PlexCost

PlexCost is a .NET console application that automates the retrieval of Plex watch history from a Tautulli server, fetches pricing information from Plex’s Discover API, and computes potential savings by comparing purchase/rental costs against subscription fees. It outputs raw data in data.json and per-user monthly savings (including totals) in savings.json.

Features

• Scheduled execution with configurable interval (default: every 6 hours)

• Tautulli history retrieval (filters watch events ≥80% completion)

• Pricing summary with retry/backoff for HTTP 429 responses

• Deduplication of processed history records

• Greedy set-cover algorithm to minimize subscription cost per month

• JSON output:

  • data.json: raw per-user history with pricing details
  • savings.json: per-user monthly savings and grand totals

• Line-based logging via Serilog (console + rolling log file)

Prerequisites

• .NET 6.0 SDK or later
• Running Tautulli instance with history API enabled
• Plex Discover API access (valid Plex token)

Configuration

Configure the application via environment variables. Defaults are applied when variables are omitted (except required ones).

Variable	Description	Default	Required
HOURS_BETWEEN_RUNS	Interval between runs (hours)	6	No
HISTORY_DAYS_BACK	Number of days of history to pull each run	2	No
BASE_SUBSCRIPTION_PRICE	Price per subscription (for cost computation)	13.99	No
DATA_JSON_PATH	Path to raw data JSON input/output	data.json	No
SAVINGS_JSON_PATH	Path to computed savings JSON output	savings.json	No
LOGS_PATH	Path to rolling text log file	logs/plexcost.log	No
IP_ADDRESS	Tautulli server IP address	127.0.0.1	No
PORT	Tautulli server port	80	No
API_KEY	Tautulli API key	none	Yes
PLEX_TOKEN	Plex Discover API token	none	Yes
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN	Discord bot token for optional log and slash support	none	No
DISCORD_LOG_CHANNEL_ID	Discord channel ID to forward warnings/errors	none	No
DEBUG	Set to true to enable debug logging	false	No

Architecture Overview

• PlexCost.Configuration.PlexCostConfig: Reads and validates environment variables.
• PlexCost.Services.LoggerService: Sets up Serilog for line-based logging to console, file, and optionally Discord.
• GetHistory: Fetches Tautulli history, filters by watch completion, maps to lightweight model.
• GetPricing: Calls Plex Discover endpoint to obtain max/avg prices and subscription platforms, with retry/backoff.
• RecordService: Tracks processed history in data.json, appends new records, avoids duplicates.
• SaveService: Aggregates records per user/month, runs a greedy set-cover to minimize subscription count, computes savings and totals, writes savings.json.
• Program: Entry point—loads config, enters main loop: fetch history → append new records → compute savings → wait.

Build & Run

Build

dotnet build

Run (development)

dotnet run --project PlexCost

Publish (self-contained example)

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true
./bin/Release/net6.0/win-x64/PlexCost.exe

Output Files

• data.json: Dictionary of { userId: UserDataJson } containing raw history records with pricing details.
• savings.json: Dictionary of { userId: UserSavingsJson } containing per-month savings (Year, Month, MaximumSavings, AverageSavings, SubscriptionCosts, Subscriptions) and totals (TotalMaximumSavings, TotalAverageSavings, TotalSubscriptionCosts).

Logging

• Format: Plain text lines

• Targets:

  • Console (stdout)
  • Files: LOGS_PATH (defaults to logs/plexcost.log, daily rolling, retain 7 days)
  • Discord: optional warning/error forwarding when both DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN and DISCORD_LOG_CHANNEL_ID are provided

Log levels: Debug, Information, Warning, Error, Critical.

To enable debug logging, set DEBUG=true.

GitHub Actions

Two workflows are provided in .github/workflows:

• ci.yml – builds the Docker image on pull requests to ensure the container still compiles.
• publish.yml – runs on pushes to master and builds/pushes the Docker image. Provide DOCKERHUB_USERNAME and DOCKERHUB_TOKEN repository secrets so the workflow can authenticate to Docker Hub.

Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome. Please open an issue or submit a pull request.