generated: '2026-08-05'
method: searched
source: https://developer.plex.tv/pms/#section/API-Info
docs: https://developer.plex.tv/pms/
authentication:
  style: api-key header
  header: X-Plex-Token
  query_parameter_accepted: true
  token_forms:
  - legacy long-lived token
  - 7-day Plex JWT (Ed25519 / EdDSA)
  detail: authentication/plex-authentication.yml
content_negotiation:
  default: application/xml
  json: 'Send the header Accept: application/json. Plex documentation states new
    applications should use JSON.'
  note: The response body shape is identical between the two — a MediaContainer root
    with typed child arrays.
client_headers:
  pattern: X-Plex-{name}
  required:
  - X-Plex-Client-Identifier
  - X-Plex-Token
  common:
  - X-Plex-Product
  - X-Plex-Version
  - X-Plex-Platform
  - X-Plex-Platform-Version
  - X-Plex-Device
  - X-Plex-Model
  - X-Plex-Device-Vendor
  - X-Plex-Device-Name
  - X-Plex-Marketplace
  encoding_note: There is no standard way to send non-ASCII HTTP header values. Plex
    attempts to parse UTF-8 and ISO-8859-1; use UTF-8 where possible.
pagination:
  style: offset headers
  request_headers:
  - name: X-Plex-Container-Start
    description: The desired starting offset.
  - name: X-Plex-Container-Size
    description: The desired number of items. A size of 0 returns the total count
      with no content.
  - name: X-Plex-Container-Focus-Key
    description: The key of an item to centre the page on, instead of an offset.
  response_headers:
  - name: X-Plex-Container-Start
    description: The offset of the first returned item.
  - name: X-Plex-Container-Total-Size
    description: The total size of the collection. Optional but typically present.
  response_fields:
    container: MediaContainer
    fields:
    - size
    - totalSize
    - offset
  query_parameter:
    name: limit
    note: Endpoints supporting rich media queries also accept limit. Using limit is
      cheaper because the total size need not be computed, but the true total is
      then not returned. limit and X-Plex-Container-Size compose — for example
      limit=1000&X-Plex-Container-Size=20&X-Plex-Container-Start=0.
  caution: A response must be checked to see whether it is in fact paginated. It may
    not be paginated at all, or may contain a different number of items than
    requested.
field_selection:
  parameters:
  - name: includeFields
    meaning: Return ONLY these fields.
    note: Semantics changed at API 1.0.0 — this parameter previously meant "additionally
      include these fields".
  - name: includeOptionalFields
    meaning: Additionally include these normally-omitted fields. The renamed form of
      the pre-1.0.0 includeFields.
  docs: https://developer.plex.tv/pms/#section/API-Info/Response-Customization
query_language:
  name: Media Queries
  docs: https://developer.plex.tv/pms/#section/API-Info/Media-Queries
  features:
  - fields
  - operators
  - relative values and units
  - field scoping
  - sorting
  - grouping
  - limits
  - boolean operators
  - complex expressions
versioning:
  scheme: request header
  header: X-Plex-Pms-Api-Version
  current: 1.2.2
  default_when_absent: '0.0'
  note: PMS used no API versioning before the September 2025 publication. The first
    published API is 1.0; everything prior is 0.0. Each API version declares the
    minimum Plex Media Server build that supports it.
  detail: lifecycle/plex-lifecycle.yml
idempotency:
  supported: false
  note: Plex documents no idempotency key, no request-replay contract and no
    Idempotency-Key parameter anywhere in the 258-operation OpenAPI. Retrying a
    write is not safe by contract. Recorded as absent — no Idempotency pointer is
    emitted in apis.yml.
rate_limiting:
  documented: false
  note: No published quota, no rate-limit response headers, and no 429 in any of the
    258 operations. Plex Media Server is self-hosted, so throughput is bounded by
    the operator's own hardware rather than by a vendor quota.
request_tracing:
  plex_tv:
    header: x-request-id
    observed_on: https://plex.tv/internal/mcp
    note: Observed on live plex.tv responses. Not documented, and not present on the
      self-hosted Plex Media Server.
errors:
  envelope: none
  content_types:
  - text/html
  note: Branch on HTTP status. See errors/plex-problem-types.yml.
events:
  webhooks: asyncapi/plex-webhooks.yml
  streaming:
  - operationId: websocketGetSlash
    path: /:/websocket/notifications
    transport: WebSocket
  - operationId: eventsourceGetSlash
    path: /:/eventsource/notifications
    transport: Server-Sent Events
cross_links:
  authentication: authentication/plex-authentication.yml
  scopes: scopes/plex-scopes.yml
  errors: errors/plex-problem-types.yml
  lifecycle: lifecycle/plex-lifecycle.yml
  changelog: changelog/plex-changelog.yml
  data_model: data-model/plex-data-model.yml
x-evidence:
- fetched: '2026-08-05'
  url: https://developer.plex.tv/pms/
  http_status: 200