Fetching Subtitles From the Internet
When media is scanned into the Plex Media Server, it is inspected for subtitles (embedded or external) and audio language. If a subtitle file is needed and your Plex Media Server is configured to do so, the Server visits OpenSubtitles.org, a site that has many user-submitted subtitles. The server looks for the best match for your particular media file (using the file hash) and preferred language. If a matching subtitle is found, it is downloaded and added to the database. If a matching file isn’t found, you’ll have to find one manually.
If you wish for your server to try and find subtitles for you automatically, you’ll need to enable and configure the “OpenSubtitles” source for your library’s metadata agent (e.g. enable it for the “Plex Movie” agent, used on your Movie library).
Related Page: Metadata Agents
Manually fetching subtitle files
If a suitable subtitle file isn’t automatically found on OpenSubtitles.org, you can add your own. To do this:
- Find a matching subtitle file from OpenSubtitles.org or another source
- Download and name it appropriately
- Initiate a scan of the library and Refresh the item
Tip!: Many people also like the excellent, third-party Sub-Zero plugin. You can manually install that plugin on your server.
Related Page: Adding Local Subtitles to Your Media
Subtitle Resources
There are a multitude of sources to obtain subtitle files online. SRT format is the most common available and works well with Plex. Plex does not officially endorse or recommend any subtitle source. For convenience, though, here are some of the many possible sources (in alphabetical order):
