Arr-Stack¶

Dockerized media automation stack running on VM 100.

Overview¶

Property	Value
Location	VM 100 at `10.89.97.50`
Path	`/opt/arr-stack/`
Network	Download clients route through Mullvad VPN (Gluetun)

Services¶

Download Clients (VPN-routed)¶

Service	Port	Purpose
SABnzbd	8080	Usenet downloads
Deluge	8112	Torrent downloads

Media Management¶

Service	Port	Purpose
Sonarr	8989	TV shows
Radarr	7878	Movies
Lidarr	8686	Music
Bazarr	6767	Subtitles
Prowlarr	9696	Indexer manager

Request Management¶

Service	Port	Purpose
Overseerr	5055	Media requests (Plex)
Jellyseerr	5056	Media requests (Jellyfin)

Other¶

Service	Port	Purpose
ErsatzTV	8409	IPTV channel management
Tdarr	8265-8266	Media transcoding
xTeVe	34400	IPTV proxy

Architecture¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Gluetun VPN Container           │
│     (Network mode for downloads)        │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐  │
│  │   SABnzbd    │  │     Deluge     │  │
│  │ (Usenet DL)  │  │  (Torrent DL)  │  │
│  └──────────────┘  └────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
               ↓
         /mnt/downloads
               ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          *arr Stack                     │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐  │
│  │ Sonarr  │ │ Radarr  │ │ Lidarr   │  │
│  │  (TV)   │ │ (Movies)│ │ (Music)  │  │
│  └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └──────────┘  │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────────────────┐ │
│  │ Bazarr  │ │     Prowlarr          │ │
│  │ (Subs)  │ │  (Indexer Manager)    │ │
│  └─────────┘ └───────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
               ↓
    /mnt/media/{tv,movies,music}

Access URLs¶

All services accessible at http://10.89.97.50:<port>:

Sonarr: http://10.89.97.50:8989
Radarr: http://10.89.97.50:7878
Lidarr: http://10.89.97.50:8686
Bazarr: http://10.89.97.50:6767
Prowlarr: http://10.89.97.50:9696
Overseerr: http://10.89.97.50:5055
Jellyseerr: http://10.89.97.50:5056
SABnzbd: http://10.89.97.50:8080
Deluge: http://10.89.97.50:8112
ErsatzTV: http://10.89.97.50:8409
Tdarr: http://10.89.97.50:8265

Common Operations¶

SSH Access¶

ssh root@10.89.97.50
cd /opt/arr-stack

View Services¶

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose ps"

View Logs¶

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose logs -f <service>"

Restart Service¶

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose restart <service>"

Update All Services¶

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d"

Backup Configurations¶

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && tar -czf configs-backup-\$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz configs/"

File Structure¶

/opt/arr-stack/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── configs/
│   ├── gluetun/
│   ├── sabnzbd/
│   ├── deluge/
│   ├── prowlarr/
│   ├── sonarr/
│   ├── radarr/
│   ├── lidarr/
│   ├── bazarr/
│   ├── overseerr/
│   ├── jellyseerr/
│   ├── ersatztv/
│   └── tdarr/
└── README.md

/mnt/
├── downloads/          # Download staging area
│   └── incomplete/     # Incomplete downloads
└── media/              # Final media library
    ├── tv/             # TV shows (Sonarr)
    ├── movies/         # Movies (Radarr)
    └── music/          # Music (Lidarr)

Troubleshooting¶

SABnzbd 502 Bad Gateway After Enabling HTTPS¶

Symptom: Enabled HTTPS in SABnzbd web UI settings, now getting 502 Bad Gateway.

Cause: The reverse proxy connects to SABnzbd over HTTP internally. When HTTPS is enabled in SABnzbd, it stops accepting HTTP connections.

Fix: Disable HTTPS in the config file:

# Stop container, edit config, restart
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && \
  docker compose stop sabnzbd && \
  sed -i 's/^enable_https = 1/enable_https = 0/' configs/sabnzbd/sabnzbd.ini && \
  docker compose start sabnzbd"

Verify:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "grep '^enable_https' /opt/arr-stack/configs/sabnzbd/sabnzbd.ini"
# Should show: enable_https = 0

VPN Connection Issues¶

Check Gluetun logs:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose logs gluetun"

Verify VPN is working (should show VPN IP, not host IP):

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "docker exec deluge curl -s ifconfig.me"

Service Can't Access Downloads¶

Verify volume mounts:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "docker exec sonarr ls -la /data/downloads"

Check permissions:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "ls -la /mnt/downloads"

Container Won't Start¶

Check logs for specific service:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose logs <service>"

Recreate container:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose up -d --force-recreate <service>"

General Config Issues¶

Most *arr apps store configs in INI or XML format. To edit directly:

Stop the container: docker compose stop <service>
Edit config: nano configs/<service>/<config-file>
Start the container: docker compose start <service>

Config file locations: - SABnzbd: configs/sabnzbd/sabnzbd.ini - Deluge: configs/deluge/core.conf - Sonarr/Radarr/etc: configs/<service>/config.xml

Downloads Stuck "Waiting to Import"¶

Downloads can get stuck in importPending or importBlocked state for several reasons:

1. Missing Destination Folder¶

Symptom: Import silently fails, logs show DirectoryNotFoundException

Cause: Radarr/Sonarr expect the destination folder to exist before importing.

Fix: Enable "Create empty folders" in Settings → Media Management → Root Folders. - Radarr: Settings → Media Management → check "Create empty series folders" - Sonarr: Settings → Media Management → check "Create empty series folders" - Lidarr: Settings → Media Management → check "Create empty artist folders"

2. Download Client Connection Lost¶

Symptom: Downloads show importPending after SABnzbd/Deluge restart

Cause: When download client restarts, *arr apps lose tracking of completed downloads.

Fix: Restart the *arr app to re-establish connection:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose restart radarr sonarr"

3. Series/Movie ID Mismatch (Common with Anime)¶

Symptom: importBlocked with message "release was matched to series by ID. Automatic import is not possible."

Cause: Release naming doesn't match how the *arr app identifies the series (common with anime that has multiple naming conventions).

Fix: Use Manual Import in the UI: Activity → Queue → click item → Manual Import

4. Stuck Command Queue¶

Symptom: Imports queued but never process

Cause: A background task (like ProcessMonitoredDownloads) is stuck.

Fix: Restart the affected *arr app:

ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/arr-stack && docker compose restart radarr"

5. Failed/Empty Downloads¶

Symptom: SABnzbd shows "Completed" but files are missing or empty

Cause: NZB was bad, incomplete, or download failed silently.

Fix: 1. Delete the empty download folder 2. Trigger a new search in Radarr/Sonarr

Downloads Folder Filling Up¶

The /mnt/downloads/ folder accumulates files because:

Torrent seeding: Deluge keeps files until seed ratio is met (default 2:1)
Orphaned downloads: Failed imports leave files behind
Duplicate downloads: SABnzbd retries create .1, .2, .3 suffix folders

Current Deluge settings: - remove_seed_at_ratio: true - Removes torrent from Deluge at ratio - stop_seed_ratio: 2.0 - Seed until 2:1 ratio

Important: remove_seed_at_ratio only removes the torrent from Deluge management — it does NOT delete the files from disk.

Cleanup commands:

# Remove duplicate/failed SABnzbd downloads (numbered suffixes)
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "find /mnt/downloads -maxdepth 1 -type d \( -name '*.[0-9]' -o -name '*.[0-9].[0-9]' \) -exec rm -rf {} \;"

# Remove incomplete unpack folders
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "find /mnt/downloads -maxdepth 1 -type d -name '_UNPACK_*' -exec rm -rf {} \;"

# Remove empty folders
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "find /mnt/downloads -maxdepth 1 -type d -empty -delete"

# Check current size
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "du -sh /mnt/downloads/ && ls /mnt/downloads/ | wc -l"

Note: Be careful not to delete actively seeding torrents. Files older than 30 days are generally safe to remove if not in the *arr queue.

Media Folder Permissions¶

The Problem¶

By default, Sonarr/Radarr/Lidarr create media folders with 755 permissions (owner=rwx, group=rwx, others=r-x). This causes issues for other services that need write access:

Plex DVR (UID 999) can't write recordings to folders created by Sonarr
Error: "Could not move recorded media to destination"

Root Cause¶

Docker compose sets UMASK_SET=002: - Folders get 775 permissions (777 - 002) - Owner (UID 1000): full access - Group (GID 1000): full access - Others (Plex UID 999): read-only

Solution¶

Enable explicit permission settings in each *arr app:

Sonarr/Radarr/Lidarr Web UI:
Settings → Media Management → Permissions
Enable "Set Permissions"
Set "chmod Folder" to 777

Or via API:

# Sonarr
curl -X PUT "http://10.89.97.50:8989/api/v3/config/mediamanagement" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $(grep -oP '(?<=<ApiKey>)[^<]+' /opt/arr-stack/configs/sonarr/config.xml)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"setPermissionsLinux": true, "chmodFolder": "777"}'

# Radarr
curl -X PUT "http://10.89.97.50:7878/api/v3/config/mediamanagement" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $(grep -oP '(?<=<ApiKey>)[^<]+' /opt/arr-stack/configs/radarr/config.xml)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"setPermissionsLinux": true, "chmodFolder": "777"}'

# Lidarr
curl -X PUT "http://10.89.97.50:8686/api/v3/config/mediamanagement" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $(grep -oP '(?<=<ApiKey>)[^<]+' /opt/arr-stack/configs/lidarr/config.xml)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"setPermissionsLinux": true, "chmodFolder": "777"}'

Fix Existing Folders¶

One-time fix from Proxmox host:

# Fix all media folders
find "/vault/subvol-101-disk-0/media/tv" -type d ! -perm -002 -exec chmod 777 {} \;
find "/vault/subvol-101-disk-0/media/movies" -type d ! -perm -002 -exec chmod 777 {} \;
find "/vault/subvol-101-disk-0/media/music" -type d ! -perm -002 -exec chmod 777 {} \;

Service UID Reference¶

Service	Location	UID	Needs Write Access
Sonarr/Radarr/Lidarr	VM 100	1000	Owner
Plex	LXC 111	999	DVR recordings
Jellyfin	LXC 113	999	-

VPN Configuration¶

Provider: Mullvad
Type: WireGuard
Server: Boston, MA
Container: Gluetun provides network namespace for SABnzbd and Deluge

Download clients use network_mode: "service:gluetun" to route all traffic through VPN.

Recyclarr (TRaSH Guides Sync)¶

Recyclarr automatically syncs TRaSH Guides recommended settings to Sonarr/Radarr.

Installation¶

Property	Value
Version	7.5.2
Location	`/opt/recyclarr/`
Config	`/root/.config/recyclarr/configs/arr-stack.yml`
Auto-sync	Daily at 4 AM (cron)
Logs	`/var/log/recyclarr.log`

Quality Profiles¶

App	Profile	Use Case	x265 Policy
Radarr	HD Bluray + WEB	General movies	Allowed (score 0)
Radarr	Remux-1080p - Anime	Anime movies	Allowed
Sonarr	WEB-1080p	General TV	Allowed (score 0)
Sonarr	Remux-1080p - Anime	Anime TV	Allowed

Legacy profiles (kept for compatibility): Any, Streaming (<11GB), <30GB, <3GB, etc.

x265 Policy¶

Our configuration prefers x265 for space efficiency while blocking garbage re-encodes:

Custom Format	Score	Rationale
x265 (HD)	+500	Preferred - smaller files, same quality
x265 (no HDR/DV)	-10000	Blocked - garbage re-encodes
HEVC x265	0	Neutral (legacy format)

Why block "no HDR/DV"? If an x265 encode doesn't have HDR, it was likely re-encoded from an x264 source (double-lossy) rather than encoded from a proper 4K/HDR master.

Space savings: x265 preference typically reduces file sizes by 25-40% compared to x264 at equivalent quality.

Size Limits¶

Quality definitions set hard limits on file sizes (MB per minute of runtime):

Radarr (Movies):

Quality	Max	Preferred	~2hr Movie
Bluray-1080p	125 MB/min	85 MB/min	Max 15GB, prefer ~10GB
WEB-DL 1080p	100 MB/min	65 MB/min	Max 12GB, prefer ~8GB
Bluray-720p	80 MB/min	50 MB/min	Max 10GB, prefer ~6GB

Sonarr (TV Episodes):

Quality	Max	Preferred	~45min Episode
Bluray-1080p	90 MB/min	45 MB/min	Max 4GB, prefer ~2GB
WEB-DL 1080p	70 MB/min	35 MB/min	Max 3GB, prefer ~1.5GB
Bluray-720p	50 MB/min	30 MB/min	Max 2.2GB, prefer ~1.3GB

HDR Handling¶

Philosophy: Keep HDR content as HDR, let clients handle tone mapping.

For playback on SDR screens (abroad, mobile): - Plex/Jellyfin automatically tone-map HDR → SDR during transcoding - No need to download separate SDR versions - Requires: Plex Transcoder "Tone mapping" enabled, or Jellyfin with hardware transcoding

Home setup (4K OLED + HDR/DV): - Direct play HDR/DV content natively - No transcoding needed

TRaSH HDR Custom Formats (for 4K profiles):

Custom Format	Score	Purpose
HDR	+500	Prefer any HDR
DV-Boost	+1000	Prefer Dolby Vision
HDR10+ Boost	+100	Slight HDR10+ preference
DV (w/o HDR fallback)	-10000	Block DV without HDR10 fallback
SDR	-10000	Block SDR for 4K content

Reference: TRaSH Guides - HDR Formats, Plex Tone Mapping

4K Strategy¶

TRaSH Recommendation: Run separate Radarr/Sonarr instances for 4K content because: - Radarr/Sonarr can only manage ONE file per movie/show - You often want both 1080p AND 4K versions - 4K has different scoring priorities (HDR/DV matter more)

Our Decision: Single instance with hybrid approach

Factor	Our Setup	Impact
Upload speed	15 Mbps	4K can't direct play remotely (needs 40-80 Mbps)
Plex GPU	None (LXC 111)	4K transcode = CPU-heavy, may buffer
Home display	4K OLED + HDR/DV	Direct play works great locally

Why we don't run separate 4K instances:

Remote streaming: 15 Mbps upload means 4K must transcode anyway → better to grab 1080p
No hardware transcode: Without GPU, 4K→1080p + tone mapping strains CPU
Storage: 4K files are 3-5x larger than 1080p
Complexity: Two libraries to manage, sync Overseerr, etc.

Hybrid approach instead:

For occasional 4K content (blockbusters, reference-quality films): 1. Manually set specific movie to "Ultra-HD" profile in Radarr 2. It grabs 4K version 3. Direct play on OLED at home 4. Accept CPU-heavy transcode for rare remote 4K viewing

When to reconsider: - Add GPU to Plex (Intel Arc A380 ~$100 recommended) - Upgrade to 50+ Mbps upload - Need simultaneous 4K streams

If adding 4K instances later (~1 hour lift):

radarr4k.bogocat.com → new Radarr container
sonarr4k.bogocat.com → new Sonarr container

- Add to docker-compose (copy existing config) - Configure Recyclarr with uhd-bluray-web template - Add to Prowlarr sync - Configure Overseerr for 4K server option - Separate root folder: /mnt/media/movies4k/

Custom Formats (76 total)¶

Key categories synced from TRaSH Guides:

Release Group Tiers: - HD Bluray Tier 01-03 (1800/1750/1700) - WEB Tier 01-03 (1700/1650/1600) - Anime BD Tier 01-08 (SeaDex-based)

Streaming Services: AMZN, NF, DSNP, HMAX, ATVP (+75 each)

Blocked (-10000): - LQ (low quality groups) - BR-DISK, 3D, AV1 - Scene, Obfuscated, No-RlsGroup - Upscaled, Extras

Naming Conventions (TRaSH Recommended)¶

Radarr:

File:   {Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) {edition-{Edition Tags}} {[Custom Formats]}{[Quality Full]}{[MediaInfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels]}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}{[Mediainfo VideoCodec]}{-Release Group}
Folder: {Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) {tmdb-{TmdbId}}

Sonarr:

File:   {Series TitleYear} - S{season:00}E{episode:00} - {Episode CleanTitle} [{Quality Full}]{[MediaInfo AudioCodec}{ Mediainfo AudioChannels]}{[MediaInfo VideoDynamicRangeType]}{[Mediainfo VideoCodec]}{-Release Group}
Series: {Series TitleYear} {tvdb-{TvdbId}}
Season: Season {season:00}

Common Operations¶

# Manual sync
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/recyclarr && ./recyclarr sync"

# Preview changes without applying
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/recyclarr && ./recyclarr sync --preview"

# View sync logs
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cat /var/log/recyclarr.log"

# List available templates
ssh root@10.89.97.50 "cd /opt/recyclarr && ./recyclarr config list templates"

Configuration File¶

Location: /root/.config/recyclarr/configs/arr-stack.yml

radarr:
  movies:
    base_url: http://localhost:7878
    api_key: <redacted>
    include:
      - template: radarr-quality-definition-movie
      - template: radarr-quality-profile-hd-bluray-web
      - template: radarr-custom-formats-hd-bluray-web
      - template: radarr-quality-profile-anime
      - template: radarr-custom-formats-anime
    custom_formats:
      # x265 tolerance override
      - trash_ids:
          - dc98083864ea246d05a42df0d05f81cc  # x265 (HD)
        assign_scores_to:
          - name: HD Bluray + WEB
            score: 0

sonarr:
  tv:
    base_url: http://localhost:8989
    api_key: <redacted>
    include:
      - template: sonarr-quality-definition-series
      - template: sonarr-v4-quality-profile-web-1080p
      - template: sonarr-v4-custom-formats-web-1080p
      - template: sonarr-quality-definition-anime
      - template: sonarr-v4-quality-profile-anime
      - template: sonarr-v4-custom-formats-anime
    custom_formats:
      # x265 tolerance override
      - trash_ids:
          - 47435ece6b99a0b477caf360e79ba0bb  # x265 (HD)
        assign_scores_to:
          - name: WEB-1080p
            score: 0

Upgrading Existing Media¶

How Upgrades Work¶

When a profile has Upgrades Allowed = Yes, Sonarr/Radarr will:

Compare new releases against existing files using:
Quality (resolution/source)
Custom Format score (release group tier, streaming service, etc.)
Download upgrade if new release scores higher
Replace old file - the old file is deleted automatically after successful import
Upgrade Until settings control when to stop:
Upgrade Until Quality: Stop at this quality level
Upgrade Until Score: Stop at this custom format score (default: 10000)

Current Profile Settings¶

Profile	Upgrades	Upgrade Until Quality	Upgrade Until Score
HD Bluray + WEB	Yes	Bluray-1080p	10000
WEB-1080p	Yes	WEB 1080p	10000
Remux-1080p - Anime	Yes	Remux-1080p	10000

Steps to Trigger Upgrades¶

Option 1: Automatic (Recommended)¶

Upgrades happen automatically when: - RSS sync finds a better release - Indexers are searched on schedule

Enable in Settings → Indexers: - RSS Sync Interval: 15-60 minutes - Automatic Search: On (for new additions)

Option 2: Manual Search (Existing Library)¶

Radarr - Single Movie: 1. Go to movie → click search icon (magnifying glass) 2. Review results, click download on better release

Radarr - Bulk Search: 1. Movies → Mass Editor → Select movies 2. Click "Search Selected" or use Wanted → Cutoff Unmet

Sonarr - Single Series: 1. Go to series → Season → click search icon 2. Or: Series → click search icon for all episodes

Sonarr - Bulk Search: 1. Wanted → Cutoff Unmet → shows episodes below quality cutoff 2. Click "Search All" or select specific episodes

Option 3: Wanted → Cutoff Unmet¶

This view shows all media that: - Has a file, but - File quality/score is below the profile's "Upgrade Until" settings

Radarr: Movies → Wanted → Cutoff Unmet Sonarr: Wanted → Cutoff Unmet

File Deletion Behavior¶

Scenario	Old File	New File
Upgrade succeeds	Deleted	Imported with new name
Upgrade fails (import error)	Kept	Stays in download folder
Manual delete in UI	Deleted	N/A

Important: Upgrades delete old files immediately. No recycle bin by default.

To enable recycle bin: 1. Settings → Media Management → File Management 2. Set "Recycling Bin" path (e.g., /mnt/media/.trash) 3. Set "Recycling Bin Cleanup" (e.g., 7 days)

Assigning New Profiles to Existing Media¶

Radarr: 1. Movies → Mass Editor 2. Select movies (or Select All) 3. Set "Quality Profile" dropdown to "HD Bluray + WEB" 4. Click "Apply Changes"

Sonarr: 1. Series → Mass Editor 2. Select series (or Select All) 3. Set "Quality Profile" dropdown to "WEB-1080p" 4. Click "Apply Changes"

For Anime content: - Use "Remux-1080p - Anime" profile instead

Monitoring Upgrades¶

Activity → Queue: Shows active downloads including upgrades

History: Shows all imports, including upgrades (look for "Upgrade" tag)

Logs: Settings → General → Log Level = Debug for detailed upgrade decisions

Space Considerations¶

With x265-tolerant profiles, expect: - Movies: ~6-7 GB avg (down from ~10 GB with x264) - TV: ~0.7-0.9 GB/episode (down from ~1.2 GB) - Potential savings: 25-35% on upgraded content

Upgrades will temporarily use extra space during download before old file is deleted.