Requests
Jellyseerr is used primarily as a way for you to request media to be added to Plex. All requests must be approved before they begin downloading, and TV requests may take a little longer as they typically have to be downloaded one season at a time.
Please be aware that requests made using Jellyseerr are visible to all other users of Jellyseerr.
Making Requests
You can search for new movies and series using the search bar at the top of the screen. You can also browse popular movies/series using the tabs on the left (or bottom) of the screen or in the various sections of the home screen.
There are icons in the upper-right corners of some posters. These correspond to the item's status; a green checkmark means it's already available, a green dash means that it's partially available (e.g., some seasons of a show are available, but not all), and a purple clock means that it's been requested, but not downloaded (or released) yet.
Once approved, movie requests should begin downloading automatically, but TV requests still need to be downloaded manually, which can increase the time before they are available.
Requesting Movies
Once you've found an item you'd like to request, you can either click/tap the Request button on the poster, or click/tap the poster itself for more information on the title (cast, crew, similar titles, runtime, etc.). Once you click/tap Request, a pop-up will display asking you to confirm this request.
If you request a movie that is not released yet, Jellyseerr will still process the request, but the movie may not be immediately available in Plex. Typically, once a digital copy can be found (around the time it is released online for purchase or streaming), it will download automatically and import into Plex.
While viewing a movie in Jellyseerr, you may notice a bar that links to a film's collection. For example, if you search "tremors" and view the info page for Tremors (1990), there will be a link to "Tremors Collection" above the information table (Status, Release Date, etc.). If you click on this link, it will show you the entire franchise of whichever film you searched and allow you to request an entire collection at once.
Requesting TV Series
Once you've found an item you'd like to request, you can either click/tap the Request button on the poster, or click/tap the poster itself for more information on the title (cast, crew, similar titles, season/episode info, etc.). Once you click/tap Request, a pop-up will display asking you to confirm this request and which seasons you'd like to request.
When you request a current series (one that is still airing), the server will automatically download new episodes as they become available.
If you'd like a specific season to be downloaded, i.e. the most recent season, please select only that season. Otherwise, select all seasons. I'm an obsessive completist, so I will eventually get around to downloading the entire series if it's requested, but I'll start with a specific season if that's what you request.
Checking Requests
You can view active requests by clicking/tapping on Requests in the sidebar (or the clock symbol at the bottom). Here you will find some additional information on your active requests and the requests of others. Here's what each of the "Status" items mean:
- Requested: The item was requested but it hasn't begun downloading yet.
- Pending: The item is still awaiting approval before it can begin downloading.
- Processing: The item is currently downloading or is in the queue to be downloaded once other downloads have completed.
- Available: The item has been downloaded and added to Plex successfully.
- Partially Available: A portion of item requested was downloaded. This is usually because multiple seasons were requested and only some of them are available so far, but it also appears on new series that are currently airing.
- Declined: The request was declined by the admin (me) [see below].
Declined Requests
On the rare1 occasion I decline a request, unfortunately I can't specify a reason within Jellyseerr as to why. So if I don't reach out specifically about your declined request, here's a list of common reasons why I will decline a request.
- The request is for a short film: As a general rule, I typically don't approve short films for Plex because they can be tricky to find and can be mistakenly requested (i.e., users think it's a feature-length movie).
- The request has no release date: Usually, when there is no release date on an item in Jellyseerr, that means it is not a confirmed production (i.e., speculated sequels to a film that haven't been officially announced). Sometimes, this is not accurate, so if you believe this decision was made in error, please contact me.
- The request is a film that's available as a "Special" in a TV series: Sometimes films that are part of a series's franchise will be listed in Jellyseerr as separate films and not as part of the series itself. Since Jellyseerr doesn't allow requests for "Specials" episodes of a show, I will manually mark that special as wanted for download and decline the movie request.
- The request is a series with daily episodes: For some shows (talk shows, Jeopardy and other game shows, The Daily Show, to name a few), there is such a massive back catalog of episodes that it's not feasible for me to download and store all of them (which is my goal with everything on Plex). The only exception I've made to this is Saturday Night Live (which is over a terabyte by itself).
- The request is a duplicate entry: Sometimes, a film or series will be listed as two separate items in Jellyseerr. This is not a common thing, but one recent example is Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024). This was listed as its own series in Jellyseerr, but it is considered the second season of the series Monster, the first season being Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. In such a case, I will decline the request, download the missing season, and mark the separate series as available.
Footnotes
-
It's VERY rare. As of Oct. 1, 2024, of the 2,869 requests I've processed, only 33 have been declined (about 1.15%). ↩