How to Self-Host Radarr with Docker Compose

What Is Radarr?

Radarr is an automated movie collection manager that searches indexers, grabs releases from Usenet or BitTorrent, and organizes your movie library. It’s a fork of Sonarr adapted for movies instead of TV shows. If you want new movies downloaded automatically the moment they’re available in your preferred quality, Radarr handles it. Official site

Prerequisites

A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
Docker and Docker Compose installed (guide)
1 GB of free disk space (plus storage for media)
512 MB of RAM (minimum)
A download client like qBittorrent or SABnzbd
An indexer or indexer manager like Prowlarr

Docker Compose Configuration

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  radarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/radarr:6.0.4
    container_name: radarr
    environment:
      - PUID=1000          # Your user ID (run `id -u` to find it)
      - PGID=1000          # Your group ID (run `id -g` to find it)
      - TZ=America/New_York # Your timezone
    volumes:
      - radarr_config:/config          # Radarr database and configuration
      - /path/to/movies:/movies        # Movie library
      - /path/to/downloads:/downloads  # Download client output directory
    ports:
      - "7878:7878"        # Web UI
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--quiet", "--tries=1", "--spider", "http://localhost:7878/ping"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

volumes:
  radarr_config:

Path mapping tip: For hardlinks to work (saving disk space by not copying files), your download client and Radarr must share a common root path. Map volumes like this:

    volumes:
      - radarr_config:/config
      - /data/media/movies:/data/media/movies
      - /data/downloads:/data/downloads

Start the stack:

docker compose up -d

Initial Setup

Open http://your-server-ip:7878 in your browser
Radarr requires authentication — configure a username and password under Settings → General → Authentication
Set authentication to Forms (Login Page)

Connect a Download Client

Go to Settings → Download Clients → Add:

qBittorrent: Host qbittorrent (container name on same Docker network), port 8080
Transmission: Host transmission, port 9091
SABnzbd: Host sabnzbd, port 8080, API key from SABnzbd settings

Connect an Indexer

Go to Settings → Indexers → Add, or use Prowlarr to sync indexers automatically across all your *arr apps.

Configuration

Media Management

Under Settings → Media Management:

Rename Movies: Enable. Recommended format: {Movie CleanTitle} ({Release Year}) [{Quality Full}]
Root Folders: Add your movie library path (e.g., /movies)
Import Extra Files: Enable for subtitles (.srt, .sub)
Use Hardlinks: Enable if your download and movie directories share the same filesystem

Quality Profiles

Under Settings → Profiles:

HD-1080p works for most setups
Set a quality cutoff — Radarr will keep upgrading files until it hits this ceiling
For 4K setups, create a separate quality profile with Bluray-2160p as the cutoff

Custom Formats

Custom formats let you score releases by attributes:

Prefer specific codecs (x265/HEVC for smaller files)
Avoid bad release groups
Prefer or require HDR/DV metadata
Filter by streaming service source

Assign scores to custom formats in your quality profile to automate quality decisions.

Advanced Configuration (Optional)

Lists for Automatic Discovery

Radarr supports lists that automatically add movies:

Trakt: Popular movies, trending, watchlists
IMDb: Import from IMDb lists or watchlist
TMDb: Discover movies by genre, year, or popularity

Configure under Settings → Lists → Add.

Multiple Root Folders

Use separate root folders for different quality tiers:

/movies/4k for UHD content
/movies/hd for standard HD content

Each movie’s root folder can be set individually.

API Integration

Radarr’s REST API is available on port 7878. API key is under Settings → General → Security. Common integrations:

Overseerr/Jellyseerr: Users request movies through a web UI, Radarr handles the rest
Tautulli: Track what’s been watched
Notifiarr: Discord/Slack notifications for grabs and imports

Reverse Proxy

For Nginx Proxy Manager:

Scheme: http
Forward Hostname: radarr (container name) or server IP
Forward Port: 7878
Enable Websockets Support

If running under a subpath, set Settings → General → URL Base (e.g., /radarr).

See Reverse Proxy Setup for detailed configuration.

Backup

Radarr stores everything in the /config volume:

radarr.db — Main database (movies, history, blocklist)
config.xml — Application settings and API key
logs/ — Application logs

Radarr creates automatic backups under System → Backup. These zip files contain the database and config — store them off-server.

See Backup Strategy for a comprehensive approach.

Troubleshooting

Movies Download but Don’t Import

Symptom: Download completes in your client but the movie stays in the downloads folder. Fix: Check that the download path visible to Radarr matches the actual download location. If using separate containers, add a Remote Path Mapping under Settings → Download Clients to translate between container paths.

”Movie Not Found” When Adding Movies

Symptom: Search returns no results or wrong movies. Fix: Radarr uses TMDb for movie metadata. Verify the movie exists on themoviedb.org. Check that Radarr can reach the internet — DNS resolution issues inside containers are common.

Disk Space Warnings

Symptom: Radarr warns about low disk space on root folder. Fix: Verify your volume mounts are correct and the mounted filesystem has free space. Run df -h on the host to check. Radarr checks available space before downloading.

Permission Denied on Import

Symptom: “Access to path is denied” errors during file import or rename. Fix: Set PUID and PGID to match the owner of your media directories. Both your download client and Radarr must run as the same user, or the directories must have appropriate group permissions.

Radarr Shows “Unmonitored” for Added Movies

Symptom: Newly added movies are not being searched. Fix: When adding movies, ensure “Start search for missing movie” is checked. For bulk imports, select movies and use Movie Editor → Monitored → True.

Resource Requirements

RAM: ~200 MB idle, 400-600 MB during searches with large libraries
CPU: Low (spikes during RSS sync and automated searches)
Disk: ~100 MB for the application, plus your movie library

Verdict

Radarr is the definitive tool for automated movie management. It’s the movie counterpart to Sonarr, and together they form the backbone of any self-hosted media automation stack. The v6 release migrated from Mono to .NET, improving performance and stability. Pair it with Prowlarr for centralized indexer management, a download client like qBittorrent, and a media server like Jellyfin for a complete end-to-end pipeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Radarr different from Sonarr?

Sonarr manages TV series (seasons, episodes, series packs). Radarr manages individual movies. They share the same architecture and UI paradigm but are separate applications. Run both for complete media automation.

Can Radarr handle 4K and 1080p copies of the same movie?

Yes. Run two Radarr instances — one for 4K, one for 1080p — with different root folders and quality profiles. Use different ports (e.g., 7878 and 7879) and separate config volumes.

Does Radarr work with Plex and Jellyfin?

Radarr doesn’t interact directly with media servers. It downloads and organizes files into your movie library folder. Plex and Jellyfin monitor that same folder and pick up new content automatically.

What download clients work with Radarr?

Radarr supports qBittorrent, Transmission, Deluge, rTorrent (BitTorrent clients) and SABnzbd, NZBGet (Usenet clients). Configure your download client in Radarr’s settings with the client’s hostname and API credentials. Radarr sends downloads to the client and monitors completion for automatic import into your library.

How do I set up indexers in Radarr?

The recommended approach is to use Prowlarr as a centralized indexer manager. Add your indexers to Prowlarr once, and it syncs them to Radarr, Sonarr, and other *arr apps automatically. Alternatively, add indexers directly in Radarr’s Settings → Indexers using the indexer’s API URL and key.

Can Radarr automatically upgrade movie quality?

Yes. Set up quality profiles with a cutoff — for example, set the cutoff to Bluray-1080p. If Radarr initially grabs a 720p copy, it continues monitoring for a 1080p release and automatically replaces the lower-quality file when a better one appears. This is one of Radarr’s most useful features.