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Frank 1939135e4c quadlet: UsernsMode= is compose syntax — use the v1 key UserNS=host

podman 5.7 podman-user-generator on dankserver hard-fails the whole unit on
the unknown key ('unsupported key UsernsMode in group Container'), so the
first cutover attempt masked the native unit and then found no plex.service
at all. Swap both units to UserNS=host (same --userns=host flag), update the
ownership-contract seam test to pin the exact key, and correct both docs.
Pin the seam: the v1 generator rejects unknown Container keys silently at
deploy distance — the test now pins UserNS=, not the misspelled alias.

2026-09-01 22:36:43 -07:00

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Plex

Plex Media Server is the containerized media server on Dankserver: a podman quadlet (plex.service) under the systemd user generator, generated from dankserver/plex/quadlet/plex.container. It is the only media server actually listening on this host. Jellyfin, by contrast, is a research brief on this host, not a running service (see Jellyfin).

Host: Dankserver — Ports: 32400/tcp (PMS web + API), 32400 is the only port PMS needs for client streaming; LAN clients connect directly, public traffic can be fronted by Caddy like every other vhost.

Facts

Item	Value
Runtime	podman quadlet, `plex.service` (user manager) — migrated from the native `plexmediaserver.service` OS-package unit (2026-09)
Image	`lscr.io/linuxserver/plex:1.43.3.10896-cb3ebc72d-ls322` (pinned; verified == the ghcr `latest` manifest digest at pin time)
Data root	`/var/lib/plexmediaserver` bind-mounted in place as `/config` (RW) — the migration moved zero bytes
Media	`/mnt/entropy` mounted at the same absolute path read-only — every library path in the PMS database stayed valid, zero re-scan
Identity	`UserNS=host` (quadlet key for `--userns=host`) + `PUID=997 PGID=984` — container writes land owned 997:984, byte-compatible with the former native unit
Port	`32400/tcp` published on `0.0.0.0` — zero client reconfiguration
Network	`dankserver_appnet`, alias `plex`; Tautulli reaches it at `http://plex:32400`
GPU	none by decision — CPU decode only; the RTX 3090 stays dedicated to `frank-default-small`
Deploy	`./scripts/deploy.sh dankserver --service plex`
Docs	https://support.plex.tv

Why in-place bind mounts

The migration moved zero bytes: the container bind-mounts the native data root where it already lived, and the media archive re-mounts at /mnt/entropy inside the container, so every absolute library path in the PMS database keeps resolving. UsernsMode=host + PUID=997/PGID=984 makes the container's file identity indistinguishable from the old service's — no chown, no re-scan. Rollback is byte-safe at any time before decommission.

Cutover & rollback

First deploy stops and masks plexmediaserver.service (never disable — on these hosts disable deletes the unit file), then starts the quadlet; the deployer blocks until /identity answers on 32400.
Rollback lever while masked: systemctl --user stop plex.service && sudo systemctl unmask plexmediaserver.service && sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver.service.
Decommission (sudo apt-get -y purge plexmediaserver) only after explicit operator sign-off.

Integration points

Caddy: Plex is exempt from the Anubis bot challenge (plain-HTTP legacy clients cannot solve JS challenges) — see Anubis "Exempt by construction".
Tautulli (Tautulli) is the companion: it polls PMS on the appnet for statistics and notifications and makes no sense without Plex.
Auth wall: if a public vhost is ever pointed at Plex, put the Authentik outpost + Anubis chain in front of it like every other guarded vhost (Authentik, Caddy); direct :32400 exposure to the LAN is unauthenticated by design (Plex owns its own auth via claim tokens).

Gotchas

Do not benchmark on it blind. Transcoding is CPU-only now but still contends with the LLM fleet's host-RAM expert streaming; stop the service before benchmark runs, per the Benchmarking Policy.
Updates are commit-driven, not apt. The OS package is retired at cutover; upgrading PMS means pinning a new -ls tag in the unit file and redeploying — never run :latest.
The claim token is the identity of this server; document it in the host .env, never in this repo (secret rules apply). The token lives in Preferences.xml inside the RW data bind, preserved by the migration.

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