Tautulli

beginner

Monitoring and tracking for Plex Media Server.

Overview

Tautulli is a comprehensive monitoring and analytics platform specifically designed for Plex Media Server environments. Originally forked from PlexPy in 2017, Tautulli has evolved into the de facto standard for tracking Plex usage patterns, user behavior, and server performance metrics. The application provides detailed insights into who's watching what, when they're watching it, and how your media server is performing under load. This Docker stack deploys Tautulli using the LinuxServer.io image, which includes automatic security updates and proper permission handling for containerized environments. The configuration exposes Tautulli's web interface on port 8181 and maintains persistent storage for historical data, user configurations, and database records. Tautulli connects directly to your Plex Media Server via API calls to gather real-time streaming data and historical usage statistics. Media server administrators, Plex enthusiasts, and home lab operators will find this stack invaluable for understanding their media consumption patterns and optimizing server performance. The combination provides enterprise-grade monitoring capabilities for personal and shared Plex installations, enabling data-driven decisions about content curation, bandwidth management, and user experience improvements.

Key Features

Real-time stream monitoring with detailed transcoding information and bandwidth usage
Historical playback statistics with user activity timelines and content popularity metrics
Comprehensive user management with individual viewing histories and device tracking
Advanced notification system supporting Discord, Slack, Pushover, and custom webhooks
Automated newsletter generation featuring recently added content and viewing summaries
Geographic tracking and IP address monitoring for stream location awareness
Library growth analytics with content addition trends and storage utilization
Custom dashboard creation with personalized widgets and statistical visualizations

Common Use Cases

1Home media server operators tracking family viewing habits and optimizing content libraries
2Shared Plex server administrators monitoring user activity and managing bandwidth consumption
3Media enthusiasts analyzing their personal viewing patterns and discovering content trends
4IT professionals maintaining corporate media servers with detailed usage reporting requirements
5Content curators using viewing statistics to make informed decisions about library expansion
6Network administrators monitoring Plex server performance and identifying transcoding bottlenecks
7Multi-user households tracking individual device usage and setting up parental monitoring

Prerequisites

Running Plex Media Server instance with administrative access and valid authentication token
Minimum 512MB RAM allocation for Tautulli container and database operations
Network connectivity between Tautulli container and Plex Media Server on port 32400
Available port 8181 on Docker host for web interface access and initial configuration
Persistent storage capacity for historical data retention (minimum 1GB recommended)
Basic understanding of Plex server architecture and user management concepts

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  tautulli: 
3    image: linuxserver/tautulli:latest
4    container_name: tautulli
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      PUID: 1000
8      PGID: 1000
9      TZ: UTC
10    volumes: 
11      - tautulli_config:/config
12    ports: 
13      - "8181:8181"
14
15volumes: 
16  tautulli_config:

.env Template

.env

1# No additional config needed

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://github.com/Tautulli/Tautulli/wiki
2Access at http://localhost:8181 - setup wizard on first run
3Connect to Plex: Settings > Plex Media Server (use Plex token)
4View history, statistics, and currently watching
5Notifications: Discord, email, Pushover when users stream
6Newsletter feature for recently added content summaries

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  tautulli:
5    image: linuxserver/tautulli:latest
6    container_name: tautulli
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      PUID: 1000
10      PGID: 1000
11      TZ: UTC
12    volumes:
13      - tautulli_config:/config
14    ports:
15      - "8181:8181"
16
17volumes:
18  tautulli_config:
19EOF
20
21# 2. Create the .env file
22cat > .env << 'EOF'
23# No additional config needed
24EOF
25
26# 3. Start the services
27docker compose up -d
28
29# 4. View logs
30docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/tautulli/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Database is locked errors: Stop Tautulli container, check for corrupted database files in config volume, restore from backup if necessary
Plex connection timeout issues: Verify Plex token validity in Tautulli settings, ensure network connectivity, and check firewall rules between containers
Missing historical data after container restart: Confirm config volume persistence, check database file permissions, and verify PUID/PGID settings match host filesystem
Web interface loading blank pages: Clear browser cache, check container logs for JavaScript errors, and verify timezone environment variable format
Notification delivery failures: Test notification agents individually, verify webhook URLs and authentication tokens, check network connectivity to external services
High memory usage and performance issues: Increase database cleanup frequency, reduce notification history retention, and consider upgrading container memory limits

Community Notes

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