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PlexUpdate

Plex media server has can be set to auto update to a new versions via repository updating for linux distributions. However, this only works if you are using the Public build. You can go HERE for the instructions on Plex website.

If you have PlexPass you can install the Beta Releases which will give you early access to new features and fixes. But you can not use repository updating with an installed beta version of Plex.

This script will check for new beta versions of Plex Media Server and install it. The script can be scheduled to run at any time via a cron job. The instructions on the github page were a little confusing for me so this is how I ended up installing everything.

Github

The repo is: https://github.com/mrworf/plexupdate

Installation

We will be using .git so that the plexupdate scripts will auto update if the owner releases a new version on github.

  1. Clone the Repository:
    Open a terminal then run this,
sudo git clone https://github.com/mrworf/plexupdate.git /opt/plexupdate
  1. Run Installer:
    Change to the new directory and run the installer.
# Change the directory
cd /opt/plexupdate

# Run the installer
sudo ./plexupdate.sh -p

The script will check for new distributions and install it if you are behind. If your Plex Media Server is up to date it will look like mine.

testing

Automation

  1. Run Cron Installer:
    Change to the extras directory and run the installer.
# Change the directory
cd extras

# Run the installer
./installer.sh

The script will ask you setup questions. Here were my answers.

testing

Note

  • Make sure you use your own IP address.
  • For the red part in the screenshot. I tried to run the installer using sudo. But as you can see it advised me not to.
  • Cron can send out emails but your linux server will need to be set up to do so and is out of scope of this wiki.

Cron Jobs

Cron jobs can be found at /etc/cron.daily, /etc/cron.hourly etc... They are created and ran per user. The cron job for plexupdate is ran by the root user.

You can find out more info about cron jobs and how they work by going HERE.

You can also go HERE for an online tool to create cron expressions.