How to Add Library to Plex?

Plex allows you to add media to your Plex media server during and after setup. If you missed adding library to Plex during setup, or want to create new ones, you can do that in your Plex settings. And the following article will show you how to add files to Plex Media Server with detailed step-by-step guide.

To help Plex scan all your local media files and scrape the correct meta information for your media content, it is suggested that you make the following optimizations to your media folders and media files.

1. Systematize Media Folders

Make sure your major types of media content, like movies and TV shows, are separated from each other. The recommended folder system should be like this:

2. Standardize Media Files’ Names

Make sure your media files do not use the same name, otherwise the Plex metadata agents won’t be able to tell which is which, and hence won’t get the correct information for your media content. It is advised that you name your movies and TV shows in the following order:

*.ext means container format, like .mp4, .mkv...

Tips: For more specific information, you can look to Plex support article: Naming and Organizing Your TV Show Files

3. Convert Unsupported File Formats

Make sure all your media files can be recognized by the Plex scanner. Disk image formats like ISO, IMG, and VIDEO_TS folder are not supported by Plex and should be converted to compatible formats beforehand.

Check: ISO to MP4, ISO to MKV, IMG to MP4, Video_TS to MKV, VIDEO_TS to MP4

Step 1. Launch the Plex Web App and click the settings icon on the top-right corner of the web interface to open the settings menu.

Step 2. On the left sidebar, scroll down the menu to select Libraries under the MANAGE section.

Step 3. Click Add Library and select your library type. Then name the library and choose a language that controls the information gathered from the internet. Click NEXT.

Note: The picture show how to add movies to Plex. You can create other libraries for your other types of content.

Step 4. Click BROWSE FOR MEDIA FOLDER to choose the folder that contain your media files and click ADD. If you selected the wrong folder, click the cross mark to remove the folder. Then click ADD LIBRARY.

Note: You can add multiple folders to a single library.

Step 5. The Plex will automatically scan and organize your media libraries.

That’s all I want to share about how to add library to Plex. If you are adding libraries to an existing server, remember to restart your client app to pick up the new media content. Thanks for reading!