⚡ The Plex Path — Getting Started with Your Synology · ← Choose Your Path
Plex, which is what we actually run on our own media server. This uses Container Manager’s Project feature from Part 2 — if you’re still on the Docker package instead of Container Manager, the same compose file works, you’ll just paste it into a single-container setup differently.
plexinc/pms-docker image. Plex’s own setup flow changes rarely enough that this should hold up a while — we’ll flag it here if that changes.Step 1 — Make the folders
In File Station, create a docker/plex folder, and inside it, a config folder. Don’t put this on the same volume as your actual media if you can help it — keeping Plex’s config/database separate from the media library itself makes both easier to back up on their own schedule.
Step 2 — Get a claim token
Go to plex.tv/claim while logged into your Plex account. It gives you a token starting with claim- that’s valid for four minutes — copy it right before you deploy the container, not ten minutes before.
Step 3 — The compose file
In Container Manager → Project → Create, point it at the docker/plex folder and paste this in as the compose file, adjusting the two volume paths to match your own media location:
services:
plex:
image: plexinc/pms-docker:latest
container_name: plex
network_mode: host
environment:
TZ: America/Chicago
PLEX_CLAIM: claim-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ADVERTISE_IP: http://YOUR_NAS_IP:32400/
volumes:
- /volume1/docker/plex/config:/config
- /volume1/media:/data
restart: unless-stopped
network_mode: host is what Plex actually wants here — it relies on local network discovery (GDM) for things like finding the server automatically from other devices, which doesn’t work cleanly behind Docker’s usual port mapping. This does mean Plex’s ports are exposed directly, so this isn’t the container to experiment with putting on an internet-facing NAS.Step 4 — Deploy, then finish setup in the browser
Deploy the project, wait for the container to report healthy, then go to http://YOUR_NAS_IP:32400/web. Because of the claim token, it should already be tied to your Plex account — from here it’s the normal Plex library setup: point it at the /data path you mapped, name your libraries, let it scan.
Step 5 — Turn on hardware transcoding if your NAS supports it
If your Synology model has a supported hardware encoder, Plex Pass unlocks hardware transcoding, which matters a lot the moment more than one device is streaming something that needs converting on the fly. Check Synology’s own compatibility list for your specific model before assuming this applies — not every NAS in the current lineup has one.
Landed on Plex, and picked it back up: skip ahead to Part 4: Backups and Snapshots →. Curious what Jellyfin looks like without committing to it? Here’s that guide too.