Plex

Plex is optional. Aurral connects to the Plex API and creates an Aurral music library in Plex Media Server. Plex must also be able to read the files in the Downloads Folder.

Aurral builds a Plex playlist for each enabled flow and each static playlist. The playlists appear in Plex and Plexamp. Aurral builds a playlist only after Plex indexes its audio files.

See Filesystem and mounts for the full layout. The recommended Docker setup mounts the same host media root at /data in Aurral and Plex:

# Aurral
volumes:
  - /srv/media:/data
  - ./config:/config

# Plex
volumes:
  - /srv/media:/data:ro

Setup

1. Mount the same host media root in Plex that Aurral uses.
2. Open Settings > Playback > Plex.
3. Select Connect Plex account.
4. Approve the PIN in the Plex pop-up window.
5. Select your Plex server.
6. Make sure that the Server URL is correct.
7. Select Test connection.
8. After a flow downloads tracks, select Sync to Plex now.

Settings save automatically after each change.

Aurral creates the Aurral library at the Downloads Folder, as Plex sees it. Permanent tracks are in Artist/Album/Track folders. Temporary flow tracks are under _flows/<flow-id>. Aurral adds _flows as a second folder of the library.

You do not need to create this library in Plex yourself. It stays empty until a flow downloads tracks. Plex can take several minutes to scan new files.

Plex compared with Navidrome

You can use both. They read the same Downloads Folder.

	Navidrome	Plex
Playlists	Navidrome playlists through the Subsonic API	Plex playlists through the Plex API
Library	Aurral creates a library and asks for scans	Aurral creates an Aurral music library
Different paths	Mount the Downloads Folder at the same path	Set Plex Aurral Library path
Playlist names	username - playlist name by default	Playlist name

Plex Aurral Library path

Leave Plex Aurral Library path blank when Aurral and Plex see the Downloads Folder at the same path.

If Plex uses a different path, enter the Downloads Folder as Plex sees it. Aurral uses this path as the library root.

Aurral writes to	Plex sees	Plex Aurral Library path
/data/downloads/aurral	/data/downloads/aurral	Leave blank
/music/Aurral	/data/media	/data/media

Browse folders shows folders as Aurral sees them. If Plex uses a different path, type the Plex path. The folder must exist inside the Plex container.

This setting affects only the Aurral library in Plex. It does not replace Remote path mappings.

Reuse tracks from another Plex library

A flow can include songs that you already have in another Plex library, for example the library of your Lidarr music. Aurral can add those songs to its Plex playlists instead of downloading copies.

Aurral does not download a song again when it finds the song in Lidarr or in another playlist, whatever this setting says. But without this setting, Aurral cannot find that song in Plex, so the Plex playlist leaves it out.

1. Open Settings > Playback > Plex > Main library (optional).
2. In Include tracks from an existing library, select the Plex library that holds those songs.
3. Aurral checks whether it can read that library directly. If it cannot, it shows the path that Plex reported. Enter the same folder, as Aurral sees it, in Local path for this library (optional).

Aurral only reads this library. It never writes to it, scans it, or changes it. A reused track is the same Plex item as the one in your main library, not a copy. A rating or a play on it shows everywhere the item appears.

Sync behavior

Sync to Plex now creates the Aurral library if it is missing, starts a Plex scan, and builds or updates the playlists.

A Plex scan can take minutes. If a sync finds no indexed tracks, wait for the scan to finish. Aurral runs catch-up syncs while Plex scans. You can also select Sync to Plex now again.

Aurral skips a rebuild when the tracks did not change. When you turn off a flow, the next sync deletes its Plex playlist.

Aurral tracks each playlist by its Plex ID, not by its name. It changes only playlists that it created. A Plex playlist that you created with the same name as a flow stays as it is. The link survives changes in Plex, such as sharing the playlist.

When you adopt a discover playlist, Aurral writes its description to the summary of the Plex playlist. A flow that you create yourself has no description.

An adopted discover playlist belongs to the user who adopted it. Another user who wants the same playlist adopts it separately and gets their own copy.

Per-user Plex accounts

The flows and static playlists of the admin go to the Plex account connected in Settings > Playback > Plex. Every other user must link their own Plex account. Aurral then puts their playlists in their own Plex account.

Until a user links an account, their flows and playlists work in Aurral and in Navidrome, but Aurral creates nothing for them in Plex. After they link, the next sync creates their playlists in Plex.

There are two ways to link, depending on how the person uses your Plex server.

Plex Home managed users

A Plex Home managed user has no separate Plex.tv sign-in. An admin links these users in Settings > Users:

1. Open Manage for the user.
2. Under Plex account, select Link managed Plex user.
3. Select the matching Plex Home user and select Link.

Only an admin can do this, because only the admin’s Plex connection can see the Plex Home users.

Invited Plex users

A person invited to your Plex server signs in to Plex with their own Plex.tv account. They link it themselves:

1. Open Profile > Plex account.
2. Select Connect Plex account.
3. Approve the PIN in the Plex pop-up window.

A user can link only their own Plex account to their own Aurral account.

After linking

Aurral creates the user’s flows and static playlists in their own Plex account. The Aurral library itself stays on the admin connection. Only the playlist owner changes.

If a linked Plex token stops working, Aurral tries once to reconnect a managed user through the admin connection. An invited user must reconnect from Profile. Until then, only that user’s Plex playlists stop updating.

Unlink or switch accounts

When you unlink a user, Aurral deletes the Plex playlists that it created in their account. When you switch a user to another Plex account, Aurral does the same for the old account. Linking the same account again, for example to repair a broken link, deletes nothing.

When you delete a flow or static playlist in Aurral, Aurral deletes every Plex playlist that it created for it.

Sign in to Aurral with Plex

Users can sign in to Aurral with their Plex account.

1. An admin opens Settings > Playback > Plex and turns on Allow signing in to Aurral with Plex. Plex must be connected first.
2. Each user links their own Plex account in Profile > Plex account.
3. The user can then select Sign in with Plex on the Aurral sign-in page.

Plex sign-in never creates an Aurral account and never changes a role. A Plex account that is not linked cannot sign in. A Plex Home managed user linked by an admin cannot sign in this way. See Users and authentication.

Mixed Docker setups

When Aurral and Plex both run in Docker with the same /data mount, leave Plex Aurral Library path empty:

services:
  aurral:
    volumes:
      - /srv/media:/data
      - ./config:/config

  plex:
    volumes:
      - /srv/media:/data:ro

Set the Downloads Folder in Aurral, for example /data/downloads/aurral. Aurral creates the Aurral library in Plex through the API.

Remote path mappings for Lidarr on Windows change how Aurral reads files. They do not replace Plex Aurral Library path.

See Filesystem and mounts and Troubleshooting: Plex.