Setup Plex Media Server on Debian 8

Introduction

Plex Media Server allows you to stream your digital media such as video, music, and photos directly to your smart TVs and mobile devices. Without using paid services, you can enjoy your own music anywhere in the world.

This guide will teach you how to install Plex Media Server on Debian 8.

Installation

1. Download the latest Plex Ubuntu .deb package from the official site.

   wget https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-media-server/0.9.12.4.1192-9a47d21/plexmediaserver_0.9.12.4.1192-9a47d21_amd64.deb
   

2. Install the package.

   dpkg -i plexmediaserver_0.9.12.4.1192-9a47d21_amd64.deb
   

3. Once the installation finishes. Run netstat to check if Plex server is running and listening on port 32400.

   netstat -ntp
   

   You will see something like this:

   tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:32400           0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN
   

4. Now, create a directory in /var/plex/media to store all you media files.

   mkdir -p /var/plex/media
   

   Change ownership to “plex”.

   chown plex:plex -R /var/plex/media
   

5. Upload all of your media files to /var/plex/media.

Client setup

1. On your local computer, create a tunnel to setup your Plex client now.

   Linux

   Run following command:

   ssh YOUR_SERVER_IP -L 8888:localhost:32400
   

   Windows

   a. Open PuTTY, enter your server IP address in the hostname and SSH port.

   b. Go to “Connection > SSH > Tunnels”.

   c. Fill in “Source port” as “8888” and “Destination” as localhost:32400.

   d. Press the “Add” button and then “Open” to connect to your server.

2. Open a web browser from your local computer and navigate to http://localhost:8888/web.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and add your media library.

4. Now you can access your media libraries from all of your devices at YOUR_SERVER_IP:32400.