Systemd's /tmp Cleanup Can Silently Break Plex EAC3 Transcoding on Linux

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Plex Media Server creates a temporary watch folder under /tmp at startup for its EasyAudioEncoder (EAE) binary, which handles licensed Dolby Digital Plus (EAC3) audio transcoding. If that directory sits idle beyond the systemd-tmpfiles age threshold — typically 10 days — the cleanup timer deletes it without Plex's knowledge. The result is a server that appears fully healthy but fails every EAC3 transcode with a misleading 'Conversion failed' error, while H.264 and other formats continue working normally. The issue has become more common since Debian 13 enabled automatic /tmp cleaning by default, catching users who upgraded from Debian 11 or 12 without changing any Plex settings. A service restart recreates the missing directory and restores EAC3 playback immediately, though a permanent fix requires either excluding the Plex temp path from cleanup rules or configuring a keep-alive mechanism.

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