080p]
./Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) [1080p]
./Palm Springs (2020) [1080p]
./Parker (2013) [1080p]
./Parkland (2013) [1080p]
./Partly Cloudy (2013) [1080p]
./Peaceful Warrior (2006) [1080p]
./Peppermint (2018) [1080p]
./Pete's Dragon (2016) [1080p]
./Philomena (2013) [1080p]
./Pilgrimage (2017) [1080p]
./Poker Face (2022) [1080p]
./Predestination (2014) [1080p]
./Project Almanac (2015) [1080p]
./Queen of the Damned (2002) [1080p]
./Rampage (2018) [1080p]
./Red Dawn (2012) [1080p]
./Red Planet (2000)
./Remember Me (2010) [1080p]
./Reminiscence (2021) [2160p]
./Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) [2160p]
./Respect (2021) [1080p]
./R.I.P.D. (2013) [1080p]
./Risen (2016) [1080p]
./Risky Business (1983) [1080p]
./Robots (2023) [2160p]
./Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
./Same Kind of Different as Me (2017) [1080p]
./San Andreas (2015) [1080p]
./Science Fiction Volume One The Osiris Child (2017)
./Self less (2015) [1080p]
./Seventh Son (2014) [1080p]
./Singularity (2017) [1080p]
./Smokey and the Bandit (1977) [1080p]
./Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) [1080p]
./Source Code (2011) [1080p]
./Soylent Green (1973) [1080p]
./Spaceman (2024) [1080p]
./Spectral (2016) [1080p]
./St. Elmo's Fire (1985) [1080p]
./Steve Jobs (2015) [1080p]
./Steve McQueen The Lost Movie (2021) [1080p]
./Supernova (2021) [1080p]
./S.W.A.T. Firefight (2011) [1080p]
./Tag (2018) [1080p]
./The Adjustment Bureau (2011) [1080p]
./The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) [1080p]
./The Arrival (1996) [1080p]
./The A-Team (2010) [1080p]
./The Birth of a Nation (2016) [1080p]
./The Bourne Legacy (2012) [1080p]
./The Brothers Grimm (2005) [1080p]
./The China Syndrome (1979) [1080p]
./The Commuter (2018) [1080p]
./The Congress (2013) [1080p]
./The Contractor (2022) [2160p]
./The Courier (2020) [1080p]
./The Curse of La Llorona (2019) [1080p]
./The Darkest Hour (2011) [1080p]
./The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) [1080p]
./The Equalizer (2014) [1080p]
./The Equalizer 2 (2018) [1080p]
./The Exception (2017) [1080p]
./The Family Plan (2023) [1080p]
./The Family That Preys (2008) [1080p]
./The Fantastic 4 First Steps (2025) [2160p]
./The Final Destination (2009) [1080p]
./The Game (1997) [1080p]
./The Girl on the Train (2016) [1080p]
./The Greatest Showman (2017) [1080p]
./The Great Race (1965) [1080p]
./The Huntsman Winter's War (2016) [1080p]
./The Idea of You (2024) [1080p]
./The Island (2005) [1080p]
./The King's Speech (2010) [1080p]
./The King Tide (2024) [1080p]
./The Last Witch Hunter (2015) [1080p]
./The Lone Ranger (2013) [1080p]
./The Lucky One (2012) [720p]
./The Machine (2013) [1080p]
./The Marksman (2021) [1080p]
./The Muppets (2011) [1080p]
./The Philadelphia Experiment (2012) [1080p]
./The Post (2017) [1080p]
./The Shack (2017) [1080p]
./The Signal (2014) [1080p]
./The Slipper and the Rose (1976) [1080p]
./The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) [1080p]
./The Sound of Music (1965) [1080p]
./The Space Between Us (2017) [1080p]
./The Thirteenth Floor (1999) [1080p]
./The Time Machine (2002) [1080p]
./The Transporter Refueled (2015) [1080p]
./The Vault (2021) [1080p]
./The Virtuoso (2021) [1080p]
./The Whole Truth (2016) [1080p]
./The Wolverine (2013) [1080p]
./Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) [1080p]
./Togo (2019) [2160p]
./Tombstone (1993) [1080p]
./Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (2021) [2160p]
./Total Recall (2012) [1080p]
./Transcendence (2014) [1080p]
./USS Indianapolis Men of Courage (2016) [1080p]
./Victor Frankenstein (2015) [1080p]
./Voices (2014)
./Voyagers (2021) [2160p]
./War on Everyone (2016) [1080p]
./We Are Your Friends (2015) [1080p]
./What We Left Behind Looking Back at Star Trek Deep Space Nine (2018) [1080p]
./Young Frankenstein (1974) [1080p]
[chuck@lizum movies.1998]$ 

It looks like this in the library section you’re creating

I keep each movie in its own directory so I may add extras without them being confused with other movies.

[chuck@lizum John Carter (2012) [1080p].2006]$ ls -la
total 31127460
drwxr-xr-x   2 chuck chuck          94 Aug  7  2023 ./
drwxr-xr-x 241 chuck chuck       12288 Sep 22 09:56 ../
-rw-r--r--   1 chuck chuck 31874496860 Aug  6  2023 John Carter (2012) [1080p].mkv
-rw-r--r--   1 chuck chuck        3485 May 19  2012 John Carter (2012) [1080p].srt
[chuck@lizum John Carter (2012) [1080p].2007]$ 

The same is true for Television series. Add the directory containing the entire show.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/

https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/

[OttoKerner]

@devon_s1

after I tried to add the directory for Season 2 of Andor

This sounds to me as if you are adding each season individually to the Plex library.
This is not how it’s done.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/your-media/

[devon_s1]

Hi Chuck,

Thanks very much. I think you’re right - it seems like I’ve exceeded some sort of upper limit on the number of directories that can be added.

My habit has been to add TV show directories by season rather than by the directory for the whole TV show. This is the method with which I’ve had the most success in getting PLEX to recognize the show. For instance, last night I deleted my entries for Season 1/Season 2/Season 3 directories of Squid Game and instead just put the Squid Game directory. Now it doesn’t seem to recognize Squid Game at all I need to try to figure this out, though, as it seems I need to consolidate my directory structure.

[devon_s1]

Hi Otto,

Thanks for the help. Yes, it seems like I’ve exceeded some sort of directory threshold. My habit has been to add TV show directories by season rather than by the directory for the whole TV show. This is the method with which I’ve had the most success in getting PLEX to recognize the show. For instance, last night I deleted my entries for Season 1/Season 2/Season 3 directories of Squid Game and instead just put the Squid Game directory. Now it doesn’t seem to recognize Squid Game at all I need to try to figure this out, though, as it seems I need to consolidate my directory structure.

[OttoKerner]

@devon_s1

rather than by the directory for the whole TV show.

Even that is not how it’s done.
You only add the folder where all your tv shows are stored within.
After adding more files and shows, you trigger “Scan Library files”, which is looking in the already added folder(s) for new and changed subfolders and files.
Please look again at the link I provided above.

[ChuckPa]

@devon_s1

To add to Otto,

Here is how you add TV directories:

1. I group my TV shows as follows:
   – tv == current shows
   – tv2 == older shows (classics I want to keep)
   – tv3 == cartoons
   – tv4 == cooking shows
   – tv5 == temporary shows / one-offs

2. To show you, I’ve put them all into one “Series” library section
   (You can create whichever sections you want)
   In this example, all 184 tv series are in one library section.

3. PMS will scan (traverse) each of these TOP LEVEL directories and find all TV series content underneath them.

Here you can see all series (stored in these directories) as they appear in PMS