Pley on Unraid

Pley runs on Unraid 6.12 or newer as a Docker container, from the template pley.xml. It takes about five minutes, plus a little more to give it your GPU for hardware transcoding.

Install

1. Add the template. Open Unraid's terminal (the >_ icon at the top right) and paste:

   wget -O /boot/config/plugins/dockerMan/templates-user/my-Pley.xml \
     https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pley-media-server/pley/master/deploy/unraid/pley.xml
   

2. Create the container. Go to Docker → Add Container, and under Template choose Pley (in User templates). Set Media to the share that holds your media, such as /mnt/user/media, then click Apply. Unraid downloads the image and starts Pley.

3. Create your account. In the Docker tab, click Pley's icon and choose Logs. Near the top is a line like http://…/setup?code=ABCD-EFGH: note the code. Then click Pley's icon again, choose WebUI, and create the administrator account with that code.

4. Add your libraries. In Pley, go to Settings → Libraries → Add and pick a folder under /media, such as /media/Movies. Naming your media shows how Pley expects files to be named.

Pley is now at http://<your server>:7539. In the apps, type that address when they ask for a server.

The template's settings

More than one media share? Add a path for each: at the bottom of the template, Add another Path, Port, Variable, Label or Device, Config Type Path, Container Path /media2, Host Path your share, Access Mode Read Only.

Hardware transcoding

When a device can't play a file as it is, Pley converts it, on the GPU if it has one: much faster, and much lighter on the CPU. Pley finds the GPU by itself; you only pass it in.

Intel (Quick Sync) and AMD

Unraid loads the driver on its own. To check, run ls /dev/dri in the terminal: it should list renderD128.

1. In the Docker tab, click Pley's icon and choose Edit.
2. At the bottom, click Add another Path, Port, Variable, Label or Device.
3. Set Config Type to Device, Name to GPU, and Value to /dev/dri. Click Add, then Apply.

Intel GPUs from the 5th generation (Broadwell) on work, Arc included; Quick Sync is used from the 11th generation (Tiger Lake) on, VAAPI before.

NVIDIA

1. Install the Nvidia Driver plugin from Apps, and follow what its page says (a reboot, the first time). Its page, Settings → Nvidia Driver, shows your GPU's UUID (GPU-…): copy it.
2. In the Docker tab, click Pley's icon and choose Edit.
3. Paste the UUID in NVIDIA GPU.
4. Turn on Advanced View (top right), and add --runtime=nvidia to Extra Parameters, after what is there. Click Apply.

Is it working?

Play something Pley has to convert (in the player, the quality menu: a lower quality). Settings → Dashboard shows the stream as GPU, hybrid or CPU. Settings → Transcoder shows the encoders Pley found and lets you pick one; Automatic takes the GPU's.

Everyday use

• Update: in the Docker tab, Check for Updates, then apply update beside Pley. Your data stays.
• Back up /mnt/user/appdata/pley, with Pley stopped (the Appdata Backup plugin does it on a schedule). It holds the database and the key that two-step sign-in needs.
• Lost password: click Pley's icon, Console, and run pley reset-password <user>.
• From outside your home: put Pley behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS, such as Nginx Proxy Manager or SWAG, pointing at http://<your server>:7539. If the public address has a port of its own, add it in Settings → Network → Reached through a reverse proxy. Apps and reverse proxies says what the proxy must pass on.
• Apps finding Pley by themselves needs the container on your network: set Network Type to br0 (Pley gets an address of its own) or Host. On the default Bridge, type the server's address in the apps.

Troubleshooting

How the container runs

Unraid starts every container as root. Pley's image doesn't stay root: it gives the config folder to PUID:PGID if needed, joins the groups that may open the GPU, and runs Pley as that user with every Linux capability dropped (pley.sh). Your media is mounted read-only, so Pley can change nothing there.