Plex Pre-rolls Guide

This guide will walk you through how to play a short intro before the "main feature" movie for you and your users on Plex. These are called pre-roll videos and are supported natively in Plex without the need for Plex Pass or any additional plug-ins.

Overview

In order to play pre-rolls, the Plex library must have the Enable Cinema Trailers setting checked in the library's advanced settings and the file path for your pre-roll(s) must be configured in the Extras section of your Plex Media Server's settings. These settings will apply to all of your users so keep this in mind when choosing which pre-rolls to add to your server.

When configuring pre-rolls, you are able to control if Plex plays:

A single pre-roll video
A single pre-roll video chosen randomly from a list
Multiple pre-rolls played sequentially from a list

We'll cover this and more in the setup guide below. Let's get rolling!

Questions or Issues?

If you have any issues setting up pre-rolls, click the chat badge to join the Discord server where can you ask the community for live help in the support channel.

Getting started

Once you've downloaded a few Plex pre-rolls, the first step is to copy them to a folder or directory that your Plex Media Server has access to and make a note of this path. This is the most important step and perhaps the most common issue when setting up pre-rolls. A good location to store your pre-rolls folder is inside your media directory with the rest of your movie library since Plex already has access to it.

Below, I'll also show you a method for finding the correct pre-roll path and verifying that Plex has access to it. You can skip this method if you're already certain of the pre-roll path.

Open the Plex Web App and navigate to your server settings

Select Libraries from the sidebar

Click the Add Library button and choose any type of library (we won't be saving it)

Click the Browse for Media Folder button

Navigate through the folders until you find your pre-rolls. Mine are located in media-> prerolls but yours will be different.

If you're unable to find your pre-rolls, then Plex doesn't have access to your pre-roll directory and you need to move them to a new location. I suggest using the same location where your movies are already stored.

Copy the path name and save it in your notes for later. This is the path that will be used in your server's Extras settings.

Click cancel twice to exit adding a library. We only needed it to find the pre-roll path and now you can continue enabling pre-rolls in the guide.

How to enable and configure pre-rolls on your Plex Media Server

This guide is a visual walkthrough based on the Extras support article provided by Plex.

Step 1 - Enable Cinema Trailers for each Movie Library

Open the Plex Web App. From the home page, hover over your Movie Library and click the dots next to it to edit settings.

Select Manage Library -> Edit... from the dropdown list

Click on the Advanced tab and make sure the Enable Cinema Trailers option is checked

Click Save Changes and repeat these steps for any additional Movie Library that you may have (the TV Shows library type doesn't support cinema trailers or pre-rolls)

Step 2 - Add the pre-roll paths to Plex Media Server settings

Navigate to your Plex Media Server settings

Select Extras from the sidebar

Click Show Advanced settings if not already shown

Input the full path to your video file in the Movie pre-roll video field. On Windows servers, be sure to include the drive letter or network share in the path name.

To play a single pre-roll, the path should look like this:

/path/to/preroll.mp4

or on Windows servers:

C:\local\path\to\preroll.mp4 OR \\network\path\to\preroll.mp4

To play a random pre-roll from a list, separate each path using a semicolon without any spaces after (or before) the separator character:
```
/path/to/preroll1.mp4;/path/to/preroll2.mp4;/path/to/preroll3.mp4;/path/to/preroll4.mp4
```
To play multiple pre-rolls sequentially from a list, separate each path using a comma without any spaces after (or before) the separator character:
```
/path/to/preroll1.mp4,/path/to/preroll2.mp4,/path/to/preroll3.mp4,/path/to/preroll4.mp4
```

Click Save Changes to finish configuring pre-rolls

You're all set! Play a movie from your library and you should see a pre-roll play before it.

Looking for more pre-rolls?

Search the portal for hundreds of Plex pre-rolls created by members in the community and check out our curated list of templates for creating your own pre-rolls. If you're unable to create your own, we also have a shop for custom ordering personalized pre-rolls to help support the project.