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Getting Started

Setting up a Raspberry Pi for media management is generally straightforward, and many users have their own preferred setup methods. This guide provides basic guidelines to help you prepare your Raspberry Pi or any Linux-based system for the Media Manager setup without going into exhaustive detail.

  • Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 (4GB or 8GB RAM recommended) or any Linux server/VM
  • 64-bit operating system
  • At least 32GB of storage
  • External HDD or SSD for media storage
  • Stable network connection (Ethernet preferred)

What You Should Have Done Already

While this document won’t cover detailed Raspberry Pi installation steps, your system should be ready with the following:

1. Raspberry Pi flashed and booted

  • Raspberry Pi OS or Ubuntu Server installed
  • Completed the first boot
  • System fully updated:
    Bash
    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Network setup configured

  • Working network with either static IP or DHCP reservation
  • SSH enabled for remote access (recommended):
    Bash
    sudo systemctl enable ssh --now

3. Storage attached and mounted

  • External drives physically connected
  • Drives recognized and formatted
  • Mounted persistently via /etc/fstab, or ready to be configured in the mount points step

4. Timezone and system time set

  • Set the correct timezone for your location:
    Bash
    sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kolkata

5. Basic Linux knowledge

  • Comfortable navigating directories, editing files (nano or vim), and running commands remotely via SSH

Optional but Helpful

  • Enable UFW firewall for added security:

    Bash
    sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow <port>/tcp

  • Set a custom hostname for your device:

    Bash
    sudo hostnamectl set-hostname media-manager

  • For Raspberry Pi users, hardware acceleration for Plex (VAAPI/V4L2) can improve media transcoding performance.

Next Step

Once your Raspberry Pi or Linux host is prepared, continue to the Overview for the installation workflow.

Note: Setting up a Raspberry Pi is quite accessible with many guides available online. Since everyone tends to have personal preferences for flashing and configuring their Pi, this guide keeps the instructions focused on what’s essential for the Media Manager setup without rehashing basic Raspberry Pi tutorials.