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Plex Session Monitoring

Automatically searches for upcoming episodes and seasons by monitoring what users are currently watching. When someone nears the end of a season, Pulsarr proactively downloads the next content.

Quick Setup​

  1. Navigate to Utilities → Plex Session Monitoring
  2. Toggle Enable Session Monitoring to ON
  3. Configure polling interval (default: 15 minutes)
  4. Set episode threshold (default: 2 episodes remaining)
  5. Optionally filter specific users
  6. Click Save to activate monitoring
Plex Session Monitoring Configuration Interface

How It Works​

  1. Monitors active Plex sessions via polling (configurable interval)
  2. Calculates remaining episodes in the current season
  3. Triggers searches when users reach a threshold (e.g., 2 episodes remaining)
  4. Handles next seasons automatically or via rolling monitoring

Rolling Monitoring​

Progressive downloading strategy that starts minimal and expands based on viewing activity, with automatic cleanup when shows are abandoned:

  • Pilot Rolling: Start with pilot only → expand to full season when watched → add seasons progressively
  • First Season Rolling: Start with Season 1 → add Season 2 when nearing completion → continue expanding
  • Auto-cleanup: Automatically reverts shows to original monitoring states when nobody is watching
  • Best for: Testing user interest and managing storage efficiently

Configuration​

Navigate to Utilities > Plex Session Monitoring:

Basic Settings​

  • Enable Session Monitoring: Toggle the feature on/off
  • Polling Interval: How often to check for active sessions (default: 15 minutes)
  • Episode Threshold: When to trigger searches (default: 2 episodes remaining)
  • Filter Users: Optionally monitor only specific users

Cleanup Settings​

  • Automatic Reset: Reset abandoned shows to original state after inactivity period
  • Progressive Cleanup: Remove previous seasons as users advance, but only if no other users have watched those seasons within the inactivity period
  • Inactivity Reset Days: Days to wait before considering content inactive for cleanup (default: 7 days)

Rolling Monitoring Status​

The interface provides real-time management of tracked shows:

Active Shows​

  • View button: Displays all rolling monitored shows including master records and user tracking entries
  • Master records: Have action buttons for management (shows without specific user)
  • User tracking entries: Display "Tracking only" status

Action Buttons (Master Records Only)​

  • Reset: Reverts show to original monitoring state and removes all user tracking entries
  • Delete: Removes show from monitoring entirely, leaving current content in place

Inactive Shows​

  • Shows: Haven't been watched within the configured inactivity period (default: 7 days)
  • Based on: last_updated_at field compared to inactivity threshold
  • View button: Opens read-only table (no action buttons) showing shows eligible for reset
  • Reset button: Only appears when inactive shows exist - bulk resets all inactive shows

Manual Actions​

  • Check Sessions: Button in header - manually triggers session monitoring without waiting for polling interval
  • Reset All Inactive: Button only appears in the Inactive section when there are inactive shows (⟲ icon)
  • View buttons: Open detailed sheets showing all shows with management options

Setup in Sonarr​

Rolling monitoring options appear in:

  • Sonarr Instance Settings: Set default rolling behavior for all content
  • Content Router Rules: Apply rolling monitoring to specific content based on conditions
tip

Rolling monitoring options only appear when Session Monitoring is enabled.

Best Practices​

  • Start with conservative thresholds (2-3 episodes remaining)
  • Use user filtering to monitor specific groups
  • Enable progressive cleanup to manage storage efficiently
  • Adjust polling intervals based on viewing patterns

Troubleshooting​

Sessions not detected:

  • Verify Plex connection is active
  • Check polling interval isn't too long
  • Ensure users are actually watching content

Searches not triggering:

  • Verify series exists in Sonarr with matching metadata
  • Check episode threshold configuration
  • Review application logs for errors

Rolling monitoring issues:

  • Ensure Session Monitoring is enabled
  • Confirm content was added with rolling options
  • Check that shows haven't been manually modified in Sonarr

API Reference​

See the Session Monitoring API documentation for detailed endpoint information.

Attribution​

Inspired by prefetcharr by p-hueber.