Why does my plex populate my transcode directory when restarted?

Plex Media Server
,
1

Server Version#: 4.116.1
Player Version#:N/A

Machine: Intel NUC w/ Ubuntu 22.04
Server installed via Docker Compose

Back when I first setup my plex server I created a ram disk and named it /transcode. As such I passed it through to my docker container and put /transcode in the server setting for my temporary transcode directory.

However, I moved to a better overall system but one with less RAM. So I stopped using this temporary directory. I removed it from my plex settings and all was well.

But every time I restart my plex container it repopulates this setting and I have to go in and manually remove it. IDK where it’s getting the setting from.

When I check the Preferences.xml file while the setting is in the GUI I see it there, but when I remove it from the GUI it disappears from preferences.xml, only to reappear when I restart my container.

Could it be getting it from the ‘Setup Plex.html’ file? I grep’d that file for transcode and didn’t see anything.

here it my plex directory for reference:

/REDACTED/plex/data/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server$ ls
Cache ‘Crash Reports’ Drivers Media plexmediaserver.pid ‘Plug-in Support’ Scanners Updates
Codecs Diagnostics Logs Metadata Plug-ins Preferences.xml ‘Setup Plex.html’

Here is the relevant portion of my compose file for reference:

plex:
container_name: plex
image: plexinc/pms-docker:latest
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- PLEX_UID=1000
- PLEX_GID=1000
- TZ=America/New_York
# - PLEX_CLAIM=claim-REDACTED
- ADVERTISE_IP= http://x.x.x.x:32400
hostname: plex.jones.lan
volumes:
- ./plex/data:/config
- /data/plexmedia:/data
- ‘/data/qnap/Pictures and Videos:/media’
devices:
- “/dev/dri:/dev/dri”
ports:
- “32400:32400”

2

Silly question – (but not that silly because I do it too :rofl: ) – Did you click SAVE after making the change ?

3

Hahahaha silly question but it needs asked!

I have done that… this has actually been an issue for months but rather than deal with the underlying problem I have just been going in and manually updating the setting every time I update the image :slight_smile:

4

It’s part of the setup of the Docker container.

And you are supposed to map the folder to something.

5

now don’t I feel stupid! LOLOLOL

I looked at mine and realized. /transcode is needed.
I didn’t have to look any further than at my NAS boxes :man_facepalming:

tmp_transcoding is the directory the transcoder uses on Synology to ensure we have a place to download codecs.

/transcode is its counterpart in docker.

Why it’s there and not under Plex Media Server/Cache/Transcode is a mystery but it had to go somewhere. :man_shrugging:

1 Like
6

Well this is news to me!! Thank you! I will update my compose file as such.

I wonder why this is a setting? Transcode file are temporary so it does no harm to store them in the container only and not have them persist outside the container.

7

If you don’t map a folder then it’s stored inside the container. It says that in my second link.

8

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