How to Set Up a Plex Server

Some people choose to use a dedicated Network Attached Storage (NAS) device to host their Plex server, but you can also use a regular desktop computer, as long as it stays on and connected to the internet at all times. In this guide, we'll run through the desktop version as an example, but will briefly discuss the benefits of each.

NAS devices offer flexibility; they come with slots for hard drives, allowing you to add more memory or swap out for larger drives. Storing media is a quick way to fill up storage space, so this is handy if you want to add more to your library without deleting things. Some also come with features that make streaming better, like 4K video acceleration.

The downside is that if you already own a powerful desktop, a NAS device becomes one more thing to buy and manage. A desktop PC is a good option if you're comfortable upgrading it if needed. If you already have a PC with a decent processor, plenty of storage space, and a solid internet connection, then having your own Plex server is just a download away.

Unfortunately, this also means that streaming content could affect how other computing tasks perform. It may not seem like a big deal, but the first time your game starts lagging because a friend started watching your 4K copy of Avengers: Endgame, that NAS option might become a little more appealing. Personally, I use a desktop and haven't had any major issues, but it all comes down to your needs, bank account, and how much work you want to put into building your own server.

Once you've picked which hardware you're going to use, download the Plex Media Server application. If you haven't created an account yet, now's a good time to do so. You'll see a drop-down menu with a list of platforms you can choose from, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and a host of NAS platforms. Pick the one that's right for you and download it to your device and run through the installation wizard to install it.

Now comes the tricky part. Once you install the server, there won't be an app running on your system that you can use to interact with it. Instead, you'll be dealing with the Plex Web App, a browser-based front end for the server that also doubles as a media player.

Almost everything you could want to do with Plex can be done here, from managing users and setting up a server, to watching your movies or shows from any computer with an internet connection.

The first time you open the Plex Web App, though, you'll be asked to sign into the account you created earlier. After that, you can create your libraries. These are top-level collections of media—like Movies, TV Shows, or Music—that you can browse. You can create as many libraries as you want, but generally you only need one for each media type.

However, if you have a collection of movies you prefer not to share, you could create another library called, say, Private Movies, and keep that separate from everything else. More importantly, you can choose which libraries you share with others, a handy way to isolate your more embarrassing guilty pleasures.

The next step here depends a little bit on how you've organized your media, so we're breaking it out into its own step. Once you choose which kind of library you want to set up—Movies, for example—you'll be asked to add folders to it.

You can have media from several different folders or drives in a single media library, which makes organizing a lot simpler for watching. If you have movie files spread across three separate hard drives, you can add each drive to your Movies library and no one will be the wiser.

Click the "Browse for Media Folder" button and search until you find the folder you're looking for. Plex will search in any subfolders within the folder you select, so you can make one big movies directory and create individual folders for each movie within it to keep everything nice and neat. Read more about how to properly name and organize your folders here.

Once you've added all your folders to a library, click the Advanced tab. Here, you can tweak a few settings on your Plex server, like turning off cinema trailers that play before your movie, or whether your library should include video thumbnails.

Most of these settings—like which online library Plex pulls metadata from—are fine the way they are, but it's worth a quick look to make sure everything is how you like it.

The first time you set up your Plex library, it might take a bit for the server to identify all of your media, find and download metadata like descriptions and posters, and make them available to watch. If you have a large library, you may want to give yourself time to grab a sandwich before you sit down to watch your first movie with Plex.

Finally, you've got your Plex library set up! It's remarkably simple, and you'll probably spend more time and effort getting the media you want to watch than setting up your Plex server.

However, if you want to watch your media on anything other than the Plex Web App, you'll want to install a client application on your phone, TV, or any other device with a screen.

You can usually find Plex in whatever app store your device has, but if you're struggling, check out Plex's download page to find the right app for your device and get instructions on how to install it.

Sign into your Plex account on any of these apps and all of your libraries should be right there waiting for you. You can also invite other users to your libraries so they can share in your curated film collection.