Plex Media Server

Version tags#

Before deploying, make sure your host is configured — see the Quick Start guide for host setup and the security model behind host vs. container privileges.

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

Environment variables#

Volumes#

Host networking#

Plex requires network_mode: host on FreeBSD Podman. Bridge networking causes the Plex setup wizard to reject all connections with "Not authorized" — 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 15.1).