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How To Manually Install Plug-ins and Add-ons for Plex Media Server

Plex Media Server is a popular media server software that allows you to easily organize and stream your personal media library. While Plex has great basic functionality out of the box, installing plug-ins and add-ons can greatly enhance your Plex experience. Here is a guide on how to manually install plug-ins and add-ons for Plex Media Server.

Prerequisites

Before installing any plug-ins, make sure:

  • You have Plex Media Server already installed and set up on your device
  • Your Plex Media Server is up to date to the latest version
  • You have access to the folder where Plex plug-ins are stored
  • On Windows it is usually: C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plug-ins
  • On MacOS it is usually: ~/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-ins
  • On Linux it depends on where you installed Plex Media Server

Install the WebTools Plug-in

The first plug-in you should install is WebTools. This plug-in is required to access the Unsupported App Store which makes installing most other plug-ins easier.

To manually install WebTools:

  1. Download the WebTools plug-in
  2. Unzip the downloaded file
  3. Copy the WebTools.bundle folder to your Plex plug-ins folder
  4. Restart your Plex Media Server

Once WebTools is installed, you will be able to access the Unsupported App Store to easily install other plug-ins.

Access the Unsupported App Store

The Unsupported App Store contains many community-developed plug-ins you can install. To access it:

  1. Open Plex Web App
  2. Go to Settings > Manage > Unsupported App Store
  3. Browse and install plug-ins from here

Some popular plug-ins to install:

  • Tautulli – For monitoring Plex statistics
  • Sub-Zero – For subtitle management
  • Plex Autoscan – To automatically scan new content

Manually Install Plug-ins

If a plug-in is not available on the Unsupported App Store, you may still be able to install it manually.

The process is:

  1. Download the plug-in bundle (it will be a .zip file)
  2. Extract the .zip file
  3. Copy the folder with the .bundle extension to your Plex plug-ins folder
  4. Restart your Plex Media Server

Some plug-ins like WebTools, PlexSync, and ExportTools can only be installed manually.

Removing Plug-ins

To remove an installed plug-in:

  1. Go to Manage > Plugins in Plex Web App
  2. Hover over the plug-in and click the trash can icon
  3. Confirm that you want to uninstall the plug-in

You can also manually delete the plug-in’s folder from your Plex plug-ins directory.

Troubleshooting Plug-ins

If a plug-in is not working:

  • Check if the plug-in is updated and supported for your Plex Media Server version
  • Look at the plug-in logs for errors:
  • Windows: %localappdata%\Plex Media Server\Logs\PMS Plugin Logs
  • Linux: ~/.plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Logs/PMS Plugin Logs
  • Try reinstalling the plug-in
  • Remove and re-add your media libraries
  • Restart your Plex Media Server

Conclusion

Installing plug-ins can greatly improve your experience with Plex whether by adding new features or enhancing existing ones. Manually installing plug-ins is straightforward once you know the location of your Plex plug-in directory. The WebTools plug-in and Unsupported App Store make finding and installing additional plug-ins much easier. With the wide variety of plug-ins available, you can customize your Plex server to perfectly suit your needs.

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