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Plex Media Server

Description / nameInput element
Container Registry
Container Configuration Root Path
Global /movies Path
Global /tv Path
Timezone
User ID
Group ID
Plex Media Server /config Path
Plex Media Server /transcode Path

Build Status Last Commit

Personal media server that organizes and streams your movie, TV, and music collections to all your devices.

Registry ghcr.io/daemonless/plex
Daemonless daemonless/plex
Source daemonless/plex
Website plex.tv

Version Tags

Tag Description Best For
latest Upstream Binary. Built from official release. Most users. Matches Linux Docker behavior.

Root Privileges Required

Podman on FreeBSD currently requires root. All commands must be run as root (or via doas/sudo).

Before deploying, ensure your host environment is ready. See the Quick Start Guide for host setup instructions.

Deployment

services:
  plex:
    image: "ghcr.io/daemonless/plex:latest"
    container_name: plex
    environment:
      - PUID=1000  # User ID for the application process
      - PGID=1000  # Group ID for the application process
      - TZ=UTC  # Timezone for the container
      - VERSION=container  # Plex update channel (container, public, plexpass)
      - PLEX_CLAIM=  # Optional: Claim token — get one at https://plex.tv/claim
    volumes:
      - "/path/to/containers/plex:/config"
      - "/path/to/containers/plex/transcode:/transcode" # optional
      - "/path/to/movies:/movies"
      - "/path/to/tv:/tv"
    restart: unless-stopped
DIRECTOR_PROJECT=plex
PUID=1000
PGID=1000
TZ=UTC
VERSION=container
PLEX_CLAIM=
options:
  - virtualnet: ':<random> default'
  - nat:
services:
  plex:
    name: plex
    options:
      - container: 'boot args:--pull'
    oci:
      user: root
      environment:
        - PUID: !ENV '${PUID}'
        - PGID: !ENV '${PGID}'
        - TZ: !ENV '${TZ}'
        - VERSION: !ENV '${VERSION}'
        - PLEX_CLAIM: !ENV '${PLEX_CLAIM}'
    volumes:
      - PLEX_CONFIG_PATH: /config
      - PLEX_TRANSCODE_PATH: /transcode
      - MOVIES_PATH: /movies
      - TV_PATH: /tv
volumes:
  PLEX_CONFIG_PATH:
    device: '/path/to/containers/plex'
  PLEX_TRANSCODE_PATH:
    device: '/path/to/containers/plex/transcode'
  MOVIES_PATH:
    device: '/path/to/movies'
  TV_PATH:
    device: '/path/to/tv'
ARG tag=latest

OPTION overwrite=force
OPTION from=ghcr.io/daemonless/plex:${tag}
podman run -d --name plex \
  -e PUID=1000 \
  -e PGID=1000 \
  -e TZ=UTC \
  -e VERSION=container \
  -e PLEX_CLAIM= \
  -v /path/to/containers/plex:/config \
  -v /path/to/containers/plex/transcode:/transcode # optional \
  -v /path/to/movies:/movies \
  -v /path/to/tv:/tv \
  ghcr.io/daemonless/plex:latest
- name: Deploy plex
  containers.podman.podman_container:
    name: plex
    image: "ghcr.io/daemonless/plex:latest"
    state: started
    restart_policy: always
    env:
      PUID: "1000"
      PGID: "1000"
      TZ: "UTC"
      VERSION: "container"
      PLEX_CLAIM: ""
    volumes:
      - "/path/to/containers/plex:/config"
      - "/path/to/containers/plex/transcode:/transcode" # optional
      - "/path/to/movies:/movies"
      - "/path/to/tv:/tv"

Interactive Configuration

Parameters

Environment Variables

Variable Default Description
PUID 1000 User ID for the application process
PGID 1000 Group ID for the application process
TZ UTC Timezone for the container
VERSION container Plex update channel (container, public, plexpass)
PLEX_CLAIM `` Optional: Claim token — get one at https://plex.tv/claim

Volumes

Path Description
/config Configuration directory
/transcode Transcode directory (Optional)
/movies Movie library
/tv TV series library

Host Networking

Plex requires network_mode: host on FreeBSD Podman. Bridge networking causes the Plex setup wizard to reject all connections with "Not authorized" because it only allows access from 127.0.0.1, and bridge networking makes all connections appear to come from the gateway IP.

With host networking, ports are bound directly on the host — no ports: mapping needed.

Initial Setup

The Plex setup wizard must be accessed from localhost. After starting the container, create an SSH tunnel from your local machine:

ssh -L 32400:localhost:32400 <your-host>

Then open http://localhost:32400/web in your browser to complete setup.

Implementation Details

  • Architectures: amd64
  • User: bsd (UID/GID set via PUID/PGID). Defaults to 1000:1000.
  • Base: Built on ghcr.io/daemonless/base (FreeBSD 15.0).

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