Plex

Provides AI assistants with comprehensive access to a Plex Media Server.

Plex MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI assistants with comprehensive access to your Plex Media Server. Query your libraries, get viewing statistics, and manage your media through natural language interactions.

🎬 What is this?

This MCP server transforms your Plex Media Server into an AI-queryable database. Ask your AI assistant questions like:

"What movies have I watched recently?"
"Show me my viewing statistics for the past month"
"What's the most popular content on my server?"
"Find action movies in my library"
"What's on my continue watching list?"

✨ Features

📚 Library Management (Plex)

Browse all Plex libraries
List library items with pagination and sorting controls
Export full libraries to JSON without truncation
Search across movies, TV shows, music, and more
Restrict search to a specific library section
Get detailed metadata for any media item

📄 Read-Only Metadata & Lists (Plex)

Inspect editable fields and current tags for any media item
List all playlists and items in a playlist
Get Plex watchlist with fallback endpoint support

📊 Tautulli-Style Analytics (Plex)

Comprehensive viewing statistics
User activity tracking
Popular content analysis
Watch history with progress tracking
Library usage metrics

🎯 Smart Querying (Plex)

Recently watched content
Fully watched movies/shows
Continue watching (On Deck)
Recently added media

📡 Sonarr/Radarr Integration (Plex+Arr Server)

Browse and search your Sonarr series and Radarr movie libraries
Add new series/movies by TVDB/TMDB ID with auto-detected quality profiles
View download queues, missing episodes/movies, and calendar
Trigger searches for missing content
Check service status for both Sonarr and Radarr

🔄 Trakt.tv Sync (Plex+Trakt Server)

OAuth authentication with Trakt.tv
Sync Plex watch history to Trakt
Enhanced viewing statistics from Trakt
Search the Trakt database
Real-time scrobbling support

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
Plex Media Server (any recent version)
Plex Token (How to get your token)
MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, etc.)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/niavasha/plex-mcp-server.git
cd plex-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

Configuration

Get your Plex token (see instructions below)
Create environment file:

# Copy the example environment file
cp .env.example .env

# Edit with your details
PLEX_URL=http://localhost:32400
PLEX_TOKEN=your_plex_token_here
# Optional: enable mutative Plex tools (disabled by default)
# PLEX_ENABLE_MUTATIVE_OPS=true

Configure your MCP client:

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop).

Plex only (18 tools):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plex": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/plex-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PLEX_URL": "http://localhost:32400",
        "PLEX_TOKEN": "your_plex_token_here",
        "PLEX_ENABLE_MUTATIVE_OPS": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Plex + Sonarr/Radarr (30 tools):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plex-arr": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/plex-mcp-server/build/plex-arr-server.js"],
      "env": {
        "PLEX_URL": "http://localhost:32400",
        "PLEX_TOKEN": "your_plex_token_here",
        "SONARR_URL": "http://localhost:8989",
        "SONARR_API_KEY": "your_sonarr_api_key",
        "RADARR_URL": "http://localhost:7878",
        "RADARR_API_KEY": "your_radarr_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Plex + Trakt.tv (22 tools):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plex-trakt": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/plex-mcp-server/build/plex-trakt-server.js"],
      "env": {
        "PLEX_URL": "http://localhost:32400",
        "PLEX_TOKEN": "your_plex_token_here",
        "TRAKT_CLIENT_ID": "your_trakt_client_id",
        "TRAKT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_trakt_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Sonarr/Radarr API keys are optional at startup — tools that need them will return a helpful error message if the key is missing. Find your API keys at Settings > General > API Key in each app's web UI.

Usage

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant:

🎬 "What movies did I watch last week?"
📺 "Show me my most popular TV shows this month"
📊 "Give me viewing statistics for the past 30 days"
🔍 "Search for Christopher Nolan movies in my library"
▶️ "What's on my continue watching list?"
📚 "List all my Plex libraries"

🛠️ Available Functions

Plex Tools (all servers)

Function	Description
`get_libraries`	List all Plex libraries
`get_library_items`	List items in a library with pagination
`export_library`	Export a full library to JSON (under `./exports`)
`search_media`	Search media globally or within one library
`get_recently_added`	Recently added content
`get_on_deck`	Continue watching list
`get_media_details`	Detailed media info
`get_editable_fields`	Show editable fields and available tags for an item
`get_playlists`	List all Plex playlists
`get_playlist_items`	List items in a playlist
`get_watchlist`	Get current Plex watchlist
`get_recently_watched`	Recently watched content
`get_watch_history`	Detailed watch sessions

The standalone Plex server also includes: get_fully_watched, get_watch_stats, get_user_stats, get_library_stats, get_popular_content.

Mutative Plex Tools (`PLEX_ENABLE_MUTATIVE_OPS=true`)

Function	Description
`update_metadata`	Update metadata fields and editable tags for a media item
`update_metadata_from_json`	Apply a metadata JSON payload using best-effort field mapping
`create_playlist`	Create a new smart or static playlist
`add_to_playlist`	Add a media item to a playlist
`remove_from_playlist`	Remove an item from a playlist
`clear_playlist`	Preview and optionally clear all items from a playlist (`confirm=true`)
`delete_playlist`	Delete a playlist without deleting the underlying media
`add_to_watchlist`	Add a media item to the Plex watchlist
`remove_from_watchlist`	Remove a media item from the Plex watchlist

Sonarr Tools (plex-arr-server)

Function	Description
`sonarr_get_series`	List series with optional title filter
`sonarr_search`	Search TheTVDB for new series
`sonarr_add_series`	Add series by TVDB ID
`sonarr_get_missing`	Missing/wanted episodes
`sonarr_get_queue`	Download queue
`sonarr_get_calendar`	Upcoming episodes
`sonarr_get_profiles`	Quality profiles and root folders
`sonarr_trigger_search`	Trigger missing episode search

Radarr Tools (plex-arr-server)

Function	Description
`radarr_get_movies`	List movies with optional title filter
`radarr_search`	Search TMDB for new movies
`radarr_add_movie`	Add movie by TMDB ID
`radarr_get_missing`	Missing/wanted movies
`radarr_get_queue`	Download queue
`radarr_get_calendar`	Upcoming movies
`radarr_get_profiles`	Quality profiles and root folders
`radarr_trigger_search`	Trigger missing movie search

Cross-Service Tools (plex-arr-server)

Function	Description
`arr_get_status`	Check Sonarr/Radarr connection status

Trakt Tools (plex-trakt-server)

Function	Description
`trakt_authenticate`	Start Trakt.tv OAuth flow
`trakt_complete_auth`	Complete authentication
`trakt_get_auth_status`	Check auth status
`trakt_sync_to_trakt`	Sync Plex history to Trakt
`trakt_sync_from_trakt`	Get Trakt data for comparison
`trakt_get_user_stats`	Enhanced stats from Trakt
`trakt_search`	Search Trakt database
`trakt_start_scrobbling`	Real-time scrobbling
`trakt_get_sync_status`	Check sync operation status

🔑 Getting Your Plex Token

Open Plex Web App in your browser
Navigate to Settings → Account → Privacy
Click "Show Advanced" at the bottom
Copy your Plex Token

Alternative method:

Visit: http://YOUR_PLEX_IP:32400/web/index.html#!/settings/account
Look for the "Plex Token" field

📁 Project Structure

plex-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts               # Standalone Plex server (18 tools)
│   ├── plex-arr-server.ts     # Plex + Sonarr/Radarr server (30 tools)
│   ├── plex-trakt-server.ts   # Plex + Trakt server (22 tools)
│   ├── plex/                  # Shared Plex module
│   │   ├── client.ts          #   Plex API client
│   │   ├── tools.ts           #   Plex tool implementations
│   │   ├── tool-registry.ts   #   Map-based tool dispatch
│   │   ├── tool-schemas.ts    #   MCP tool schema definitions
│   │   ├── constants.ts       #   Configuration defaults
│   │   └── types.ts           #   TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── arr/                   # Sonarr/Radarr module
│   │   ├── client.ts          #   Base ArrClient + Sonarr/Radarr subclasses
│   │   ├── mcp-functions.ts   #   Tool implementations (17 tools)
│   │   ├── tool-registry.ts   #   Map-based tool dispatch
│   │   ├── tool-schemas.ts    #   MCP tool schema definitions
│   │   ├── constants.ts       #   Configuration defaults
│   │   └── types.ts           #   TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── trakt/                 # Trakt.tv module
│   │   ├── client.ts          #   Trakt API client + OAuth
│   │   ├── sync.ts            #   Plex-to-Trakt sync engine
│   │   ├── mapper.ts          #   Plex-to-Trakt data mapping
│   │   ├── mcp-functions.ts   #   Tool implementations (9 tools)
│   │   ├── tool-registry.ts   #   Map-based tool dispatch
│   │   └── tool-schemas.ts    #   MCP tool schema definitions
│   └── shared/                # Shared utilities
│       └── utils.ts           #   truncate, sleep, chunkArray
├── build/                     # Compiled JavaScript output
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── .env.example               # Environment variables template
└── README.md

🔧 Development

Scripts

# Development mode with auto-reload
npm run dev            # Plex only
npm run dev:arr        # Plex + Sonarr/Radarr
npm run dev:trakt      # Plex + Trakt

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start production server
npm start              # Plex only
npm start:arr          # Plex + Sonarr/Radarr
npm start:trakt        # Plex + Trakt

Building from Source

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/niavasha/plex-mcp-server.git
cd plex-mcp-server
npm install

# Development
npm run dev

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Guidelines

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Connection refused:

Verify your Plex server is running
Check the PLEX_URL in your .env file
Ensure the port (usually 32400) is correct

Authentication errors:

Verify your Plex token is correct
Check token permissions in Plex settings
Ensure token hasn't expired

Empty responses:

Some features require Plex Pass
Check if your libraries are accessible
Verify media has been scanned and is available

Sonarr/Radarr connection issues:

Verify Sonarr/Radarr is running and accessible from the MCP server host
Check that the API key is correct (Settings > General > API Key)
Sonarr uses API v3 at /api/v3/ — ensure your URL doesn't include a trailing path
For large Radarr libraries (20k+ movies), the initial radarr_get_movies call may take up to 30 seconds

MCP client issues:

Ensure the path to the correct server JS file is set (build/index.js, build/plex-arr-server.js, or build/plex-trakt-server.js)
Check that Node.js is in your system PATH
Verify environment variables are set in client config

Getting Help

📝 Open an issue
💬 Check existing discussions
📖 Review the MCP documentation

📋 Requirements

Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
Plex Media Server (any recent version)
Network access between MCP server and Plex server
Valid Plex token with appropriate permissions

🔒 Security Notes

Keep your Plex token secure - never commit it to version control
Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
Run on trusted networks - the server communicates directly with Plex
Regular token rotation - consider refreshing tokens periodically

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Anthropic for the Model Context Protocol
Plex for the amazing media server
Tautulli for analytics inspiration
The open-source community for various libraries and tools

🔗 Related Projects

Model Context Protocol - The standard this server implements
Claude Desktop - Popular MCP client
Tautulli - Plex monitoring and analytics
PlexAPI - Python Plex API library

Built with ❤️ for the Plex and AI community