Media Servers
Settings → Servers has three sections: Connections, Plex accounts and Poster source. Only the owner can change anything in them. Adding your first server is covered in Connect a Server.
Connections
Connections lists every server Tracearr monitors. Drag a row by its handle to change the order.
Changing the URL or API key
Click the pencil next to a server’s name to open Edit Server. For Jellyfin and Emby it has Server URL, Public address and API Key alongside the name and colour.
The API Key field is always empty when the dialog opens, and leaving it empty keeps the saved key. If you deleted or regenerated the key on the media server, Tracearr keeps sending the old one and the server rejects it, so paste the new key in and click Update. The live connection to the server switches to the new key within 30 seconds.
Before a new URL or key is saved, Tracearr checks that the key has administrator access at that URL. It then asks the server that answers for its ID and compares that with the ID it saved for this server. The two have to match, so you can move a server to a new IP, port or reverse proxy, but you can’t point an existing entry at a different Jellyfin or Emby install. To monitor another server, add it with Add Server.
A refused change shows a Failed to update server message with the reason:
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| That address or API key reaches a different server. A server can only be pointed at itself. | The server at the new URL, or the one the new key belongs to, has a different ID from the one saved for this entry. |
| Could not read which server answers at that address. | The key passed the admin check but Tracearr didn’t get a server ID back. |
| Tracearr has no record of which server this is and cannot reach it with the saved address and key, so it cannot confirm the change points at the same server. | No ID was ever saved for this server, and the old URL and key no longer reach it to read one. Tracearr saves the ID on startup and on every sync, so this only happens to a server it hasn’t been able to reach since. Re-adding it with the same URL still works. |
| Jellyfin rejected this API key (it may be invalid or expired). | The key is wrong or was deleted. Emby says the same with its own name. |
Plex servers have no API Key field. Plex signs in through plex.tv, and its Server URL is picked from the connections Plex reports. When a Plex token stops working, reauthorize the account under Plex accounts.
Re-adding a server with the same URL
Add Server with the same server type and the same Server URL doesn’t create a second Jellyfin or Emby server. It updates the existing one: the new API key and Server Name are saved, and so is the Public address if you filled it in. The colour, sessions and history stay, since it is still the same server in Tracearr. Users and libraries sync straight after, and the live connection picks up the new key within 30 seconds.
The URL has to match the one shown under the server’s name character for character. http://192.168.1.100:8096/ does not match a saved http://192.168.1.100:8096, and neither does https against http or a hostname against an IP. Each of those adds a second server instead.
This route only checks that the key has administrator access at that URL. It doesn’t compare server IDs, so use Edit Server when you can.
Plex accounts
Plex servers reach Tracearr through the Plex account that owns them. Each row shows the account, how many servers are connected through it, and a Login Enabled badge on any account that can be used to sign in to Tracearr.
Linking another account
Click Link Plex Account, or Link Another Plex Account once one is linked, and sign in to plex.tv in the popup. An account linked this way can add servers but can’t be used to sign in to Tracearr. A Plex account that is already linked to a different Tracearr user is refused.
To add a server from it, go back to Connections, click Add Server and choose Plex. With more than one account linked, pick the account first. Servers that are already connected are left out of the list, and when none are left the dialog says All Servers Connected.
Reauthorizing an account
Changing your Plex password with “sign out of all devices” revokes every token Tracearr holds for that account, and its servers stop answering. Click the refresh button on the account row (Reauthorize this Plex account) and sign in to plex.tv again as the same account. Signing in as anyone else is refused with “That Plex sign-in was for a different account. Sign in as … to reauthorize it.”
The new token goes to the account and to every Plex server connected through it. A Plex server in Tracearr that had lost its account link is picked up too, as long as plex.tv lists it under this account. Servers keep their history. The message afterwards says how it went:
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| 2 servers reconnected | Every server accepted the new token. |
| Account token updated | The account has no servers connected, so only its token changed. |
| Token updated, but Living Room still refused it | Tracearr checked admin access on that server with the new token and it failed. |
| Token updated, but Living Room could not be re-linked | That Plex server has no account link in Tracearr and plex.tv didn’t list it under this account. |
Unlinking an account
The unlink button stays disabled while any server is connected through the account; its tooltip reads “Delete connected servers first to unlink this account”. Your only Login Enabled account can’t be unlinked while you have no Tracearr password either. Set a password first, or link another account that can sign in.
Poster source
When the same title is on more than one server, each copy has its own poster. Preferred Poster Source picks which one Tracearr shows on Media → Overview, Media → Browse and Media → Storage.
- Automatic (most recent) shows the poster from the copy that was added most recently.
- Picking a server shows that server’s copy. Titles that server doesn’t have fall back to the most recently added copy.
The setting saves as soon as you change it. It stays disabled until at least one server is connected.