# Backups

> What to back up in the Plex media stack, and how to restore it after a failure.

# Backups

Media files are large and can be re-downloaded. What matters to back up is configuration — the settings, history, and metadata that took time to build up.

## What to back up

### Docker service configs

All Docker service configs are stored in `/srv/media-stack/config/`. This directory contains the application data for Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, SABnzbd, and Overseerr.

```
/srv/media-stack/config/
├── sonarr/
├── radarr/
├── prowlarr/
├── sabnzbd/
└── overseerr/
```

Back up this entire directory. A simple `tar` to a network share or an external disk is enough:

```bash
tar -czf /backup/media-stack-config-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /srv/media-stack/config/
```

Stop the containers before backing up if you want a consistent snapshot:

```bash
docker compose stop
tar -czf /backup/media-stack-config-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /srv/media-stack/config/
docker compose start
```

### Plex metadata

Plex stores its metadata (thumbnails, watch history, playlists) in `/var/lib/plexmediaserver/`. This directory can grow large over time.

Back it up with:

```bash
systemctl stop plexmediaserver
tar -czf /backup/plex-metadata-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /var/lib/plexmediaserver/
systemctl start plexmediaserver
```

If you lose this and need to recover, Plex will re-scan your libraries and re-download metadata from the internet. Watch history and playlists will be gone, but everything else rebuilds automatically.

## What not to bother backing up

- Media files (`/mnt/media/movies`, `/mnt/media/tv`) — re-downloadable through Sonarr/Radarr
- Download staging area (`/mnt/downloads`) — in-progress downloads are expendable

## Proxmox-level backups

Proxmox has a built-in backup tool under **Datacenter → Backup**. You can schedule full backups of the Docker VM and the Plex LXC directly from there. This is the most complete option and covers everything, including the OS configuration.

Store Proxmox backups on a separate disk or NAS — not on the same ZFS pool as your media.