Libraries

A Plex server's libraries (Plex calls them sections) become MediaLibrary rows. Only the libraries you leave enabled feed channels and metadata sync — everything else is ignored.

Sections become MediaLibrary rows

syncLibraries (packages/api/src/services/plex/sync-libraries.ts) fetches the sections via getLibraries → GET /library/sections on the server's baseUrl, and upserts each one keyed by (mediaSourceId, key):

• New libraries are added enabled. The create branch sets no enabled value, so the schema default (true) applies.
• Existing libraries keep your choice. The update branch only touches title, type, and lastScanAt — it never overwrites enabled. So a library you toggled off stays off across rescans.

Each row records its Plex key (the section key), title, type ("movie", "show", …), the enabled flag, and lastScanAt. syncLibraries runs automatically at the end of saveConnection and again on every rescan.

Only movie and show libraries are useful. Channels are built from movies and episodes, so music (artist) and photo sections can be left disabled — nothing reads them.

Enabling and disabling

On the source detail page (apps/web/src/routes/_auth/sources/$sourceId.tsx), the Libraries card lists every section with an Enabled switch. Toggling it calls sources.setLibraryEnabled, which flips MediaLibrary.enabled. Only enabled libraries are:

• read by metadata sync (syncMediaItems includes libraries: { where: { enabled: true } }), and
• offered as sources of filter values when building a channel.

Disabling a library doesn't delete anything already cached or scheduled — it just stops that section from being scanned or filtered against going forward.

Rescanning the library list

Rescan (the button on the same card → sources.rescan) re-runs syncLibraries. Use it after you add or remove a section on the Plex side — it picks up the new list while preserving every enable/disable choice, per the upsert rules above.

A rescan only refreshes the list of libraries. It does not page the item metadata inside them — that's the heavier job covered under Metadata sync, triggered by the separate Sync metadata button. The same library-list refresh also runs unattended once a day as the Library Scan job (library-scan, daily 04:00).

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See also: Metadata sync · Connecting a server · Channels