https://plexstatus.davisson.me/
plexstatus.davisson.me is a small status dashboard for a Plex Media Server, implemented as a Python application running in a Docker container and exposed as a simple web page. It runs a series of connectivity and TLS checks and then renders the results as human‑readable status lines.
Purpose and functionality
The site functions as an external “heartbeat” page that reports whether the Plex server and its Plex-specific listening port are up or down. It typically exposes two separate checks: one for the host machine itself (basic server reachability) and another for the Plex application or port, giving the owner a quick visual indication if Plex is actually serving requests. This kind of page is useful when Plex is hosted at home or on a private network but the owner wants a simple public URL to verify status without logging into any admin console.
How it works technically
Behind the scenes, the page is generated and periodically updated by a lightweight script running on or near the Plex host, commonly a Bash script triggered on a schedule (for example via cron). The script performs a network ping to the Plex server’s IP address to confirm the host responds, then runs a TCP port check (such as with a tool like nc) against the Plex port (usually 32400) to verify that the Plex service is accepting connections. Based on the results, the script rewrites a specific line or section in an HTML file using a stream editor (for example sed), toggling status indicators between “Up” and “Down” and changing the color of the text (green for up and red for down). This HTML file is then served by a standard web server such as Nginx, making the status page accessible.
Deployment and integration details
In a typical deployment, the web server is configured as a simple virtual host that serves a static HTML5 template with embedded placeholders for status text. The update script runs under a local user account with permission to modify that HTML file, and is executed at regular intervals, for example every minute or every few minutes, to keep the status current. Because the checks are simple ping and port probes, the solution has minimal overhead and no application-level dependency on Plex APIs, which makes it resilient even if Plex updates its internal interfaces.
The result is a technically simple but effective out-of-band monitoring page for the Plex environment, suitable for personal use or sharing with a small group of users who need a quick health check.
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