PlexInstaller (Python)

PlexInstaller is the unified Python-based unofficial installer and management tool for PlexTickets, PlexStaff, and the renamed Drako product line (Status, Store, Forms, Links, Paste, and Tracker). New deployments use drako* instance names; existing plex* installations remain fully supported. It handles archive discovery, extraction, dependency installation, MongoDB/user provisioning, nginx + SSL wiring, firewall rules, telemetry, and post-install management from a single TUI-like workflow.

Highlights

• Single-command bootstrap via setup.sh that installs bootstrap prerequisites, downloads the installer bundle, verifies release metadata where possible, installs Python requirements, and creates command links.
• Product-aware flows covering MongoDB provisioning, port/domain validation, custom 502 page generation, dashboard add-ons, and backup/restore tooling.
• System services & SSL with automated nginx site generation, Certbot flows, and optional systemd registration per instance.
• Root-compatible by default, with an optional isolated service identity (PLEX_ISOLATE_SERVICES=1) that automatically falls back to the legacy root service if user creation or hardening fails.
• Opt-in telemetry pipeline (client + FastAPI server) capturing product/instance identifiers, install steps and details, outcomes, errors, timestamps, and generated installer logs with best-effort secret redaction.
• Multi-instance ready with automatic instance naming, unique Mongo credentials, and per-service firewall openings.

Quick Start

1. Bootstrap the installer on a fresh host:

   curl -fsSL https://plexdev.xyz/setup.sh | sudo bash

   setup.sh only installs the tooling. It asks whether to launch the separate interactive installer at the end and defaults to no when no terminal is available.
2. Run the interactive installer if it was not launched by the bootstrap:

   sudo plexinstaller

3. Select the product to deploy and follow the interactive prompts for archives, domains, SSL email, and MongoDB configuration.

Product naming compatibility

New installs use drakostatus, drakostore, drakoforms, drakolinks, drakopaste, and drakotracker. Existing plexstatus, plexstore, plexforms, plexlinks, plexpaste, and plextracker directories and services keep their original names. CLI commands accept either brand name and resolve to the installation that actually exists.

Telemetry & privacy: On first interactive launch, the installer asks whether to send diagnostics. If enabled, completed attempts can send product and instance names, step details (including paths/domain/port choices), status, errors, timestamps, and the generated installer log. Common secret patterns are redacted on a best-effort basis, but do not assume logs are anonymous. The choice is stored in /etc/plex/telemetry_pref; write disabled to opt out of future collection. The website separately uses Google Analytics and Google AdSense. See the website privacy page for details.

Telemetry Snapshot

These badges hit https://plexdev.xyz/tel/stats live, so the README always reflects fresh telemetry without manual edits. Success rate is calculated from completed installs only — uncompleted sessions (user cancellations, interruptions) are excluded. Completion rate shows what fraction of all attempts reached a completed state.

Aggregate statistics are public. Raw events and logs require the telemetry server API key:

curl -s https://plexdev.xyz/tel/stats | jq

The FastAPI telemetry service stores bounded raw events and logs, aggregates public counts, rotates event archives, and prunes logs by configurable age/count/size limits. Raw diagnostic endpoints require authentication.

Repository Layout

Path	Purpose
installer.py	Main interactive installer/manager with telemetry instrumentation and product workflows.
config.py	Shared configuration (paths, telemetry endpoints, product metadata).
telemetry_client.py	Client that logs steps locally and POSTs payloads to the telemetry API (respects opt-out).
telemetry/server.py	FastAPI telemetry collector, JSONL archival, stats aggregation, and log retrieval endpoints.
web2/	Vite/React marketing + docs site for plexdev.xyz (including changelog, docs, guide, and setup script).
web2/public/setup.sh	Distribution script that installs Python dependencies, pulls the installer files, and ensures telemetry client parity.
utils.py	Helper classes for colorized output, archive extraction, nginx/systemd management, DNS checks, and firewall operations.

Development Notes

• Requires Python 3.10+ and root access for the interactive installer. Ubuntu and Debian are the primary tested targets; package-manager and MongoDB paths for other distributions are best-effort.
• Telemetry server dependencies are listed in telemetry/requirements.txt; run uvicorn telemetry.server:app --reload locally for testing.
• Frontend (web2/) uses Node 20+ with Vite. Use npm ci, then npm run lint, npm run typecheck, and npm run build; use npm run dev while iterating.
• Python development dependencies, typing stubs, and test tooling are installed with python -m pip install -e ".[dev,telemetry-server]".
• Release manifests and signed Git commits use 431E869D5BB519AFF7B028379B0DFA4BF86307BD (developer@bali0531.hu). The APT repository uses the separate key C1D43E70EF36AB0B47151196B669DC325581C77B (apt@plexdev.xyz).
• Do not hand-edit release hashes, release changelog entries, or detached signatures. Use release.sh; --prepare-only regenerates and verifies version.json, the matching website changelog entry, checksums, exported public key, and signature without committing or pushing.
• The complete historical archive is published at https://plexdev.xyz/changelog.html, including versions that predate GitHub Releases. Publish mode creates a signed Git tag and creates or updates the matching GitHub Release automatically, including the signed manifest files. If GitHub publishing fails after the release commit, rerun release.sh --publish-current instead of preparing another version.

Contributing

1. Fork and clone the repository.
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-change).
3. Make your changes (ensure Python formatting/typing and frontend linting pass).
4. Push and open a pull request describing the change, telemetry impact, and test coverage.

Please open an issue for installer regressions, telemetry anomalies, or product-specific installation guides.