From ddaa6416683409a0d38fe0f69c754ea72dff94dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Wood <peter@peterwood.dev>
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2026 10:29:14 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] feat: Improve database integrity check and startup handling
 in plex.sh

---
 plex/plex.sh | 65 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------------
 1 file changed, 44 insertions(+), 21 deletions(-)

diff --git a/plex/plex.sh b/plex/plex.sh
index a0159b1..38989b4 100755
--- a/plex/plex.sh
+++ b/plex/plex.sh
@@ -298,34 +298,57 @@ check_database_integrity() {
 
     local db_dir="/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases"
     local main_db="$db_dir/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db"
-    local repair_script="${SCRIPT_DIR}/plex-database-repair.sh"
 
     if [[ ! -f "$main_db" ]]; then
         print_status "${CROSS}" "Main database not found at: $main_db" "${RED}"
         return 1
     fi
 
-    # Use shared repair script for integrity checking if available
-    if [[ -f "$repair_script" ]]; then
-        if "$repair_script" check "$main_db" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            print_status "${CHECKMARK}" "Database integrity check passed" "${GREEN}"
-            return 0
-        else
-            print_status "${CROSS}" "Database integrity check failed!" "${RED}"
-            print_status "${INFO}" "Consider running database repair: plex repair" "${YELLOW}"
-            return 1
-        fi
-    else
-        # Fallback to basic sqlite3 check
-        if ! sudo -u plex sqlite3 "$main_db" "PRAGMA integrity_check;" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            print_status "${CROSS}" "Database integrity check failed!" "${RED}"
-            print_status "${INFO}" "Consider running database repair or restore from backup" "${YELLOW}"
-            return 1
+    # Clean up stale WAL/SHM journals left by non-clean shutdowns.
+    # If Plex was killed or the system rebooted unexpectedly, these files
+    # can prevent sqlite3 from opening the database at all, producing
+    # false "corruption" reports.
+    if [[ -f "${main_db}-wal" ]]; then
+        print_status "${INFO}" "WAL journal found — attempting checkpoint before integrity check..." "${BLUE}"
+        # TRUNCATE mode replays the journal and then removes it.
+        if ! sudo -u plex sqlite3 "$main_db" "PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE);" 2>/dev/null; then
+            print_status "${INFO}" "WAL checkpoint failed (non-critical, continuing check)" "${YELLOW}"
         fi
+    fi
 
+    # Run the actual integrity check and capture stdout+stderr separately.
+    # PRAGMA integrity_check prints "ok" on success or error descriptions;
+    # the sqlite3 exit code alone is NOT reliable for detecting corruption.
+    local integrity_output
+    local sqlite_exit_code=0
+    integrity_output=$(sudo -u plex sqlite3 "$main_db" "PRAGMA integrity_check;" 2>&1) || sqlite_exit_code=$?
+
+    # Case 1: Output is exactly "ok" — database is healthy.
+    if [[ "$integrity_output" == "ok" ]]; then
         print_status "${CHECKMARK}" "Database integrity check passed" "${GREEN}"
         return 0
     fi
+
+    # Case 2: sqlite3 couldn't open the file at all (lock, permission, not a db).
+    if [[ $sqlite_exit_code -ne 0 && -z "$integrity_output" ]]; then
+        print_status "${CROSS}" "sqlite3 failed to open the database (exit code $sqlite_exit_code)" "${RED}"
+        print_status "${INFO}" "Check file permissions and ensure Plex is fully stopped" "${YELLOW}"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Case 3: Genuine corruption reported by PRAGMA integrity_check.
+    print_status "${CROSS}" "Database integrity check reported issues:" "${RED}"
+    # Show first 5 lines of the report to avoid flooding the terminal.
+    echo "$integrity_output" | head -n 5 | while IFS= read -r line; do
+        echo -e "${DIM}${YELLOW}   $line${RESET}"
+    done
+    local total_lines
+    total_lines=$(echo "$integrity_output" | wc -l)
+    if (( total_lines > 5 )); then
+        echo -e "${DIM}${YELLOW}   ... and $((total_lines - 5)) more issue(s)${RESET}"
+    fi
+    print_status "${INFO}" "Consider running database repair: plex repair" "${YELLOW}"
+    return 1
 }
 
 # �🚀 Enhanced start function
@@ -341,11 +364,11 @@ start_plex() {
     # Reset any failed state first
     sudo systemctl reset-failed "$PLEX_SERVICE" 2>/dev/null || true
 
-    # Check database integrity before starting
+    # Check database integrity before starting (warn only — don't block startup).
+    # Many "failures" are benign WAL journal leftovers that Plex resolves on its own.
     if ! check_database_integrity; then
-        print_status "${CROSS}" "Database integrity issues detected. Service may fail to start." "${RED}"
-        echo -e "${DIM}${YELLOW}   Try: sudo systemctl stop plexmediaserver && sudo -u plex sqlite3 /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application\ Support/Plex\ Media\ Server/Plug-in\ Support/Databases/com.plexapp.plugins.library.db 'VACUUM;'${RESET}"
-        return 1
+        print_status "${INFO}" "Database integrity issues detected — starting Plex anyway (it may self-repair)." "${YELLOW}"
+        echo -e "${DIM}${YELLOW}   If Plex fails to start, run: ${SCRIPT_NAME} repair${RESET}"
     fi
 
     print_status "${INFO}" "Attempting to start service..." "${BLUE}"