Windows Installation Guide

Excellent and very detailed guide on getting everything set up on Windows by /u/FantasyMaster85 on Reddit

Original Post

This guide will make the following critical assumptions:

• You're running Plex on Windows 10, 64-bit (it may work on other installations, but I haven't tested it so I won't explicitly say so).
• You've installed Plex in the standard manner, not in any custom locations (IE - C:\Program Files\Plex\Plex Media Server )
• That you're following the guide steps below ON the server/PC that is running Plex
• You're setting this up while having local access to the PC/server your setting this up for, and are in fact setting it up directly on the PC that is running Plex

With the above said, here we go:

Step 1: Enable "local network discovery (GDM)" on your Plex server (instructions here: https://support.plex.tv/articles/200430283-network/ )

Step 2: Enable "advertise as player" on the Plex players on your local network that will be used to play content (instructions here: https://support.plex.tv/articles/200289408-plex-web-app-settings/ ) - critical to mention that some players won't have this option available (my Roku TV for example doesn't have it) but that doesn't mean they're not already doing it. If you're able to "fling/share/stream content" from your phone or web player to another device in your home, that means that device is already being "advertised as player" so nothing needs to be done here...which was/is the case with all my Roku TVs.

Step 3: Install Python and PIP (both will be installed simultaneously by following this step). Visit this URL: https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/ and select the "Download Windows Installer (64-Bit)" option and simply install it using it's pres elected options (like you're installing any other software). Be sure to also select the option that reads: "add python.exe to PATH". Again, be mindful of the "assumptions" category I made before I started this guide...in that we're now selecting a 64-bit version since I'm assuming you're on a 64-bit system.

Step 4: Download the "PlexAutoSkip" GitHub repository from here: https://github.com/mdhiggins/PlexAutoSkip/archive/refs/heads/master.zip (to see details of what you're downloading, see main page here: https://github.com/mdhiggins/PlexAutoSkip )

Step 5: Unzip the zip file that you've just downloaded to your c:\ drive. You can unzip it to anywhere you'd like, but the following steps will assume you've unzipped it to your C:\ drive. That means after you've unzipped it, per this guide, that the following location exists on your PC "C:\PlexAutoSkip-master"

Step 6: Open a command prompt on your PC with admin rights. To do this, search "cmd" in your windows search bar, right click it and run as administrator

Step 7: Run the following command, including quotes, within that command window - copy/paste the following exactly, provided everything is installed as mentioned above, otherwise modify paths as necessary:

pip install -r "C:\PlexAutoSkip-master\setup\requirements.txt"

Step 8: Run the following command, including quotes, within that command window - copy/paste the following exactly, provided everything is installed as mentioned above, otherwise modify paths as necessary:

"C:\PlexAutoSkip-master\main.py"

Step 9: Open the following file using your favorite text editor. I personally use Notepad++, but you can use a regular Notepad if you'd like, won't matter. The file is:

C:\PlexAutoSkip-master\config\config.ini

Step 10: On the first 5 lines of the file you just opened, you're going to see lines for: username, password, token and servername. After the equals sign for username and password, enter your Plex server username and password (don't use your email, use your username). After "servername" enter the actual name of your Plex server as Plex sees it. Lastly, enter your "token", and instructions on how to get that are here: https://support.plex.tv/articles/204059436-finding-an-authentication-token-x-plex-token/ after you've done this, save the file.

Step 11: Run the following command, including quotes, within that command window - copy/paste the following exactly, provided everything is installed as mentioned above, otherwise modify paths as necessary:

"C:\PlexAutoSkip-master\main.py"

Step 12: The above should have run without error and be monitoring what's playing to determine if it should "skip intro" or not. This will automatically begin "clicking" the "skip intro" option for you on any device on your local network that is playing a TV show. You can either choose to run the above command every time you start your PC/server, or you can choose to run that command as a "service" with a delayed start after PC startup (to ensure Plex has started before it runs that file as a service). I've used NSSM (https://nssm.cc/) to run that file as a service with a "delayed startup" every time my PC starts.