1. Introduction to the Plan#
Set up a Plex Server on a VPS using Docker, with the audio files stored on the VPS. Plex matches the metadata using the Ximalaya plugin. If using an internal NAS or Synology device, simply install the Plex suite and create a music library. Use Prologue on iOS to connect to the Plex server for playback. I'm not sure about Android, but if you purchase Plex Pass, you should be able to use the official music player, Plexamp.
For a tutorial on setting up Plex using Docker, please refer to:
2. Plex Server Configuration#
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Create a library
Create a library and select "Music" as the type. Add the appropriate folders. For Linux, pay attention to permission issues. In the Advanced settings, if the audio files are not named properly, it is recommended to select "Personal Media Artists" as the scanner and agent. This way, the audio files will not be scraped.
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Disable automatic database scanning and scheduled scanning.
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Install the Ximalaya scraping plugin
Visit the project address: https://github.com/timmy0209/Ximalaya.bundle
Download the package. Unzip the downloaded zip file and search online for articles on how to install Plex plugins for your specific system.
Restart Plex Server to apply the plugin.
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It is recommended to scrape one audiobook at a time and manually modify the matching information. This is also the reason for manually scanning the database.
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After completing a book, browse through the albums and correct the matching by entering the title in the search options, selecting "ximalaya" as the agent, and then choosing the matching information to download the metadata.
3. Client Settings#
For iOS, you can use the free Prologue app. If you want to download, you will need the premium version. Simply log in to your Plex account, and all the corresponding Plex Servers will be listed. Select the desired server and library.
4. Related Issues#
If the naming is not standardized, the Ximalaya scraping plugin may have poor results, as each audio file may be considered a separate album, making it difficult to make changes. This issue occurred because I did not upload all the audio files at once, but added them later. The new audio files were not scraped into the existing albums with metadata, but instead created separate albums, which consumes a lot of resources. Therefore, it is recommended to disable automatic library scanning and automatic scraping.
Prologue software shows the server in relay status. Please refer to my Plex setup tutorial for related issues.