[kc3bdf]

I've been using plex for years and on the odd occasion I lose internet I've always been able to login to my PMS and even stream over my local network. I just installed plexpi hoping to use it as a standalone server on camping trips, where internet isn't available to connect to my home server. An I missing something or is this interface going thru the internet and back to the server instead of straight to the local IP where the server resides?

Is there a way to run plex as a standalone server without internet being required?

[kc3bdf]

So after a little playing I was able to hit the local host without the internet using HTTP://localhost:32400/web (same as on my home server)

The hard part was getting plexpi to let me get back to the desktop! 

Is there a way to make it auto boot to the local server instead of looking for it thru the internet? 

Also, is there an easy way to get back to the desktop?

[BenjiBerry]

I'm still very new and basically skilled with Linux, but after some research, I found if you press Alt+Space, a little menu similar to the kind that pops up when you right click on a tab in Chrome (Windows) will appear. By Selecting 'Iconify' it will minimize the Plex window to the the Panel/Dock/Taskbar.

I needed to do this to change the Keyboard Layout to US English 

Hope this helps!

BenjiBerry 

[kc3bdf]

I found if you press Alt+Space, a little menu similar to the kind that pops up when you right click on a tab in Chrome (Windows) will appear. By Selecting 'Iconify' it will minimize the Plex window to the the Panel/Dock/Taskbar.

Awesome, that takes care of the easy way to get to the desktop! Thank you for that!

Now I just gotta figure out how to make it auto boot to local host instead of goin thru the internet.

[BenjiBerry]

To my knowledge, Plex always works through the internet. I'm currently unaware of any way to use the app without having a connection to the internet. I haven't entirely read through this article, but maybe there is a solution for you here... 

Additionally, You could always access the media locally without even using Plex. You could download an app like VLC (which is also good for playing a number of different video file formats), and circumvent even needing Plex in the first place. However, you'd then get away from using PlexPi all together, as it seems VLC is only available for a few Ubuntu builds...

All in all. I don't really know, but that's just a few of my ideas for some different options. I'd love to hear what you come up with! 

Ben

[kc3bdf]

you can access the local host by typing this into the browser... HTTP://localhost:32400/web  NO INTERNET REQUIRED

Like I stated earlier I've used plex for years and even when my internet is down I can stream over my local network. Give it a try, disconnect from the internet and type "HTTP://localhost:32400/web" without the quotes in a browser. Obviously if you disconnect the pi from your network youll have to do the local host input on the pi. If you access the server from a separate player over your network just disconnect your router from the incoming internet feed and leave the local network running. This is how you can still enjoy your media over your local network to any device connected to the same network as the pi or from the pi itself when there is no internet available (IE camping or traveling) or when your ISP drops the ball and you lose internet.

My plan is to use the pi as a media server / player. So it will play directly to the tv in my camper. I have already figured out how to force it into local host, I would just like to have it auto boot to local host instead of the web interface just to streamline the offline experience.

[BenjiBerry]

I just tried accessing the server through Plex without internet/network connection by typing that in, and still getting the 'not reachable' error. But this is good to know, and I will continue to tinker with it!

On another note, I did some research and digging and found an auto start file in this directory: /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart. Referenced in this forum post by NerdusOptimus - https://forum.category5.tv/thread-199.html 

I don't know enough about scripting in linux to help you further, but it might be as simple as changing the referenced address to the one you use for offline access, and the server could automatically boot to that new source.

Since I really am not sure, and am likely just as much in the dark as you are, you might want to consider saving the original file somewhere so after you edit and test, you have the backup in case something fails...

Let me know!

Ben

[jonbar]

Plex only needs the internet for 1) Authenticating account and 2) Obtaining Metedata. you need to set up so you can access locally without authentication.

If authentication is not always available when you travel, you will want to consider Settings - Server - Network and Allowing your local LAN / hosts to connect without authentication. After you have signed out of Plex.tv (Settings - Server - General) and your apps, the server will be properly preconfigured to work. This is something you can easily perform and test prior to departure.