Tautulli

Monitoring and statistics tracker for Plex Media Server

Tautulli is a third-party application that runs alongside your Plex Media Server to monitor activity and track various statistics. It provides detailed insights into what has been watched, who watched it, when and where they watched it, and how it was watched. With beautiful graphs, user analytics, notification capabilities, and extensive customization, Tautulli is the essential companion app for Plex administrators.

QuickBox Pro installs Tautulli as a per-user, multi-instance application — each user gets their own independent installation with its own systemd service, configuration, database, and port. Multiple users can run Tautulli simultaneously, and each instance monitors one Plex server. This makes Tautulli ideal for monitoring a second Plex server by installing it under a dedicated sub-user.

Installation

Basic Installation

Install Tautulli for a specific user:

qb install tautulli -u username

Monitoring Multiple Plex Servers

Because each Tautulli instance monitors exactly one Plex server, you can monitor a second Plex server by creating a sub-user and installing Tautulli under it:

# Create a sub-user for the second Plex monitor
qb adduser secondplex
 
# Install Tautulli for the sub-user
qb install tautulli -u secondplex

Each user’s Tautulli instance is completely independent — separate service, separate database, separate port, and separate configuration. The primary user’s instance is unaffected.

CLI Commands

Accessing Tautulli

After installation, access Tautulli in your browser. The URL depends on which install layout was used:

Single-user layout (first Tautulli install on the server):

https://your-server-ip/tautulli

Multi-user layout (second or later Tautulli install on the server):

https://your-server-ip/username/tautulli

Replace username with the QuickBox user account Tautulli was installed under. If you are unsure which layout applies, check the QuickBox dashboard — the LAUNCH link uses the correct URL for your install.

First-Time Setup:

1. Complete the setup wizard
2. Connect to your Plex Media Server
3. Configure notification preferences
4. Set up user accounts and permissions

Initial Configuration

1. Connect to Plex Media Server

On first access, connect Tautulli to Plex:

1. Click Next on the welcome screen
2. Select Sign in with Plex or Manual Configuration
3. If signing in with Plex:
   • Sign in with your Plex account
   • Authorize Tautulli to access your server
   • Select your Plex Media Server from the list
4. If using manual configuration:
   • Enter Plex IP: 127.0.0.1 (localhost)
   • Enter Plex Port: 32400
   • Enter Plex Token: Get from https://support.plex.tv/articles/204059436-finding-an-authentication-token-x-plex-token/
5. Click Verify to test connection
6. Click Next to continue

2. Configure Activity Logging

Set up activity tracking:

1. Go to Settings → Activity Logging
2. Configure logging options:
   • Log played: Enable to track all playback
   • Log paused: Track pause events
   • Log stopped: Track stop events
   • Log resumed: Track resume after pause
3. Set Logging Level:
   • Debug for detailed logging (troubleshooting)
   • Info for standard logging (recommended)
   • Warning for errors and warnings only
4. Save settings

3. Set Up Notifications (Optional)

Configure notifications for Plex events:

1. Go to Settings → Notification Agents
2. Add notification agent (examples):
   • Email - Email notifications
   • Discord - Discord webhooks
   • Slack - Slack channel notifications
   • Webhook - Custom webhook endpoints
3. Configure triggers:
   • Playback Start - When media begins playing
   • Playback Stop - When media stops
   • Watched - When media is marked as watched
   • Recently Added - New content added to library
4. Customize notification templates with variables
5. Test and save

Configuration and Files

Service Management

The service name depends on which layout was used at install time.

Single-user layout (first Tautulli install on the server — service is tautulli.service):

systemctl status tautulli              # Check status
systemctl restart tautulli             # Restart service
journalctl -u tautulli -f              # View live logs
systemctl enable tautulli              # Start on boot (already enabled)
systemctl disable tautulli             # Prevent auto-start

Multi-user layout (second or later install — service is tautulli@username.service):

systemctl status tautulli@username     # Check status
systemctl restart tautulli@username    # Restart service
journalctl -u tautulli@username -f     # View live logs
systemctl enable tautulli@username     # Start on boot (already enabled)
systemctl disable tautulli@username    # Prevent auto-start

Replace username with the actual user account. If you are unsure which layout applies, run systemctl status tautulli first — if it exists and shows your username in the User= line, you are on the single-user layout. Additional multi-user instances run as tautulli@alice.service, tautulli@secondplex.service, etc.

Troubleshooting

Checking Logs

Tautulli has multiple log sources depending on the issue:

# Tautulli application log (most detailed)
cat /home/username/.config/Tautulli/logs/tautulli.log
 
# Systemd service journal — single-user layout
journalctl -u tautulli -f
 
# Systemd service journal — multi-user layout (replace username with the actual user)
journalctl -u tautulli@username -f
 
# QuickBox install/update operation log (v4 dashboard)
# Located at: /opt/v4-dashboard/var/log/{username}/package-{action}-{jobId}.log

Tautulli Won’t Start

# Single-user layout
systemctl status tautulli
journalctl -u tautulli --no-pager -n 50
 
# Multi-user layout (replace username with the actual user)
systemctl status tautulli@username
journalctl -u tautulli@username --no-pager -n 50

Check Python installation:

python3.13 --version
# Should show Python 3.13.x
 
# Or on Debian 13
python3 --version

Verify file permissions:

ls -la /opt/username/Tautulli/Tautulli.py
ls -la /home/username/.config/Tautulli/config.ini

Cannot Connect to Plex Server

No Activity Showing

# Verify activity logging is enabled
# Settings → Activity Logging → Enable logging
 
# Check Plex is generating activity
# Open Plex and play something
 
# Verify Tautulli can read Plex logs
# Single-user layout:
journalctl -u tautulli -f | grep -i "plex"
# Multi-user layout (replace username with the actual user):
journalctl -u tautulli@username -f | grep -i "plex"
 
# Refresh activity page in Tautulli
# Activity → Home → Refresh button

Notifications Not Working

# Test notification agent
# Settings → Notification Agents → [Agent] → Test
 
# Check notification triggers are configured
# Settings → Notification Agents → [Agent] → Triggers
 
# Verify webhook URL or credentials are correct
 
# Check logs for notification errors
# Single-user layout:
journalctl -u tautulli -f | grep -i "notif"
# Multi-user layout (replace username with the actual user):
journalctl -u tautulli@username -f | grep -i "notif"

Permission Issues

sudo chown -R username:username /opt/username/Tautulli
sudo chown -R username:username /home/username/.config/Tautulli
# Single-user layout:
systemctl restart tautulli
# Multi-user layout:
systemctl restart tautulli@username

Configuration Reset

# Backup current configuration
cp -r ~/.config/Tautulli ~/.config/Tautulli.backup
 
# Stop service
# Single-user layout:
systemctl stop tautulli
# Multi-user layout (replace username with the actual user):
systemctl stop tautulli@username
 
# Remove configuration (will be regenerated)
rm ~/.config/Tautulli/config.ini
 
# Restart service
# Single-user layout:
systemctl start tautulli
# Multi-user layout:
systemctl start tautulli@username

Best Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

Use Cases

Server Monitoring

• Track all Plex activity in real-time with live stream information
• Monitor bandwidth usage and identify transcoding bottlenecks
• View server health and resource utilization
• Get alerts for server issues or playback errors

User Analytics

• Analyze viewing habits per user (most watched, favorite genres)
• Track user activity patterns (peak hours, device usage)
• Identify inactive users or heavy streamers
• Generate watch reports for billing or quota management

Content Insights

• Discover most popular movies, TV shows, and music
• Track recently added content and library growth
• Identify unwatched content for removal decisions
• Analyze genre popularity and viewing trends

Related Applications

Additional Resources