Fix: Plex there are no Items in this Library [Complete Guide]

The ‘Plex there are no items in this library” error mostly occurs on qnap, Synology, Ubuntu, and Mac. However, it has sometimes been seen on other devices as well. Therefore, we have compiled this guide to completely fix this error by implementing the solutions that have been listed below.

What Causes the Plex there are no Items in this Library issue?

Before you can move on towards applying the solutions on your computer, we recommend that you read through these reasons to pinpoint where the issue is coming from.

• Folder Permissions: If the folder permissions on your device and Plex have been incorrectly configured, you will get the ‘Plex there are no items in this library’ issue while trying to access your TV Shows or movies. Therefore, it is recommended to reset these permissions using the guide below.
• Server Issue: There might also be an issue with the server where your files are being hosted which is causing this error while trying to access your files. Therefore, using the solution below, you can easily fix this by changing the server.
• Incorrect Copying Methodology: Plex is very specific about the copying methodology that you use to place your files on the server and if it is incorrectly done, you will get the “plex there are no items in this library” issue while trying to access your file.
• Naming Issue: Plex is also very specific about the naming methodology and sorting method of the files and they need to be properly sorted according to their instructions to ensure that you will be able to access them from your library.

Now that you have been made familiar with most of the reasons due to which this error occurs, we can finally move on towards implementing the fixes.

Before You Start:

If you are using a drive in which your content is stored, then you must keep that folder at front. It means if you have stored your movies folder in drive D then it should not be kept in sub folders. This folder should be the outermost folder i.e. “D:/movies” and performing this action may resolve plex there are no items in this library issue on your device. Sometimes plex can’t find your files during a scan therefore, another way to resolve this issue is to enter the path of media content manually. You must enter the correct path of file with no spelling mistake while entering path.

How to get around plex there are no items in this library ubuntu issue:

Solution 1: Reset folder permissions

1. Press “Windows + R” to open the run prompt, type “Control panel” and press Enter.

   

2. Now open the control panel from search results and go to the shared folder and edit your media folder.
3. After that, navigate to the “Permissions tab” from where you have to disable all the permissions for user plex.
4. Click “OK” and close the editing window.
5. Now again open the edit window and set either “R/O” or “R/W” permissions for user plex.
6. Once again click on “OK” and close the edit window to check whether qnap plex there are no items in this library issue is rectified.

Solution 2: Name Files Properly And Reboot

Files should be named appropriately and according to plex’s advised naming and organizing scheme. Click on this link to see the naming and organizing scheme devised by plex. Follow that advised mechanism by plex to resolve this issue and afterward reboot your device. Turn “OFF” your device and wait for approximately 3-4 minutes until all of the power capacitors are discharged. Afterward, turn “ON” your device, refresh 4-5 times and hopefully, plex not finding files on the hard drive issued will be resolved now.

Solution 3: Change Server

Sometimes, due to server crashes, plex can’t find files in libraries therefore, to resolve this issue, you can change your server by using a VPN on your device. VPN can be downloaded easily from the respective AppStores of your devices and afterward as you would’ve been shifted to a new server hopefully, the plex not finding files Synology error would be resolved.

Solution 4: Sort your files

If your files are properly sorted and organized in folders, it becomes easier for plex to find files so it is advised to keep music, movies, and season’s files in their respective folders. Movies or music having a single file can be saved in one folder. TV shows having multiple files i.e. episodes of a single season must be stored in separate folders. For example: Make a folder of Game of Thrones and in this folder make 8 separate folders for each season to organize them properly.

Always add the year of release because there can be other versions of the same file. Most probably after organizing your files, you would’ve gotten rid of this issue on windows as well as plex not finding files ubuntu.

Solution 5: Recheck your copying methodology

When you copy content to drive and navigate directly to the content area it is observed that when the content starts to copy, the Plex Media Server scanner can detect the change and it waits for 60 seconds. It will perform a library scan if nothing else changes but if the content being copied takes more than a minute, then there may be a situation where the scan takes place before the copy is complete hence, making the content not available for scanning. The next scan would not look in the index because it doesn’t appear to have changed its direction from the previous scan. This issue can be resolved by following the steps indexed below:

1. First of all, copy your content to a temporary folder in the drive.
2. Now, wait until the content is copied in the drive.
3. Once this procedure is finished, content can be moved to its standard content location.

Solution 6: Debug manually

1. For this purpose, you need to activate debug logging and once it is activated, quit the plex server currently running.
2. Now be patient and wait for approximately 1-2 minutes.
3. After mentioned time, restart plex server and wait for approximately 2 minutes before proceeding.
4. Now try refreshing any movie.
5. After waiting for about 3-4 minutes, fetch log files and attach them in the library.

Solution 7: Manually edit plex metadata

1. Open the plex’s desktop application and search for the media that is needed to be fixed.
2. Once you’ve found the required media, move the pointer over the thumbnail.
3. A pencil icon will become visible in the lower-left corner of the thumbnail.
4. Click on this pencil and a window will pop up where you can edit all info of your selected media.
5. Now try again to search the file in plex and hopefully, you will get rid of plex there are no items in this library mac issue.

Solution 8: Use file-bot tool

File-bot is an effective tool for renaming the movies or any media content. It can also organize your media files perfectly and in dedicated libraries. Just drag media file into the “original file” section. Then right click “New name” list area and click your suitable data sources. Finally, click “Rename” and file-bot will do the remaining work for you.

Solution 9: Tweak folder permissions 

1. Open file location and right-click on the media folder which you can’t find in plex.
2. Now navigate to “Security -> Edit -> Add”.

   

3. After that add the plex application to the list and click on “Edit/View” permissions.
4. Don’t forget to select the “Apply to this folder, sub-folders, and files” option.
5. Click on the “OK” button, run the plex, and try finding files again to check whether the plex not finding files on the hard drive issue is resolved.

Solution 10: Extract content again

Plex doesn’t have the feature of extracting the files from zipped or archived folders. File types like (RAR, GZIP, ZIP, TAR) will be immediately ignored by plex while scanning and in order to solve this issue, you must delete the file from plex. Then extract the file on your PC and add it again to the plex media server. Once these steps are done, try finding files again, and most probably plex not finding files Synology issue would be resolved.

Solution 11: Re-include media

A media file might be containing a special word or character that is responsible for hindering the files. There are many types of content like BDMV, IMG, VIDEO_TS that are basically “disk image” format. This file format is not supported by the plex media server so files are automatically excluded while scanning. Another reason can be the use of .plexignore file. The best remedy for this issue is to rename the file and again include it in the library and it can be done by changing the format type of media.

Workaround:

Creating a separate library can help in solving this issue. Copy your media into a disk and then paste it in this library and most probably plex there are no items in this library mac issue would be resolved.

Hopefully, the plex issue might have been resolved up till now and if you need further assistance, contact us here.