Last updated on 1 January 2025
Important or Recent Updates
| Historic Updates | Date |
|---|---|
| New DSM7.2 Container Manager Update | 01/05/2023 |
| Guide rewritten moving to a Project rather than the slower method via the UI giving you more flexibility. Also includes updates to improve security which is only possible via projects. | 25/10/2023 |
| Somehow at some point a paragraph about forwarding port 32400 went missing, I had never added it! But it’s in now!! | 13/06/2024 |
| Changed ‘version’ variable to ‘docker’ this will stop in container server updates! | 01/07/2024 |
| Reworded the first section to check around whether you have a hardware capable NAS and to follow the other guide even if you don’t have a Plex Pass. | 08/08/2024 |
In this guide I am going to take you through the setup of Plex in Container Manager.
Does my Synology support Hardware Transcoding?
Before we do anything else, you should see if your model of Synology has hardware transcoding capabilities even if you don’t plan on using them at the moment! You need to do a quick lookup via the linked Google Sheet below, this is updated by Plex and makes it super easy to look up your model of NAS.
If you find that hardware transcoding is not available you can continue following the guide here, if it does support it, and you plan on buying a Plex Pass in the future follow the other guide from the menu.
Let’s Begin
In order to use this guide successfully you will need to complete the two preceding guides which will get your folder structure and Docker, user setup. In addition, if you already have the original Synology Plex Package installed you will need to uninstall it first.
Folder Setup
Let’s start by getting some folders set up for the container to use. Open up File Station create the following.
/docker/projects/plex-compose
/docker/plex
Container Manager
Next we are going to set up a ‘Project’ in Container Manager. Open up Container Manager and click on Project then on the right-hand side click ‘Create’.
In the next screen we will set up our General Settings, enter the following:
| Section | Setting |
|---|---|
| Project Name: | plex |
| Path: | /docker/projects/plex-compose |
| Source: | Create docker-compose.yml |
Next we are going to drop in our docker compose configuration copy all the code in the box below and paste it into line ‘1’ just like the screenshot.
What on earth is a Docker Compose? Docker Compose allows us to define how Docker should set up one or more containers within a single configuration file. This file is yaml formatted and Container Manager uses the Projects feature to manage them.
services:
plex:
image: linuxserver/plex
container_name: plex
network_mode: host
environment:
- PUID=1234 #CHANGE_TO_YOUR_UID
- PGID=65432 #CHANGE_TO_YOUR_GID
- TZ=Europe/London #CHANGE_TO_YOUR_TZ
- UMASK=022
- VERSION=docker
- PLEX_CLAIM=
volumes:
- /volume1/docker/plex:/config
- /volume1/data/media:/data/media
security_opt:
- no-new-privileges:true
restart: unless-stoppedA note on Network Mode
You will notice that for Plex we don’t put it on the normal bridge network, this is because DSM reserves the DLNA ports Plex requires in order to use DLNA. So we run in Host mode, so it can share the ports.
Environment Variables
We need to make some changes in order for the container to have the correct permissions to save its configuration files and to have access to your media.
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| PUID | (required) The UID you obtained in the user setup guide |
| PGID | (required) The GID you obtained in the user setup guide |
| TZ | (required) Your timezone wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones |
| PLEX_CLAIM | Please note the PLEX_CLAIM variable is optional and not always required. You can remove this line if you don’t need it or come back and add it if you are unable to sign in to your server on start up. To get the code go to https://plex.tv/claim and sign in, then put the code you receive after the ‘PLEX_CLAIM=’. You have 4 mins to finish the guide after doing this, so best to grab it just before running the project. |
Volumes
I have pre-filled this section to pass the correct paths, the only thing that you may need to change is the /volume1/ if your file paths are on a different volume.
Click ‘Next’
You do not need to enable anything on the ‘Web portal settings’ screen click ‘Next’ again.
On the final screen click ‘Done’ which will begin the download of the container images and once downloaded they will be launched!
The image will now be downloaded and extracted. You should see ‘Code 0’ when it has finished.
You will now see your Plex running and should have a green status on the left-hand side.
Firewall Exceptions
(Skip if you don’t have the Firewall configured)
If you have the Synology Firewall enabled please see this additional guide for further info on exceptions and correct set up.
Port Forwarding
In order to use Plex remotely and stream your local media you need to forward port 32400 from your Router to the NAS IP on the same port. This varies for everyone’s router so check the manual on how to do this.
Initial Plex Setup
After a few minutes you should be able to access the server and go through the Plex setup by going to the IP of your NAS in your browser followed by port 32400/web/
e.g. 192.168.0.45:32400/web/
You will be asked to sign in or sign up for an account if you don’t have one already.
You should now be able to add your media which will be in the /data folder within Plex
That’s it you are all setup. When a new server update is available you will just need to restart the container, and it will automatically download the latest update.
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Followed the guide and was able to run Plex container successfully and access via web (32400/web/). Plex was not able to detect videos, so I tried to rerun. However once stopped, cannot access it anymore. Container manager says it is running, but when I try to connect to web interface, it is saying “Can’t connect to the server”. So far tried to reinstall, change claim code, remove claim code – nothing works. I have Firewall turned off and running with the same config as the first time, but no luck. Any ideas what can I try to do to fix this?
Are there any clues in the container log at all as odd that you can’t get back in, also ensure if you had the Package version of Plex installed previously that it has been uninstalled.
Ok, seems like I was just checking Container Manager logs and had a feeling everything is fine. In container logs I have found way more useful info, bunch of this logs:
2024/04/07 06:47:04 stderr PMS: failure detected. Read/write access is required for path: /config/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server
Since it is a permission issue I have applied Permission Fix #1 from your “Step 2: Setting up a restricted Docker user” guide, but did not help.
Here is the more detailed logs since server started. Top 2 lines just keep repeating:
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stderr PMS: failure detected. Read/write access is required for path: /config/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout Starting Plex Media Server. . . (you can ignore the libusb_init error)
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout [custom-init] No custom files found, skipping…
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout No update required
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout **** Server already claimed ****
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout **** The app may not work properly and we will not provide support for it. ****
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout **** Permissions could not be set. This is probably because your volume mounts are remote or read-only. ****
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stderr /usr/bin/find: unknown predicate `-R’
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout This could take some time
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout Change in ownership detected, please be patient while we chown existing files
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout
2024/04/07 06:45:14 stdout ───────────────────────────────────────
I would delete the contents of the Plex folder, apply the fix and then Start up the project again, this gives it a clean start with folder permissions that match, also double-check the PUID and PGID are correct (right way around)
Hello! Firstly, thank you for all of the work put into publishing and maintaining these guides. They have been invaluable in getting my first NAS media server up and running.
I have run into some trouble with Plex remote access after configuring my Synology firewall. It seems to be capping streams to 2MB/s to users. Disabling the firewall appears to alleviate this issue.
When trying to add the Plex container to the firewall’s list of exceptions, it was not listed as a built-in application that I could select. I instead manually selected the 32400 port. This was also the case for the vpn-gluetun project containers.
Would you know why these two projects are not appearing as built-in applications? The other docker containers (nzbget and the servarr apps) I built using your guides do appear as options to forward. I believe the streaming issue is due to Plex’s remote access not having a manually-specified port of 32400 but the firewall exception only allowing that port.
Hey thanks for the feedback!
I could probably do with seeing how you set the exception in the Firewall.. I will drop you an email if that’s OK.
We (on Discord) recently found that on an update or restart that containers are being removed from the Firewall exceptions list! So I am just about to re-write the Firewall section on how to manually add them so they are permanent, so I would not worry about those containers not appearing as going forward it’s going to use a different method..
hey,
First of all, thanks for all your hard work in making these guides. it really helped me setting things up.
is there any news on the firewall rules disappearing? i notice i have the same issues.
Hey I changed the Firewall section to manually set the ports rather than add the Containers, this should result in them not vanishing, takes an extra bit of work due to removing the easier select and hit OK but should remain in place!
Is there a benefit to using the container version of Plex instead of the package version?
Hey have a look back through the comments.. But in essence yes upgrades are easier with Docker as the Package relies on updates from Plex and in the past major system updates have caused issues with the package version. But ultimately it’s your preference ‘if it ain’t broke’ 🙂
Thank you for the excellent guides! By the way, I think you mean:
“In order to use this guide successfully you will need to complete the two preceding* guides.”
I will proceed to fix the typo 😛
Thanks 🙂
Why does this container use “host” network instead of “synobridge”?
I will pop this in the guide as been asked a few times. It is recommended to run this one on host mode to ensure all ports are appropriately mapped. You can run in bridge mode but will need to manually assign all the ports.