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Not getting locked out

Reaper always keeps at least one working local admin. The first run creates it, and you can't deactivate the last one.

A plex.tv outage, a revoked token, or a rebuilt Plex server will break your Plex sign-in.

Two ways back in​

  1. Recovery mode.

    Works on every install, including the Windows and macOS apps. Reaper writes a single-use sign-in code to a file you can open, you paste it in, and you set a new password without the old one. The steps are below.

  2. The command line.

    reaper-admin talks to the database directly, so it works while the UI is broken. It ships with Docker and the snap only, not with the Windows or macOS apps. Run docker compose exec reaper reaper-admin --help for the full command set.

Recovering an install, step by step​

Recovery mode doesn't have a UI setting because it has to work even when the UI is what locked you out.

  1. Turn recovery mode on.

    Set REAPER_RECOVERY=true, then restart Reaper.

    InstallWhere to set it
    Docker, UnraidREAPER_RECOVERY: "true" in docker-compose.yml, or the container's environment
    Windows, macOS, Snapa REAPER_RECOVERY=true line in launcher.conf, in the data folder

    The first run already wrote launcher.conf with this line in it, commented out. Delete the # in front of it and save.

  2. Read the code.

    Reaper mints one code at startup and puts it in two places.

    • recovery.txt, in the data folder, next to reaper.db. Use this one on Windows and macOS, where there is no console.
    • The console. docker compose logs reaper | grep -A2 RECOVERY on Docker, snap logs scythe-labs-reaper on the snap.

    The code lasts 15 minutes. If it expires, restart Reaper for a new one.

  3. Sign in with it.

    Go to /recover, for example http://localhost:8420/recover, and paste the code.

  4. Set a new password.

    Go to Settings, Security. Type the new password twice and save.

  5. Turn recovery mode back off.

    Set REAPER_RECOVERY back to false and restart.

Reaper cannot delete while recovery mode is on​

Deletion is held off while the flag is set, regardless of your settings. You can't turn it on until you turn recovery mode off.

If an install was armed before the lockout, it'll come back read-only. Turn Deletion on again in Policy, Deletion when you're ready.

You'll get a URL and a separate code instead of a single sign-in link. This keeps the code from being recorded in your reverse proxy's access logs.

If there is no admin account at all​

Recovery mode signs you in as an existing admin. A new install has nothing to sign you in as yet. Sign in with Plex instead. The first account to sign in claims the server if it owns it. If you're using Docker or the snap, you can also run reaper-admin create-admin --username admin.