Automatically organize your Plex library with AI-powered collections.
- Finds franchises automatically — Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, etc.
- Discovers thematic collections — "Mind-Bending Thrillers", "90s Classics", "Award Winners"
- Custom searches — Ask for anything: "Find all Christmas movies" or "Movies with twist endings"
- One-click apply — Review suggestions and create collections directly in Plex
- Drive it from Claude Code — an MCP server lets you manage collections, fix bad posters, and verify collection accuracy against TMDB conversationally
If you need help getting started creating collections in your Plex library, give this a try and let me know what you think.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Docker Desktop | Download here — free for personal use |
| Plex Media Server | Running on your network |
| AI API Key | From Anthropic, OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, or Google Vertex AI |
The Quick Start below uses Docker — nothing else to install. For local development or the MCP server you'll need Node 22+ (pinned in
.nvmrc).
Open a terminal and run:
git clone https://github.com/schuettc/plex-collection-creator.git
cd plex-collection-creator
docker compose up -dGo to http://localhost:32500
The setup wizard walks you through three steps:
Click Connect with Plex and sign in with your Plex account. The app will find your server automatically.
Select which movie and TV libraries you want to analyze.
Enter your API key from your chosen AI provider.
Once setup is complete, you'll see the Dashboard:
Click Start Scan to fetch your media metadata from Plex.
Click Analyze and let the AI find collection opportunities.
Browse the AI's suggestions. Each shows the movies/shows that would be included.
You can filter by type or search for specific collections:
Click Approve on any suggestion to create it in Plex. Or Reject to dismiss it.
Want something specific? Use Custom Search to ask for anything:
- "Find all movies directed by Christopher Nolan"
- "Create a collection of 80s action movies"
- "Group movies with surprise endings"
- "Find all holiday and Christmas movies"
In addition to the web app, this project ships an MCP server so you can manage your Plex library conversationally from an MCP client like Claude Code — browse libraries, create and edit collections, fix bad posters, and verify collection accuracy against TMDB.
The web app is unchanged; the MCP server is a separate entry point (npm run mcp)
that talks to Plex over stdio.
The server resolves a Plex connection two ways:
- Standalone — set
PLEX_URLandPLEX_TOKEN(no database or web setup required). How to find your token. - Reuse the app's connection — if those env vars are unset, it falls back to the Plex server you already connected in the web UI.
TMDB_API_KEY is optional and only needed for the tmdb_* accuracy tools
(free key).
Then ask Claude things like "group my A24 films into a collection", "audit my movie posters and fix any frame-grabs", or "check the Denis Villeneuve collection is accurate".
| Area | Tools |
|---|---|
| Library | list_libraries, list_items, scan_library |
| Collections | list_collections, get_collection, create_or_update_collection, add_to_collection, remove_from_collection, delete_collection |
| Posters | audit_posters, fix_poster, fix_all_posters |
| TMDB accuracy | tmdb_search, tmdb_movie_details, tmdb_director_filmography |
Collection writes use Plex's tag-based editing — additive (an item keeps its other collections) and resilient across Plex server versions. Poster auditing flags non-portrait artwork (frame-grabs, banners) by aspect ratio and replaces it with the official poster.
This repo ships Claude Code skills (in .claude/skills/) so Claude can walk
you through everything — just ask:
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
setup-app |
Install/run the web app, connect Plex, pick libraries, add an AI key |
setup-mcp |
Configure and verify the MCP server in your MCP client |
organize-collections |
Build and curate collections (franchises, directors, themes) |
audit-library |
Verify collection accuracy against TMDB and fix bad posters |
For example: "set up the MCP server" or "audit my movie collections for accuracy".
| Provider | How to Get a Key |
|---|---|
| Anthropic | Sign up at console.anthropic.com, add a payment method, create an API key |
| OpenAI | Sign up at platform.openai.com, add a payment method, create an API key |
| AWS Bedrock | Requires AWS account with Bedrock model access enabled |
| Google Vertex AI | Requires GCP project with Vertex AI API enabled |
Cost-conscious design: The app uses smaller, faster models (like Claude Haiku) for validation and filtering tasks, reserving larger models (like Claude Sonnet) only for creative analysis. Be sure to keep an eye on your costs.
What stays local:
- Your Plex token is stored in the local database
- The app runs on your machine — no data is sent to us
What gets sent to your AI provider:
- Movie and TV metadata (titles, years, directors, genres, summaries)
- This is required for the AI to analyze your library and suggest collections
Your Plex credentials are never sent to the AI provider.
You need to provide an AI API key. There are two ways to do this:
Option 1: Environment variables
Create a .env file before starting the app:
# Anthropic
echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-..." > .env
# OR OpenAI
echo "OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-..." > .env
# OR AWS Bedrock
cat > .env << 'EOF'
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIA...
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
AWS_REGION=us-east-1
EOF
docker compose up -dThe UI will show "Configured via environment variable" and won't store anything in the database.
Option 2: Enter in the UI
Enter your API key through the setup wizard. It gets encrypted (AES-256-GCM) and stored in the local SQLite database. The encryption key is auto-generated on first startup and stored in the Docker volume.
If you prefer to manage your own encryption key:
echo "ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -dQ: Does this modify my actual media files? No. It only creates collections in Plex's database. Your files are never touched.
Q: Can I undo a collection? Yes. Collections can be deleted from Plex at any time.
Q: Does it work with TV shows? Yes! It finds series, spinoffs, and shared-universe shows.
Q: How do I stop the app?
Run docker compose down in the terminal. Your data is preserved.
Q: How do I completely reset?
Run docker compose down -v to remove all data and start fresh.
This is a personal project and not associated with or created by Plex. I just love their app and wanted to make something to help me create collections.
MIT