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How To Add Media Libraries in Plex Server

Introduction

Plex is a popular media server software that allows you to organize and stream your personal media library to various devices. Setting up and managing libraries in Plex is easy, but it does require some preparation to ensure your media is properly organized. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to add media libraries to your Plex server.

Prerequisites

Before you can add media libraries, make sure you have:

  • Installed the Plex Media Server on a computer or NAS drive
  • Created a Plex account and claimed your server
  • Installed Plex apps on the devices you want to stream to
  • Organized your media files into folders on the computer running the Plex Server

Add a New Library

To add a new media library in Plex:

  1. Open the Plex Web App
  2. Click the settings icon in the upper right corner
  3. Select “Libraries” under “Manage Server”
  4. Click “Add Library”
  5. Select the type of media (Movies, TV Shows, Music, etc.)
  6. Name the library
  7. Click “Next”
  8. Browse to the folder where your media files are stored
  9. Click “Add” to add the folder
  10. Repeat steps 8-9 to add additional folders
  11. Click “Add Library” to finish

You can repeat this process to add multiple libraries for different types of media.

Organize Your Media

Before scanning your media files into Plex, make sure they are properly named and organized. Plex has specific naming conventions for movies, TV shows, music, and other media. Following these conventions allows Plex to automatically match the media to metadata like descriptions, posters, album art etc.

Here are some tips for organizing different media types:

Movies

Store movies in a “Movies” folder, then create sub-folders for each movie title:

/Movies
    /Movie Title (Release Year)
        movie-file.mp4

Name the movie file exactly as the movie title, including the year.

TV Shows

Create a root “TV Shows” folder, then sub-folders for each show. Within the show’s folder, create season folders, and put episodes inside:

/TV Shows
    /Show Name
        /Season 01
            episode-s01e01.mp4

Episode files should be named “episode-sXXeXX” where XX is the season and episode number.

Music

Organize your music into artist and album folder hierarchies:

/Music
    /Artist Name
        /Album Name
            song.mp3

Use artist and album names exactly as they appear in metadata sources.

Refresh and Manage Libraries

Once your media is organized properly, go back to the Plex Web App to refresh your libraries and view the changes.

  • Click the 3-dot menu next to a library and select “Refresh” to scan for new content
  • Edit libraries whenever you need to change folders, metadata agents, or other settings
  • Create smart collections and playlists to further organize your libraries

Over time, continue adding new media to your properly named folders and Plex will automatically update with no effort on your part!

Conclusion

Adding and managing media libraries is essential to building your ultimate Plex server. Follow the naming and organization conventions, routinely refresh your libraries, and Plex will provide a beautiful browsing experience for both you and users you share with.

With robust media preparation and organization, you can create libraries with thousands of movies and TV shows that are easily discoverable on any device.

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