I have searched old posts and can not find a good description of what I really need to backup from the appdata folder for windows Plex Media Server.
I would like to be able to be back watching plex once windows and plex reinstalled after a system crash.
I have the registry backed up on a separate data drive
I have the plex database backed up on a separate data drive
what folders can I exclude in the \AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\ location to keep the backup as small as possible (or do I really need anything in that folder)
What I want is all settings, existing libraries, movies and tv shows (seasons and episodes), so I can begin watching Plex again right away with everything exactly as it was before the system crash, including watch statuses, up next etc for all users (I am sure those are in the database backups).
I don’t care if I save, actually don’t want all of the posters and show descriptions, and chapter thumbnails etc, those take up a lot of space, and can be redownloaded automatically in time. I want to keep the backp as small and simple as possible.
There aren’t any instructions for backing up a subset of the files
If you are not interested in metadata and scanning / refreshing could be redone, then you could go just for
C:\Users\xxxxx\Appdata\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache
C:\Users\xxxxx\Appdata\Local\Plex Media Server\Codecs
C:\Users\xxxxx\Appdata\Local\Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases
C:\Users\xxxxx\Appdata\Local\Plex Media Server\Plug-ins
and your media
and the registry settings for
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server
Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server
Might not be - there is saved information such as security certificate / EPG cache and some Premium Music Libraries databases but they would get recreated if not there
How do you make sure that files do not get corrupted during back up? There are several scheduled tasks performed by Plex that, I’m afraid can result in the backup process copying files while they are being modified. Do you need to stop Plex Media Server before running the backup job? Is there any tool that can coordinate this process, i.e. stop the server, run the backup, start the server? Some PowerShell script to do this?
I too am interested in the bare-minimum backup. This means only the information that is unique and not reproducible to my installation.
So, things like:
Server settings
Account info
Library info (paths, settings, custom metadata if possible)
Connected users
Watched status
Sync status
Things that are not needed are things that can be automatically re-downloaded. This includes pretty much all the images (that take up gigabytes of space). I am also not sure why the original response included Cache, Codecs, Plug-ins. Are these not things that will be regenerated automatically?
To be clear, I will have a full-size backup locally. But I want the bare-minimum set as a cloud backup and do not want to pay to store and transfer stock images, for example.
Yes they are - i just included them to make recovery easier and smoother. The system codecs get downloaded when they are needed. Cache holds some credentials but they would get recreated if needed
So absolute minimum would,be
C:\Users\xxxxx\Appdata\Local\Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases
and the media
and the registry settings for
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server
Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server
