The Scan in Plex script adds a 'Scan in Plex' context menu entry in Windows Explorer for folders that are part of your Plex library.
I don't like having automatic scanning enabled in Plex, but the only manual scan option available in the UI is to do a whole library scan. This can result in a lot of unnecessary scanning when I know the exact folder I want to add/rescan. The command line can be used, but it's not very convenient. This project aims to make partial manual scanning easier by adding the ability to right click on any folder that's in your Plex library and immediately scan it.
Python 3 and the packages outlined in requirements.txt, which can be installed via pip install -r requirements.txt
python ScanInPlex.py -h | -c [-p HOST] [-t TOKEN] [-v | -q] | -s -d DIRECTORY | -u [-q]
Only two arguments are required, host and token. They can be specified in the provided config.yml file, or passed in as command line arguments. Configuration is best run as administrator. It should still work without elevation, but will result in UAC and regedit prompts, as the registry's HKCR cluster must be edited to add context menu handlers.
| Value | Command line | Description |
|---|---|---|
| host | -p, --host |
The host of the Plex server. Defaults to http://localhost:32400 |
| token | -t, --token |
Your Plex token. See Plex's official documentation for Finding an authentication token |
| web | -w, --noweb |
Invoke Plex Media Scanner.exe instead of the web API. Avoids storing your Plex token in plaintext, but is generally less reliable and the command line option is deprecated by Plex. |
| add_refresh | -r, --add_refresh |
Add a 'Refresh Metadata' option in addition to 'Scan in Plex'. Note that this isn't very efficient. It will load every item in a library and check whether its file path matches the given directory. |
| verbose | -v, --verbose |
Show more details and asks for confirmation before continuing |
| quiet | -q, --quiet |
Only show warnings and errors |
Scanning will be invoked automatically by the context menu handler after going through configuration, but can also be run manually if a directory is provided:
| Value | Command line | Description |
|---|---|---|
| directory | -d, --directory |
Directory to scan in Plex |
| refresh | -r, --refresh |
Refresh metadata for items in the given directory instead of scanning |
Uninstalls the script, i.e. deletes the registry keys and %LOCALAPPDATA% files. Like configuration, running the script as an administrator will avoid UAC and regedit dialogs.
| Value | Command line | Description |
|---|---|---|
| quiet | -q, --quiet |
Only show warnings and errors |
This script has three main parts:
- Query your Plex server to grab all your library sections and the folders mapped to those sections.
- Create the necessary registry entries to create the shortcut menu handlers.
- Create a configuration file that ScanInPlex will reference to properly invoke
Plex Media Scanner.exeor the web API.