diff --git a/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/CoverageController.cs b/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/CoverageController.cs
index 1459fea..7e65db3 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/CoverageController.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/CoverageController.cs
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ public class CoverageController : ControllerBase
 
         foreach (var item in items)
         {
-            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(item.Path))
+            if (!TasksController.MediaFileExists(item))
             {
                 continue;
             }
diff --git a/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/TasksController.cs b/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/TasksController.cs
index 73b2a5f..1f2e6cd 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/TasksController.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay/Controllers/TasksController.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
 using Jellyfin.Data.Enums;
 using Jellyfin.Plugin.JRay.Models;
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ public class TasksController : ControllerBase
         // drop anything ignored, and order prioritised items ahead of the rest.
         // Randomise within each tier so the backlog still spreads across workers.
         var pending = items
-            .Where(item => !string.IsNullOrEmpty(item.Path) && !_truthDataService.HasTruth(item.Id, item.Path))
+            .Where(item => MediaFileExists(item) && !_truthDataService.HasTruth(item.Id, item.Path))
             .Select(item => new
             {
                 Item = item,
@@ -96,4 +97,35 @@ public class TasksController : ControllerBase
     {
         return item is Episode episode ? episode.SeriesId : Guid.Empty;
     }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Determines whether an item's backing media still exists on disk.
+    /// <para>
+    /// A library item can outlive its file: deleting media from disk does not
+    /// always purge the Jellyfin database entry, and such ghosts keep
+    /// <c>IsVirtualItem == false</c>, so filtering on that flag alone is not
+    /// enough. Without this check the pending endpoint hands stale paths/URLs to
+    /// extraction workers, and — because a missing file can never gain truth
+    /// data — those items stay pending forever.
+    /// </para>
+    /// Only local (file-protocol) items are stat-checked; remote/streamed items
+    /// are assumed present so we never stat something off-box.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="item">The library item.</param>
+    /// <returns><c>true</c> if the item has usable backing media; otherwise <c>false</c>.</returns>
+    internal static bool MediaFileExists(BaseItem item)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(item.Path))
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (!item.IsFileProtocol)
+        {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        // Path may point at a file or, for folder-based media, a directory.
+        return System.IO.File.Exists(item.Path) || Directory.Exists(item.Path);
+    }
 }