Plex Media Server Nginx Reverse Proxy Configuration

A comprehensive Nginx configuration for running Plex Media Server behind a reverse proxy with Cloudflare integration, optimized for both local and remote streaming.

Features

• Full HTTPS Support: Automatic HTTP to HTTPS redirection
• WebSocket Support: Properly configured for Plex's real-time features
• HTTP/2 Enabled: For improved streaming performance
• Advanced Caching: Proxy cache configuration for better performance
• Security Headers: Comprehensive set of security headers included
• Cloudflare Integration: Pre-configured with Cloudflare IP ranges
• Performance Optimization: Buffer, timeout, and compression settings tuned for media streaming
• Custom Logging: Detailed logging format specific to Plex requests

Prerequisites

• Nginx (tested with version 1.18+)
• SSL certificates for your domain
• Plex Media Server running on your local network
• Domain with DNS managed by Cloudflare (optional, for remote access)

Some notes on Plex Clients

• Browsers respect DNS, so they hit your reverse proxy.
• Plex client apps fetch connection details from Plex Central and prefer direct IP or relay over hostnames.
• Unless you configure PLEX_EXTERNAL_URL and your reverse proxy is airtight (SSL, headers, WebSocket, tokens), clients won’t use it.
  • For a systemd service

  Environment="PLEX_EXTERNAL_URL=https://plex.yourdomain.com"
  

• Even then, some Plex clients ignore hostnames altogether.

Reddit feedback

• u/geosmack recommends moving cache to RAM (/dev/shm) instead of /tmp

  • They config is below

  https://gist.github.com/gejames/ca02abd88b9b12c57c73a84916fb12f5

• u/JCBird1012 points out setting plex specific headers are not necessary as nginx does not remove them in the first place