The Complete *arr Stack Setup Guide

What Is the *arr Stack?

The *arr stack is a collection of self-hosted applications that automate media library management. Each app handles a different media type — Sonarr for TV shows, Radarr for movies, Lidarr for music, Readarr for books — all using a shared architecture. Together with an indexer manager (Prowlarr) and a download client (qBittorrent or SABnzbd), they form a fully automated pipeline: search → download → organize → serve.

Updated March 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations.

App	Purpose	Manages
Sonarr	TV show automation	Episodes, seasons, series
Radarr	Movie automation	Films by quality profile
Lidarr	Music automation	Albums, artists, tracks
Readarr	Book/audiobook automation	Ebooks, audiobooks
Prowlarr	Indexer manager	Manages indexers for all *arr apps
Bazarr	Subtitle automation	Subtitles for Sonarr/Radarr libraries
qBittorrent	Torrent client	Download management
SABnzbd	Usenet client	NZB download management

Prerequisites

• A Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose (guide)
• 4 GB RAM minimum (8 GB recommended for the full stack)
• 50 GB+ free disk space for media storage
• A VPN service (recommended for torrent traffic)
• Basic understanding of Docker networking

Architecture Overview

The *arr stack uses a hub-and-spoke model:

Prowlarr (indexer hub)
    ├── Sonarr (TV)  ──→ qBittorrent/SABnzbd ──→ Media Library ──→ Jellyfin
    ├── Radarr (Movies) ──→ qBittorrent/SABnzbd ──→ Media Library ──→ Jellyfin
    ├── Lidarr (Music) ──→ qBittorrent/SABnzbd ──→ Media Library ──→ Jellyfin
    └── Readarr (Books) ──→ qBittorrent/SABnzbd ──→ Media Library ──→ Calibre-Web

Prowlarr pushes indexer configurations to all *arr apps. Each *arr app sends download requests to a shared download client. Completed downloads are moved and renamed into a structured media library that your media server reads.

Directory Structure

Get the directory structure right before deploying. This is where most people struggle.

# Create the base directories
mkdir -p /opt/arr-stack/{sonarr,radarr,lidarr,readarr,prowlarr,bazarr,qbittorrent,sabnzbd}/config

# Create media directories
mkdir -p /data/media/{movies,tv,music,books}

# Create download directories
mkdir -p /data/downloads/{complete,incomplete,torrents}

Path	Purpose
/opt/arr-stack/*/config	Per-app configuration and databases
/data/media/movies	Organized movie library
/data/media/tv	Organized TV show library
/data/media/music	Organized music library
/data/media/books	Organized book library
/data/downloads/complete	Finished downloads
/data/downloads/incomplete	In-progress downloads

Critical rule: Mount /data as a single volume in every container that needs both downloads and media. This allows hard links (instant file moves) instead of slow copy-and-delete operations. If Sonarr and qBittorrent see the same filesystem, moving a completed download into the media library is instant.

Docker Compose Configuration

This is the complete stack. Start with the core (Sonarr + Radarr + Prowlarr + qBittorrent), then add optional apps as needed.

Create /opt/arr-stack/docker-compose.yml:

services:
  # ── Indexer Manager ──────────────────────────────
  prowlarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/prowlarr:2.3.0
    container_name: prowlarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York  # CHANGE to your timezone
    volumes:
      - ./prowlarr/config:/config
    ports:
      - "9696:9696"
    networks:
      - arr-net

  # ── TV Shows ─────────────────────────────────────
  sonarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/sonarr:4.0.17
    container_name: sonarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./sonarr/config:/config
      - /data:/data  # Single mount for hard links
    ports:
      - "8989:8989"
    networks:
      - arr-net

  # ── Movies ───────────────────────────────────────
  radarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/radarr:6.0.4
    container_name: radarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./radarr/config:/config
      - /data:/data
    ports:
      - "7878:7878"
    networks:
      - arr-net

  # ── Download Client (Torrent) ────────────────────
  qbittorrent:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/qbittorrent:5.1.4
    container_name: qbittorrent
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - WEBUI_PORT=8080
    volumes:
      - ./qbittorrent/config:/config
      - /data/downloads:/data/downloads
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"   # Web UI
      - "6881:6881"   # Torrent port
      - "6881:6881/udp"
    networks:
      - arr-net

  # ── Music (Optional) ────────────────────────────
  lidarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/lidarr:3.1.0.4875
    container_name: lidarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./lidarr/config:/config
      - /data:/data
    ports:
      - "8686:8686"
    networks:
      - arr-net

  # ── Books (Optional) ────────────────────────────
  readarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/readarr:0.4.18-develop
    container_name: readarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./readarr/config:/config
      - /data:/data
    ports:
      - "8787:8787"
    networks:
      - arr-net

  # ── Subtitles (Optional) ────────────────────────
  bazarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/bazarr:1.5.6
    container_name: bazarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./bazarr/config:/config
      - /data/media:/data/media
    ports:
      - "6767:6767"
    networks:
      - arr-net

networks:
  arr-net:
    driver: bridge

Start the stack:

cd /opt/arr-stack
docker compose up -d

PUID/PGID: All containers run as the same user (1000:1000). This prevents permission issues when files move between containers. Verify your user ID with id -u and group with id -g.

Step-by-Step Configuration

Configure the apps in this specific order. Each step depends on the previous one.

Step 1: Set Up qBittorrent

1. Open http://your-server:8080
2. Default credentials: admin / check container logs for temporary password:

   docker logs qbittorrent 2>&1 | grep -i password

3. Change the admin password immediately under Options → Web UI
4. Set the default save path to /data/downloads/complete
5. Under Downloads, set:
   • Default Save Path: /data/downloads/complete
   • Keep incomplete torrents in: /data/downloads/incomplete
6. Under BitTorrent, consider limiting upload ratio and seeding time

Step 2: Set Up Prowlarr

1. Open http://your-server:9696
2. Set up authentication (Forms or Basic — do not leave unprotected)
3. Add indexers: Click Indexers → Add Indexer and add your preferred indexers. Prowlarr supports hundreds of public and private trackers.
4. Add apps: Click Settings → Apps → Add Application:
   • Add Sonarr: URL = http://sonarr:8989, get API key from Sonarr’s Settings → General
   • Add Radarr: URL = http://radarr:7878, get API key from Radarr’s Settings → General
   • Add Lidarr/Readarr if using them
5. Click Sync App Indexers — Prowlarr pushes all configured indexers to each *arr app automatically

Step 3: Set Up Sonarr

1. Open http://your-server:8989
2. Settings → Media Management:
   • Enable “Rename Episodes”
   • Root Folder: add /data/media/tv
   • Enable “Use Hardlinks instead of Copy” — this is critical for disk space efficiency
3. Settings → Download Clients → Add:
   • Type: qBittorrent
   • Host: qbittorrent
   • Port: 8080
   • Username/password from Step 1
   • Category: tv (Sonarr creates this category automatically)
4. Settings → Profiles: Review quality profiles. “HD-1080p” is a reasonable default.
5. Add a TV show via Series → Add New to verify the pipeline works

Step 4: Set Up Radarr

1. Open http://your-server:7878
2. Settings → Media Management:
   • Enable “Rename Movies”
   • Root Folder: add /data/media/movies
   • Enable “Use Hardlinks instead of Copy”
3. Settings → Download Clients → Add:
   • Type: qBittorrent
   • Host: qbittorrent
   • Port: 8080
   • Category: movies
4. Add a movie to test the pipeline

Step 5: Connect a Media Server

The *arr stack organizes your library. A media server presents it with a UI, metadata, streaming, and multi-device support.

Media Server	Best For
Jellyfin	Free, open-source, no account required
Plex	Polish, mobile apps, remote streaming
Emby	Middle ground between Jellyfin and Plex

Point your media server’s library at /data/media/movies and /data/media/tv. It scans and imports metadata automatically.

Step 6: Add Overseerr or Jellyseerr (Optional)

Overseerr (for Plex) or Jellyseerr (for Jellyfin) provides a request interface — users browse and request content, which automatically gets sent to Sonarr/Radarr for download.

Hard Links vs Copies

This is the single most important optimization in the *arr stack. Without hard links, every downloaded file gets copied from the download directory to the media directory — doubling disk usage and taking minutes for large files.

How hard links work: A hard link creates a second filename pointing to the same data on disk. The file appears in both /data/downloads/complete/movie.mkv and /data/media/movies/Movie (2024)/movie.mkv, but only uses disk space once.

Requirements for hard links:

• Both paths must be on the same filesystem (same partition/drive)
• Docker containers must see both paths under a common parent mount
• The download client and the *arr app must use the same /data mount point

Why the /data mount matters: If you mount downloads as /downloads in qBittorrent and /downloads in Radarr separately, Docker may treat them as different filesystems even if they’re on the same host drive. Mounting /data:/data in both containers guarantees they share the same filesystem view.

Verify hard links are working:

# After a download completes and gets imported:
ls -li /data/downloads/complete/somefile.mkv /data/media/movies/Movie\ \(2024\)/somefile.mkv
# Both should show the same inode number (first column)

Common Mistakes

Separate volume mounts (breaks hard links)

# WRONG — hard links won't work
volumes:
  - /mnt/downloads:/downloads
  - /mnt/media:/media

# RIGHT — single parent mount
volumes:
  - /data:/data

Mismatched PUID/PGID

If containers run as different users, one app can’t read files created by another. Always use the same PUID/PGID across all containers:

# Find your user/group ID
id
# uid=1000(youruser) gid=1000(youruser)

Wrong download client paths

The paths configured in Sonarr/Radarr must match what the download client reports. If qBittorrent saves to /data/downloads/complete inside its container, Sonarr must also see that path as /data/downloads/complete — not /downloads/complete or some other mapping.

Indexers not syncing from Prowlarr

If Prowlarr shows indexers but Sonarr/Radarr doesn’t:

1. Verify the API key in Prowlarr → Settings → Apps matches the target app’s API key
2. Use container names (e.g., http://sonarr:8989) not localhost — they’re on a Docker network
3. Click “Test” on each app connection in Prowlarr
4. Click “Sync App Indexers” after adding new indexers

Using /data for both downloads and media without subdirectories

Don’t mount /data:/data and then set both the download path and media path to /data. Use subdirectories: /data/downloads/complete for downloads, /data/media/movies for organized content.

Adding a VPN (Recommended)

For torrent traffic, route the download client through a VPN. Use a VPN container with a kill switch:

services:
  gluetun:
    image: qmcgaw/gluetun:v3.41.1
    container_name: gluetun
    restart: unless-stopped
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    environment:
      - VPN_SERVICE_PROVIDER=mullvad  # CHANGE to your provider
      - VPN_TYPE=wireguard
      - WIREGUARD_PRIVATE_KEY=your-key-here  # CHANGE
      - SERVER_COUNTRIES=Switzerland  # CHANGE
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"  # qBittorrent Web UI (routed through VPN)
      - "6881:6881"
      - "6881:6881/udp"

  qbittorrent:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/qbittorrent:5.1.4
    container_name: qbittorrent
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: "service:gluetun"  # Route ALL traffic through VPN
    depends_on:
      - gluetun
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - WEBUI_PORT=8080
    volumes:
      - ./qbittorrent/config:/config
      - /data/downloads:/data/downloads

With network_mode: "service:gluetun", all qBittorrent traffic goes through the VPN. If the VPN drops, the kill switch stops all traffic — no IP leaks. Note that ports move from qBittorrent to the gluetun container.

Usenet Alternative

If using Usenet instead of (or alongside) torrents, replace or supplement qBittorrent with SABnzbd:

  sabnzbd:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/sabnzbd:4.5.5
    container_name: sabnzbd
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./sabnzbd/config:/config
      - /data/downloads:/data/downloads
    ports:
      - "8081:8080"
    networks:
      - arr-net

Configure SABnzbd with your Usenet provider credentials, then add it as a download client in Sonarr/Radarr alongside or instead of qBittorrent.

Resource Requirements

Component	RAM (idle)	RAM (active)	CPU	Disk
Prowlarr	~50 MB	~150 MB	Low	100 MB
Sonarr	~150 MB	~400 MB	Low-Medium	500 MB
Radarr	~150 MB	~400 MB	Low-Medium	500 MB
Lidarr	~150 MB	~300 MB	Low	300 MB
Readarr	~100 MB	~250 MB	Low	200 MB
Bazarr	~80 MB	~200 MB	Low	100 MB
qBittorrent	~100 MB	~500 MB	Low-Medium	Variable
Full stack	~800 MB	~2.2 GB	Medium	2 GB + media

A full *arr stack with Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, and qBittorrent runs on 4 GB RAM. Adding all optional apps (Lidarr, Readarr, Bazarr) needs 8 GB.

Next Steps

• Add Jellyfin or Plex to serve your media library
• Set up Overseerr or Jellyseerr for user requests
• Configure Bazarr for automatic subtitle downloads
• Add FlareSolverr if indexers use Cloudflare protection
• Set up a reverse proxy for remote access
• Implement backups for your *arr configuration databases

Related

• How to Self-Host Sonarr
• How to Self-Host Radarr
• How to Self-Host Prowlarr
• How to Self-Host Lidarr
• How to Self-Host Readarr
• How to Self-Host Bazarr
• How to Self-Host qBittorrent
• How to Self-Host SABnzbd
• How to Self-Host Jellyfin
• How to Self-Host Overseerr
• How to Self-Host Jellyseerr
• Best Self-Hosted Media Servers
• Docker Compose Basics
• Docker Networking
• Reverse Proxy Setup
• Usenet Setup Guide
• Backup Strategy