April 2016: recent versions of Plex (0.9.16.3, maybe earlier) transcode to the config directory by default, so there is no need to make the changes described below.  If you have already configured your plex with a custom transcode directory that is fine, it will not hurt anything.

 

Regardless of which Plex Docker you choose, you'll want to configure it to transcode outside of your main docker image. This will help prevent your docker image from filling up.

• Step 1: On the unRAID Docker settings page for Plex, add a new Volume Mapping (Read/Write). The "Container volume" should be set to "/transcode", for the "Host path"...
   
  • Option 1: A good default host path would be in the appdata folder on your cache drive, i.e. if your /config directory is set to:
      /mnt/cache/appdata/Plex/
    then the /transcode directory could be:
      /mnt/cache/appdata/Plex/transcode/
     
     
  • Option 2: If you have a lot of RAM you can save wear and tear on your cache drive by transcoding in RAM. In that case, set the /transcode host path to:
      /tmp
     
    Note: Since about Plex version 0.9.14, transcoding to RAM does not work.  Recommend avoiding this option.
    
    Note 2: April 2019 - It seems that transcoding in RAM may work again. If you'd like to discuss this I'd suggest heading over to the Plex: Guide to Moving Transcoding to RAM thread and letting this thread die. This tip was obsoleted in April 2016.

   

   

• Step 2: Save your changes to restart Plex, then from within Plex go to Settings -> Server -> Transcoder. Hit the "Show Advanced" button, and in the "Transcoder temporary directory" field put "/transcode" and then "Save Changes".

   

 

That's it!  For further reading...

• If you are curious about the other transcoder settings, see this help page on the Plex website
• See this thread for further discussion on transcoding in RAM.
• If you continue to have problems with your docker image filling up, discuss it here rather than in this thread.
• Here is a discussion on finding docker containers with large log files.

 

Note: Would someone please move this to the Docker Containers category? I don't have the ability to start a new thread access there.

 

Edited April 20, 20197 yr by ljm42

Why not add it yourself to the docker FAQ thread.  Won't get lost in the shuffle there.  Doesn't fit perfectly in there, but this question comes up over and over again.

done.  I guess this thread can be deleted then.

Thanks for this - didn't think of that

done.  I guess this thread can be deleted then.

I will just leave it here to give people more opportunities to find it in a search.

Isn't that incorrect now? Transcode to RAM (/tmp) seems to work and what most would recommend for high RAM systems?

"transcoding to RAM does not work" is vague. Why? What proof?

 

I have transcode to RAM settings and it appears to still be working on newest unraid and plex version.

If it works for you, great!  But if you start having issues with Plex, this is the first thing I would change.

"transcoding to RAM does not work" is vague. Why? What proof?
 
I have transcode to RAM settings and it appears to still be working on newest unraid and plex version.

Transcoding in RAM (/transcode mapped to /tmp) has worked flawlessly for me for over three years. I also have the latest Plexpass version of Plex and latest UnRAID version.

The transcoding config has survived every version update for those 3+ years,


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This thread was obsoleted three years ago, but I went ahead and updated it to acknowledge that issues with transcoding to RAM may have changed since then. If you'd like to discuss that topic I'd suggest visiting the Plex: Guide to Moving Transcoding to RAM thread.