For AI agents: The documentation index is at https://docs.digitalocean.com/llms.txt. Markdown versions of pages use the same URL with index.html.md in place of the HTML page (for example, append index.html.md to the directory path instead of opening the HTML document).

Plex Media Server 1-Click Application

Deploy Plex Media Server on DigitalOcean and stream your personal video, music, and photo library to nearly any device. This 1-Click installs the official Plex Docker image with Caddy (automatic TLS), firewall rules, and helper scripts for day-to-day management.

What is Plex Media Server?

Plex organizes your personal media and streams it to phones, tablets, smart TVs, streaming sticks, and browsers. With your own Plex server you keep control of your files while using official Plex clients everywhere.

Key Features

• Official plexinc/pms-docker container
• HTTPS gated behind a setup-pending page until the server is claimed (prevents public claim takeover)
• After claim: HTTPS via Caddy (Let’s Encrypt shortlived TLS) + direct access on port 32400
• Media storage at /opt/plex/media
• Systemd service and start/stop/restart/update/claim/status helpers
• UFW firewall pre-configured for SSH, HTTP, HTTPS, and Plex
• fail2ban for SSH protection

System Components

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• Plex Media Server (plexinc/pms-docker)
• Docker and Docker Compose
• Caddy reverse proxy with Let’s Encrypt
• UFW firewall
• fail2ban

System Requirements

Plex benefits from CPU for transcoding and disk space for your library. Suggested sizes:

Minimum recommended: 4 GB RAM. Attach Block Storage if your media library is large.

Software Included

Creating an App using the Control Panel

Click the Deploy to DigitalOcean button to create a Droplet based on this 1-Click App. If you aren’t logged in, this link will prompt you to log in with your DigitalOcean account.

Creating an App using the API

In addition to creating a Droplet from the Plex 1-Click App using the control panel, you can also use the DigitalOcean API. As an example, to create a 4GB Plex Droplet in the SFO2 region, you can use the following curl command. You need to either save your API access token to an environment variable or substitute it in the command below.

curl -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
         -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$TOKEN'' -d \
        '{"name":"choose_a_name","region":"sfo2","size":"s-2vcpu-4gb","image":"plex"}' \
        "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/droplets"

Getting Started After Deploying Plex

1. Deploy this 1-Click from the DigitalOcean Marketplace (4 GB RAM or larger).

2. Wait 2–5 minutes after the Droplet becomes active for first-boot setup.

3. Claim the server (required — HTTPS proxy stays gated until claim):

   Visit https://YOUR_DROPLET_IP to see claim instructions.

   Option A — SSH tunnel

   From your laptop:

   ssh -L 8888:127.0.0.1:32400 root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

   Open http://localhost:8888/web, sign in, and finish setup. Then unlock HTTPS:

   sudo /opt/enable-plex-proxy.sh

   Option B — Claim token

   Open https://www.plex.tv/claim, copy the token, then on the Droplet:

   /opt/claim-plex.sh claim-XXXXXXXX

   This claims the server and enables HTTPS automatically. Then open https://YOUR_DROPLET_IP.

4. Enable remote access in Plex settings and set public port 32400.

5. Upload media to /opt/plex/media and add libraries in the Plex UI (folder /data).

Custom domain (HTTPS)

After claim, point your domain’s A record at the Droplet, then run:

sudo /opt/setup-plex-domain.sh

Upload media example

mkdir -p /opt/plex/media/movies
scp example_video.mp4 root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP:/opt/plex/media/movies/

Then add a Movies library pointed at /data/movies in the Plex UI (container path for /opt/plex/media).

Optional Block Storage

mkdir -p /opt/plex/media/volume
mount /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0DO_Volume_YOUR_VOLUME /opt/plex/media/volume
echo "/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0DO_Volume_YOUR_VOLUME /opt/plex/media/volume ext4 defaults,nofail,discard 0 0" >> /etc/fstab
docker restart plex

Service Management

Note: plex.service is a oneshot unit that starts Docker Compose. Prefer /opt/status-plex.sh over systemctl is-active plex to confirm the container is still healthy.

Software Included

Important Ports

Only 32400/tcp is published from the container for remote access MVP. Extra Plex discovery ports (DLNA / GDM UDP such as 1900, 32410–32414) are not exposed by default; enable them only if you need LAN discovery features.

Documentation

• DigitalOcean Marketplace — Plex
• Plex Media Server Docker