The *arr Stack: Automate Your Media Library

What is the *arr stack?

The "*arr" apps are a family of open-source tools that automate finding, downloading and organizing media. Together they turn a media server into a hands-off system: you request a title once and it appears, correctly named and sorted, in Jellyfin or Plex.

The core pieces:

• Sonarr — manages TV shows and grabs new episodes.
• Radarr — does the same for movies.
• Prowlarr — a single place to manage your indexers, syncing them to Sonarr and Radarr.
• A download client — the app that actually fetches files.
• Jellyseerr — the request portal your household uses.

How the pieces fit together

1. A user requests a movie in Jellyseerr.
2. Jellyseerr tells Radarr to add it.
3. Radarr searches your indexers (configured via Prowlarr) for a release matching your quality profile.
4. Radarr sends the chosen release to your download client.
5. When the download finishes, Radarr imports it — renaming and moving it into your library folder.
6. Jellyfin or Plex picks up the new file and it's ready to watch.

Quality profiles: the key concept

Quality profiles tell Sonarr and Radarr what you actually want — for example "1080p, but upgrade to 4K if available, and never grab anything above 20 GB." Spend time here; good profiles prevent both grainy files and 80 GB monsters that fill your disks.

Folder layout matters

Use a consistent library structure so imports are clean and your media server scrapes metadata correctly:

/data
  /media
    /movies
    /tv
  /downloads

Keeping downloads and media on the same filesystem lets the *arr apps use fast hardlinks instead of copying files, saving space and time.

Run it all in Docker

Each app is a container. Put them on a shared Docker network so they can reach each other by name, and manage the whole thing with a single Compose file. Add Portainer if you prefer a UI for day-to-day management.

A note on responsible use

Use the *arr stack with content you're legally entitled to — for example, managing your own library, public-domain media, or legitimate sources. Always follow the laws in your country.

Where to go next

Once the stack runs smoothly, add Uptime Kuma to monitor each service and a backup strategy for your configuration volumes so a rebuild is painless.