yet another plexwatch problem thread

[loady]

I have installed plewwatch and can access the GUI but i am not getting any stream information or anything for that matter, i have read many threads and tried different settings but i seem to be getting nowhere..

 

my server is 192.168.11.122 and i have tried putting this inplace of where it says local host..i have read the read me manytimes , i tried with and without user/pass and some times the settings screen fields dissapear and i have to delete the .pl and .php files..when i do this i get a 'getting started' screen on plewwatch and it asks me to fill out the fields but it still doesnt work....any ideas ?

[dirtysanchez]

I doubt I can be of help other than to say I had numerous issues as well when setting up PlexWatch. After setting changing from localhost to IP, and also adding Plex account user/pass info (as you mention) I finally gave up for the day but left the Docker running. The next day when I went to work on it again it was working and populated with data. Once it is working it acquires new data instantly, but at least for me when first setup it didn't acquire any data for at least an hour.

 

In addition to that, I have seen Docker containers be a little flaky on initial setup on more than one occasion. In every instance, going to the container settings page and clicking update, which causes the container to rebuild (even if you didn't change anything), has resolved the issue.

[ijuarez]

I have installed plewwatch and can access the GUI but i am not getting any stream information or anything for that matter, i have read many threads and tried different settings but i seem to be getting nowhere..

 

my server is 192.168.11.122 and i have tried putting this inplace of where it says local host..i have read the read me manytimes , i tried with and without user/pass and some times the settings screen fields dissapear and i have to delete the .pl and .php files..when i do this i get a 'getting started' screen on plewwatch and it asks me to fill out the fields but it still doesnt work....any ideas ?

 

you mind sharing your config file, ive tried and tried but could never get it to work either.

just omit what you need to.

 

I just want to see an example of one that is working.

[ljm42]

I have installed plewwatch and can access the GUI but i am not getting any stream information or anything for that matter, i have read many threads and tried different settings but i seem to be getting nowhere..

 

you mind sharing your config file, ive tried and tried but could never get it to work either.

 

Your best bet would be to delete your config.php and config.pl files and restart the plexwatch docker in HOST mode.  It will give you default config files that are perfectly setup for running a plexwatch docker in host mode that talks to a Plex docker also running in host mode.  All you need to change are the plex username and password in both files (You should probably use an editor that understands unix line endings, although I don't recall for sure if that is an issue.)  If you edit anything else in those files at this point you are doing something wrong

 

If you think you are having trouble authenticating, perhaps you are using an invalid username/password in the config files?  Try logging in to plex using those credentials to be sure you haven't made a mistake.

 

Once it is working it acquires new data instantly, but at least for me when first setup it didn't acquire any data for at least an hour.

 

Plexwatch will not create a database until there is data to put in it.  That means you need to start watching a movie and wait at least one minute for the cron job to run plexwatch and create the database.  You can save yourself that minute by starting a movie before you start the plexwatch docker for the first time.

 

Really the only other source of problems on initial setup is file permissions.  If things still aren't working, be sure the config directory and everything in is has world-write perms.

[loady]

Well its working in that it is giving me stats on the content of my plex library, ie, how many movies and TV shows but no other information populates.

[ljm42]

Well its working in that it is giving me stats on the content of my plex library, ie, how many movies and TV shows but no other information populates.

 

This docker is a combination of two products: PlexWatch and PlexWatchWeb.

 

It sounds like PlexWatchWeb is connecting to your Plex install properly (config.php) but PlexWatch is not (config.pl).  I'd double check that you have the correct username and password in config.pl.  If you edited *anything else* in that file, delete it and let it get returned to defaults.

 

There may be helpful information in the debug.log file

 

This is kind of a stretch - but if your password has any special characters in it, they could possibly be causing problems.

[interwebtech]

Well its working in that it is giving me stats on the content of my plex library, ie, how many movies and TV shows but no other information populates.

 

Make sure setting for "Plex Media Server IP address, hostname or domain name" and the username/password are the same in both config.php & config.pl. If you get an error "Failed to access plexWatch database" on main page, then you need to tweak permissions on plexwatch.db...

 

from command line:

cd /mnt/cache/apps/plexWatch/

chmod 666 plexWatch.db

[hernandito]

 

Make sure setting for "Plex Media Server IP address, hostname or domain name" and the username/password are the same in both config.php & config.pl. If you get an error "Failed to access plexWatch database" on main page, then you need to tweak permissions on plexwatch.db...

 

from command line:

cd /mnt/cache/apps/plexWatch/

chmod 666 plexWatch.db

 

I have never been able to get plexWatch to work. Always getting the error "failed to access plexWatch database. Please check your settings."

 

I just followed your advice editing both .php and .pl files and changing the permissions and still does not work.

 

I DEMAND MY MONEY.... ehrr... oh yeah, it was free..

 

 

[interwebtech]

I too had not been able to get PlexWatch running before but today's attempts ended in success so keep trying

 

another thing I did different this time was to use direct path to cache drive rather than user share path.

 

my docker settings.

[ljm42]

I too had not been able to get PlexWatch running before but today's attempts ended in success so keep trying

 

So you are running in bridge mode, which can work, but requires additional modifications to the config files.  For people having problems, please use HOST MODE ONLY and DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING other than the username/password in the two config files.  It really does work

[hernandito]

I too had not been able to get PlexWatch running before but today's attempts ended in success so keep trying

 

So you are running in bridge mode, which can work, but requires additional modifications to the config files.  For people having problems, please use HOST MODE ONLY and DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING other than the username/password in the two config files.  It really does work

 

Tried it, but how do I get to the web interface? I get a 404 Not found when I select the WebUI.

[hernandito]

I too had not been able to get PlexWatch running before but today's attempts ended in success so keep trying

 

another thing I did different this time was to use direct path to cache drive rather than user share path.

 

my docker settings.

 

Any chance you could post content of the 2 config files? Obviously replace your username and password.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

[interwebtech]

I too had not been able to get PlexWatch running before but today's attempts ended in success so keep trying

 

another thing I did different this time was to use direct path to cache drive rather than user share path.

 

my docker settings.

 

Any chance you could post content of the 2 config files? Obviously replace your username and password.

 

Many thanks.

 

If you are running anything else on port 8080 (like unMenu) then plexWatch won't work in Host mode. That's why I switched to Bridge so I could map plexWatch to a different port number.

[interwebtech]

Any chance you could post content of the 2 config files? Obviously replace your username and password.

 

Many thanks.

 

config.php

<?php

require_once '/var/www/html/plexWatch/includes/functions.php';
$plexWatch['dateFormat'] = 'm/d/Y';
$plexWatch['timeFormat'] = 'g:i a';
$plexWatch['pmsIp'] = '192.168.1.8';
$plexWatch['pmsHttpPort'] = '32400';
$plexWatch['pmsHttpsPort'] = '32443';
$plexWatch['https'] = 'no';
$plexWatch['plexWatchDb'] = '/plexWatch/plexWatch.db';
$plexWatch['myPlexUser'] = '***';
$plexWatch['myPlexPass'] = '***';
$plexWatch['myPlexAuthToken'] = '[this will be diff for you]';
$plexWatch['globalHistoryGrouping'] = 'yes';
$plexWatch['userHistoryGrouping'] = 'yes';
$plexWatch['chartsGrouping'] = 'yes';

?>

 

config.pl

$data_dir = '/plexWatch/'; ## to store the DB, logfile - can be the same as this script

$server_log = '/log/Plex Media Server.log'; ## used to log IP address of user (alpha)
$log_client_ip = 0; ## requires $server_log to be available too. (requires File::ReadBackwards)
## also required DEBUG log to be turned on in the PMS

$debug_logging = 1; ## logs to $data_dir/debug.log ( not verbose enough yet.. still todo )

## myplex user/pass ONLY required if you have set the PMS to 'Require authentication on local networks' and $server is not set to localhost
$myPlex_user = '***';
$myPlex_pass = '***';

$server = '192.168.1.8'; ## IP of PMS - or localhost
$port = 32400;         ## port of PMS

$notify_started = 1;   # !deprecated -- does nothing anymore (use push_watched, push_watching in $notify)
$notify_stopped = 1;   # !deprecated -- does nothing anymore (use push_watched, push_watching in $notify)

$appname = 'plexWatch';

 

 

 

[ljm42]

Tried it, but how do I get to the web interface? I get a 404 Not found when I select the WebUI.

 

The url is:

http://[yourip]:8080/plexWatch/

but the "WebUI" option should take care of that for you.  Click on the icon and choose the "Logs" option.  Anything interesting?

 

At this point I'm guessing you have tried so many things that something is corrupted.  I would recommend that you delete your plexWatch docker and the related directory on your cache drive and start over completely.

 

Any chance you could post content of the 2 config files? Obviously replace your username and password.

 

He is running in bridge mode, so you don't want to copy his config files.  The easiest way to get clean config files is to delete yours and start over.

[dirtysanchez]

Plexwatch will not create a database until there is data to put in it.  That means you need to start watching a movie and wait at least one minute for the cron job to run plexwatch and create the database.  You can save yourself that minute by starting a movie before you start the plexwatch docker for the first time.

 

Really the only other source of problems on initial setup is file permissions.  If things still aren't working, be sure the config directory and everything in is has world-write perms.

 

Yes, and I had movies streaming during the time I was setting it up (expecting to see info showing up) and it wasn't. It suddenly showed info later. I know it makes no sense, but that's what happened. It's also possible I updated the container to rebuild it and that's what did it.

 

FWIW, it does work fine in bridge mode, but as you say it does require more configuration. I'm running it in bridge mode just fine, but I did read the config files carefully and also used a Linux-friendly editor to make changes.

[hernandito]

Finally... the big secret is you have to watch something on Plex for it to work. I had not done that.... Thanks

[ljm42]

FWIW, it does work fine in bridge mode, but as you say it does require more configuration. I'm running it in bridge mode just fine, but I did read the config files carefully and also used a Linux-friendly editor to make changes.

 

It's true, I run in bridge mode myself.  But for the folks who are having a hard time getting this going, the fewer variables there are, the better.  The default config files are setup for host mode out of the box, so that is the easiest to get going.

 

Finally... the big secret is you have to watch something on Plex for it to work. I had not done that.... Thanks

 

Great!  I think that just leaves loady who is still having trouble?  Re-reading their post, they may have the same issue.

[loady]

i deleted the config files and then filled in the info via the GUI...still didnt work so i left it..when i went back the next day it was all up and running...guess it just took more than a minute to populate. Now im proably going to break it by enabling plex home 

[trurl]

i deleted the config files and then filled in the info via the GUI...still didnt work so i left it..when i went back the next day it was all up and running...guess it just took more than a minute to populate. Now im proably going to break it by enabling plex home 

Sometimes it will take a while for a docker to finish starting before it can be used. You can follow its progress by clicking on its icon and selecting log.