How to Install and Update Plex Media Server on Ubuntu, Debian and Linux Mint

Updated: 8 October 2026 · Applies to: Plex Media Server 1.43.4 on Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04, Debian 13, Linux Mint 22.3 and AlmaLinux 10

To install Plex Media Server on Ubuntu, Debian or Linux Mint, add Plex’s own apt repository (https://repo.plex.tv/deb/) and run sudo apt install plexmediaserver. After that, Plex updates with your normal sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade. Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 and Linux Mint 19 are end of life, so use a current release. If you added the Plex repository years ago, read the update section: the old repository stopped at version 1.42.2.

Which Linux distros does Plex support?

According to the Plex downloads list, the Linux server packages are built for Ubuntu 16.04 or later and Debian 8 or later (a .deb package), and for Fedora 27 or later, CentOS 7 or later and SUSE 15 or later (an .rpm package), on 64-bit Intel/AMD, ARMv8 and ARMv7. Linux Mint uses the Ubuntu package: Mint 22.x is based on Ubuntu 24.04 (noble) and LMDE 7 on Debian 13 (trixie), according to the Linux Mint release list. AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux use the RPM repository (see the end of this article).

1. Add the Plex repository and install (Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint)

Run these commands as a user with sudo rights:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y curl gnupg2
curl -L https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.v2.key | sudo gpg --yes --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/plexmediaserver.v2.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/plexmediaserver.v2.gpg] https://repo.plex.tv/deb/ public main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plex.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y plexmediaserver

The same commands worked on Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 26.04, Debian 13 and a Linux Mint 22.3 image. To see which version the repository offers, run apt-cache policy plexmediaserver after sudo apt update. Before the install we got:

plexmediaserver:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1.43.4.10903-e5521bd8c
  Version table:
     1.43.4.10903-e5521bd8c 500
        500 https://repo.plex.tv/deb public/main amd64 Packages

Plex publishes the fingerprint of its signing key as 6EFFEB478A6559D75C7C4FE706C521790B9CFFDE. You can compare it with gpg --show-keys /etc/apt/keyrings/plexmediaserver.v2.gpg.

Other ways to install: Plex also offers a setup script that asks before each step: curl -LsSf https://repo.plex.tv/scripts/setupRepo.sh | sudo bash. Or download the single .deb file for your processor from the Plex Media Server downloads page on plex.tv and install it with sudo dpkg -i plexmediaserver_*.deb. A downloaded package does not update itself, so the repository is the better choice.

2. Start, stop and check the Plex service

The package creates a plex user, enables the plexmediaserver service and starts it. The usual systemd commands control it:

sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver
sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver
sudo systemctl stop plexmediaserver
sudo systemctl restart plexmediaserver
sudo systemctl enable plexmediaserver   # start at boot

A healthy server shows:

● plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running)

Plex keeps its database and settings in /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server.

3. Open Plex and finish the setup

• On the same computer (for example a Linux Mint desktop): open http://127.0.0.1:32400/web in a browser, sign in with your Plex account, name the server and add your libraries.
• On a remote server or VPS: Plex only allows the first setup from the server’s own network, so open an SSH tunnel from your computer first:

  ssh -L 8888:127.0.0.1:32400 user@SERVER-IP

  Keep that session open and browse to http://127.0.0.1:8888/web. On Windows you can do the same with the built-in ssh command or with PuTTY (source port 8888, destination 127.0.0.1:32400). After the server is claimed, you no longer need the tunnel.

4. Give Plex access to your media

Plex runs as the plex user, which needs read and execute permission on every media folder. On Ubuntu and Linux Mint, new home folders have mode 750, so Plex cannot see ~/Videos. In our test it failed with Permission denied until we added access lists (install the acl package if setfacl is missing):

sudo setfacl -m u:plex:x /home/yourname
sudo setfacl -R -m u:plex:rX /home/yourname/Videos

On a server, a separate folder owned by Plex is simpler:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/media/Movies "/srv/media/TV Shows"
sudo chown -R plex:plex /srv/media

5. Update Plex Media Server on Ubuntu, Debian or Mint

With the repository in place, Plex updates with the rest of the system:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

To update only Plex, run sudo apt install --only-upgrade plexmediaserver. If the server was running, the package restarts it. Check the installed version with dpkg-query -W plexmediaserver.

Stuck on version 1.42.2? Plex moved to a new repository and a new signing key with version 1.43.0. The old repository (downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb) still answers but stops at 1.42.2, so apt reports nothing to update. Remove the old entry, then repeat step 1:

sudo rm -fv /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plex*

In our test on Ubuntu 24.04, the next apt update offered:

plexmediaserver/public 1.43.4.10903-e5521bd8c amd64 [upgradable from: 1.42.2.10156-f737b826c]

According to Plex, the repository carries public releases only, not Plex Pass beta builds.

Firewall

Plex needs TCP port 32400. According to Plex, on a machine with a public IP address you should not open its other ports (DLNA, discovery). With UFW:

sudo ufw allow 32400/tcp

With firewalld: sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=32400/tcp and then sudo firewall-cmd --reload.

AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Fedora

Plex’s RPM repository needs rpm 4.16 or later. Create /etc/yum.repos.d/plex.repo:

[PlexTv]
name=Plex.tv
baseurl=https://repo.plex.tv/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.v2.key

Then run sudo dnf install plexmediaserver and accept the key with fingerprint 6EFF EB47 8A65 59D7 5C7C 4FE7 06C5 2179 0B9C FFDE. On AlmaLinux 10.2 this installed 1.43.4 and started the service. sudo dnf upgrade updates it later.

Running Plex on a VPS or dedicated server

• According to Plex, streaming personal video from outside the server’s local network needs a Plex Pass on the server owner’s account, or a Plex Pass or Remote Watch Pass on the viewer’s account. On a hosted server, every stream counts as remote.
• Transcoding uses a lot of CPU. Hardware-accelerated streaming needs a Plex Pass and supported hardware, according to Plex.
• Prefer a free, open-source server? See install Jellyfin Media Server on a VPS.

A KVM VPS or a dedicated server gives you the root access these steps need.

Official documentation (Plex support site, support.plex.tv): “Enable repository updating for supported Linux server distributions”, “Installation” and “What network ports do I need to allow through my firewall?”.