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How to install and configure Sonarr for managing TV show downloads
Get all the episodes, or just the new ones.
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Remember WebTV? This ain’t it.
Installing Sonarr
What is Sonarr?
Sonarr is a personal TV show tracker software application for managing and automating the downloading and organization of TV shows. Users can add shows to their library and automatically search for and download them from Usenet. Sonarr supports features like quality customization, language preferences, and automation of upgrades to higher quality versions when they become available. Overall, Sonarr streamlines the process of managing and acquiring TV episodes, ensuring a well-organized and up-to-date TV collection.
Table of Contents:
Step 1. Download and install Sonarr.
Visit https://sonarr.tv/#download and download the latest stable release. Right-click on the .exe file, and click “Run as administrator”.
Make sure to choose “Install as a system tray application” when prompted. If you get a Windows Firewall prompt, select “Allow Access”. When installed, a browser tab should open, but if not, double click on the Sonarr icon.
Step 2. Set up Sonarr media management.
Go to the “Settings” tab in the left sidebar. Click “Media Management” and ensure the following values:
- Check “Rename Episodes”
- Check “Replace Illegal Characters”
- Set “Standard Episode Format” and other formats or whatever you wish
- Check “Unmonitor Deleted Episodes”
Click the big “Add Root Folder” button at the bottom and navigate to the directory on your disk where you want to store movies. We suggest making a new folder called “TV Shows” on a large external hard drive.
Step 3. Add your indexer(s) to Sonarr.
Still on the “Settings” tab, click “Indexers”, and click the big “+” plus sign.
On the “Newznab” block, click the “Presets” dropdown and click your indexer. If your indexer is not in the list, click the “Custom” button.
Type a name and ensure the following checkboxes are checked:
- Enable RSS
- Enable Automatic Search
- Enable Interactive Search
Enter your indexer’s website in the “URL” field, if blank.
Copy your API key from your indexer and paste into the “API Key” field.
Click the “Test” button at the bottom and wait for the green check, and then Save.
Step 4. Connect SABnzbd to Sonarr.
Still on the “Settings” tab, click “Download Clients”, and click the big “+” plus sign.
Click the “SABnzbd” block. Type “SAB” for the Name, and change the Port to “38080” or whatever you chose when installing SABnzbd.
Open SABnzbd in a different browser tab, and navigate to Config / General. Copy the value of “API Key” and paste it into the “API Key” field on the Sonarr tab.
For “Category”, type “movies”.
Click the “Test” button at the bottom and wait for the green check, and then Save.