Media Stack Installation — qBittorrent, Prowlarr, Radarr, Sonarr, Plex, Tautulli, Sonarr & Seerr Fully Integrated

Managing a media library used to mean manually downloading files, renaming them, sorting them into folders, and hoping Plex picked them up. One sick day and you had 47 torrents in a "Downloads" folder and no idea what was what.

I built a full media automation stack — qBittorrent for downloading, Prowlarr for indexer management, Radarr and Sonarr for movie and TV management, Plex for playback, Tautulli for monitoring, and Jellyseerr for request handling. Once integrated, the entire pipeline runs without me touching a file.

This guide walks through installing every component on a single Ubuntu 24.04 server using Docker Compose, then wiring them together so a request in Jellyseerr becomes a downloaded, renamed, Plex-scanned, Tautulli-tracked file. No prior Docker or Linux experience required.

What It Is

The Apps

How They Connect

The Core Problem: Eight Apps, Zero Integration

Installing eight Docker containers is the easy part. The hard part is making them trust each other:

• Radarr needs qBittorrent's API to add torrents and read completion status
• Sonarr needs the same — without conflicting categories
• Prowlarr needs API keys from every *arr app to sync indexer configs
• Plex needs to know when Radarr/Sonarr add new files so it can scan
• Jellyseerr needs Radarr/Sonarr API keys to submit requests
• Tautulli needs Plex credentials to monitor streams
• All of them need shared filesystem paths so completed downloads land where expected

Get one path wrong and Radarr imports from /downloads but Plex scans /media/movies — and you have a full download folder and an empty library.

This guide makes every path, API key, and integration explicit.

Step 0 — Server Requirements

Minimum Hardware

Software Prerequisites

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Install Docker Compose (included with Docker Desktop, or)
sudo apt install docker-compose-plugin -y
docker compose version

# Verify
docker run hello-world

Directory Structure

All apps share a common structure so paths stay consistent:

mkdir -p /media-stack/{config,downloads,movies,tv,plex-transcode}
mkdir -p /media-stack/config/{qbittorrent,prowlarr,radarr,sonarr,plex,tautulli,jellyseerr}
mkdir -p /media-stack/downloads/{complete,incomplete}

# Set permissions (apps run as UID 1000 by default)
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /media-stack
sudo chmod -R 775 /media-stack

Key point: Every container will map to the same /media-stack paths on the host. Inside containers, we use standardized paths (/config, /downloads, /movies, /tv). This means Radarr, Sonarr, and qBittorrent all see the same files.

Step 1 — Docker Compose File

Create /media-stack/docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.8"

# All services share the same network so they can reach each other by container name
networks:
  media-stack:
    driver: bridge

# Shared volumes for consistency
volumes:
  qbittorrent-config:
  prowlarr-config:
  radarr-config:
  sonarr-config:
  plex-config:
  tautulli-config:
  jellyseerr-config:

services:

  # ============================================================
  # QBITTORRENT — Torrent client
  # ============================================================
  qbittorrent:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/qbittorrent:5.2.3
    container_name: qbittorrent
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - WEBUI_PORT=8080
    volumes:
      - qbittorrent-config:/config
      - /media-stack/downloads:/downloads
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"     # WebUI
      - "6881:6881"     # TCP peer
      - "6881:6881/udp" # UDP peer
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ============================================================
  # PROWLARR — Indexer manager
  # ============================================================
  prowlarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/prowlarr:latest
    container_name: prowlarr
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - prowlarr-config:/config
    ports:
      - "9696:9696"
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ============================================================
  # RADARR — Movie automation
  # ============================================================
  radarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/radarr:latest
    container_name: radarr
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - radarr-config:/config
      - /media-stack/movies:/movies
      - /media-stack/downloads:/downloads
    ports:
      - "7878:7878"
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ============================================================
  # SONARR — TV automation
  # ============================================================
  sonarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/sonarr:latest
    container_name: sonarr
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - sonarr-config:/config
      - /media-stack/tv:/tv
      - /media-stack/downloads:/downloads
    ports:
      - "8989:8989"
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ============================================================
  # PLEX — Media server
  # ============================================================
  plex:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/plex:latest
    container_name: plex
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - VERSION=docker
      - PLEX_CLAIM=claim-XXXXXXXXXXXX  # Get from https://www.plex.tv/claim/
    volumes:
      - plex-config:/config
      - /media-stack/plex-transcode:/transcode
      - /media-stack/movies:/movies
      - /media-stack/tv:/tv
    ports:
      - "32400:32400"   # Web UI
      - "1900:1900/udp" # DLNA
      - "5353:5353/udp" # Bonjour/Avahi
      - "8324:8324"     # Plex for Roku
      - "32410:32410/udp" # GDM network discovery
      - "32412:32412/udp"
      - "32413:32413/udp"
      - "32414:32414/udp"
      - "32469:32469"   # DLNA
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri  # Intel Quick Sync for hardware transcoding
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ============================================================
  # TAUTULLI — Plex monitoring
  # ============================================================
  tautulli:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/tautulli:latest
    container_name: tautulli
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - tautulli-config:/config
    ports:
      - "8181:8181"
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ============================================================
  # JELLYSEERR — Media request portal
  # ============================================================
  jellyseerr:
    image: fallenbagel/jellyseerr:latest
    container_name: jellyseerr
    networks:
      - media-stack
    environment:
      - LOG_LEVEL=info
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - jellyseerr-config:/app/config
    ports:
      - "5055:5055"
    restart: unless-stopped

Launch Everything

cd /media-stack
docker compose up -d

# Verify all containers are running
docker compose ps

# Check logs for any errors
docker compose logs -f

Wait 2–3 minutes for all services to initialize, then verify each Web UI:

Step 2 — qBittorrent Configuration

First Login

Default credentials: admin / adminadmin

Immediately change the password: 1. Go to Tools → Options → Web UI 2. Set a strong username and password 3. Click Save

Configure Download Paths

Tools → Options → Downloads

Create Categories

Categories let Radarr and Sonarr manage torrents independently. When Radarr adds a torrent, it tags it as radarr — and Radarr only manages torrents in that category.

View → Category Tree → Add Category

Critical: The category names must be exactly radarr and sonarr (lowercase). The *arr apps search for these exact names.

Enable API Access

Tools → Options → WebUI → Authentication

• Enable "Bypass authentication for clients on localhost" (optional, for local *arr apps)
• Note: Radarr/Sonarr v4+/v6+ support qBittorrent 5.2's new auth — no extra config needed

Get the API Key

qBittorrent doesn't expose a separate API key — the *arr apps use the WebUI username/password for API access. Remember these credentials for Step 6.

Step 3 — Prowlarr Configuration

First Setup

1. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9696
2. Setup Wizard:
3. Authentication: Set username/password
4. Client: Skip (we'll add apps manually)
5. Indexers: Skip (we'll add manually)

Add Indexers

Indexers → Add Indexer

Start with these (free, no registration required):

For private trackers, add them with your passkey/API key.

Connect to *arr Apps

This is the magic step — Prowlarr syncs your indexer list to Radarr and Sonarr automatically.

Settings → Apps → Add App → Radarr

Settings → Apps → Add App → Sonarr

Note: Use container names (prowlarr, radarr, sonarr) instead of IPs — Docker's internal DNS resolves them on the shared media-stack network.

After adding both apps, Prowlarr pushes all configured indexers to Radarr and Sonarr. Verify: - Radarr → Settings → Indexers — Should show all Prowlarr indexers - Sonarr → Settings → Indexers — Should show all Prowlarr indexers

Step 4 — Radarr Configuration

First Setup

1. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:7878
2. Setup Wizard:
3. Authentication: Set username/password
4. Movie folder: Skip (we'll configure manually)

Configure Download Client

Settings → Download Clients → Add → qBittorrent

Click Test — should show green checkmark.

Configure Root Folder

Settings → Media Management → Root Folders → Add

Configure Quality Profile

Settings → Quality → Quality Profiles

Create a profile that matches your storage budget:

Configure Naming

Settings → Media Management → Naming

Example result: /movies/The Matrix (1999) [imdb-tt0133093]/The Matrix (1999) Bluray-1080p.mkv

Enable Plex Notification

Settings → Connect → Add → Plex Media Server

This tells Radarr to tell Plex to scan the movie library after importing a new file.

Step 5 — Sonarr Configuration

First Setup

1. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8989
2. Setup Wizard:
3. Authentication: Set username/password
4. TV folder: Skip (we'll configure manually)

Configure Download Client

Settings → Download Clients → Add → qBittorrent

Click Test — should show green checkmark.

Configure Root Folder

Settings → Media Management → Root Folders → Add

Configure Quality Profile

Settings → Quality → Quality Profiles

Configure Naming

Settings → Media Management → Naming

Example result: /tv/Breaking Bad (2008) [tvdb-81189]/Season 01/Breaking Bad (2008) - S01E01 - Pilot Bluray-1080p.mkv

Enable Plex Notification

Settings → Connect → Add → Plex Media Server

Step 6 — Plex Configuration

First Setup

1. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:32400/web
2. Setup Wizard:
3. Sign in with your Plex account
4. Server name: MediaStack (or your choice)
5. Disable "Allow me to access my media outside my home" (enable later with port forwarding)

Create Libraries

Settings → Libraries → Add Library

Enable Hardware Transcoding

Settings → Transcoder

Note: Intel Quick Sync requires /dev/dri device passthrough (already in docker-compose.yml). For NVIDIA, add --runtime=nvidia and NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=all.

Get the Plex Token

Settings → General → Advanced → Click "Show Token"

Copy this token — you'll need it for Radarr, Sonarr, Tautulli, and Jellyseerr.

Enable Local Discovery

Settings → Network → Show Advanced

Step 7 — Tautulli Configuration

First Setup

1. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8181
2. Setup Wizard:
3. Sign in with your Plex account (OAuth)
4. Select your Plex server
5. Import existing history (optional)

Configure Plex Connection

Settings → Plex Media Server

Click Test — should show green checkmark.

Enable Notifications

Settings → Notification Agents → Add a Notification Agent

Configure these triggers:

Monitor Activity

Activity tab shows real-time streams: - Who's watching what - Transcoding vs direct play - Bandwidth usage - Quality being streamed

Step 8 — Jellyseerr Configuration

First Setup

1. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:5055
2. Setup Wizard:
3. Sign in with your Plex account (OAuth)
4. Select your Plex server
5. Scan libraries (auto-detects Movies and TV)

Connect to Sonarr

Settings → Services → Sonarr → Add Sonarr Server

After saving, Jellyseerr auto-detects: - Root folders - Quality profiles - Language profiles - Tags

Enable: "4K Sonarr Requesting" (if you have 4K quality profile)

Connect to Radarr

Settings → Services → Radarr → Add Radarr Server

Enable: "4K Radarr Requesting" (if applicable)

Configure Request Permissions

Settings → User Permissions

Set Up Email Invitations

Settings → Users → Invite User

• Enter email address
• Assign permissions (Admin, User, or Custom)
• User receives email to create account
• They can then request movies/TV through Jellyseerr

Step 9 — Full Integration Test

Now verify the entire pipeline works end-to-end.

Test 1: Request a Movie via Jellyseerr

1. Open Jellyseerr → Search for a movie (e.g., "Dune")
2. Click Request
3. Jellyseerr sends to Radarr
4. Radarr adds to monitored list
5. Radarr searches Prowlarr indexers
6. Radarr sends torrent to qBittorrent (category: radarr)
7. qBittorrent downloads to /downloads/complete
8. Radarr imports from /downloads/complete → renames → moves to /movies
9. Radarr notifies Plex to scan movie library
10. Plex adds movie to library
11. Tautulli logs "Recently Added" notification

Test 2: Request a TV Show via Jellyseerr

1. Open Jellyseerr → Search for a TV show (e.g., "Severance")
2. Select seasons to request
3. Jellyseerr sends to Sonarr
4. Sonarr adds to monitored list
5. Sonarr searches Prowlarr indexers
6. Sonarr sends torrent to qBittorrent (category: sonarr)
7. qBittorrent downloads to /downloads/complete
8. Sonarr imports from /downloads/complete → renames → moves to /tv
9. Sonarr notifies Plex to scan TV library
10. Plex adds show to library
11. Tautulli logs "Recently Added" notification

Test 3: Verify in Plex

1. Open Plex → Check Movies library → "Dune" should appear
2. Open Plex → Check TV library → "Severance" should appear
3. Play a file → Verify direct play or transcoding works
4. Check Tautulli → Activity tab should show your stream

Test 4: Verify in Tautulli

1. Open Tautulli → History tab → Should show your playback
2. Open Tautulli → Library Stats → Should show movie/TV counts
3. Open Tautulli → Graphs → Should show streaming activity

Step 10 — Reverse Proxy (Optional but Recommended)

Put all services behind Nginx Proxy Manager or Traefik for HTTPS and clean URLs.

Nginx Proxy Manager Example

Enable SSL with Let's Encrypt for each subdomain.

qBittorrent Reverse Proxy Header

Tools → Options → WebUI → Reverse proxy support

Step 11 — Backup & Maintenance

Backup Configurations

All app configs live in Docker volumes. Back them up:

# Stop containers
cd /media-stack && docker compose down

# Backup all config volumes
sudo tar -czf /backup/media-stack-configs-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  /var/lib/docker/volumes/media-stack_*

# Restart
docker compose up -d

Automated Backup Script

#!/bin/bash
# /media-stack/backup.sh
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/media-stack"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
cd /media-stack

docker compose stop
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/configs-$DATE.tar.gz" \
  /var/lib/docker/volumes/media-stack_*
docker compose start

# Keep only last 7 backups
ls -t $BACKUP_DIR/configs-*.tar.gz | tail -n +8 | xargs rm -f

chmod +x /media-stack/backup.sh

# Add to crontab (weekly)
crontab -e
0 3 * * 0 /media-stack/backup.sh

Update All Containers

cd /media-stack

# Pull latest images
docker compose pull

# Recreate containers with new images
docker compose up -d

# Clean up old images
docker image prune -f

What I'd Tell Anyone Building One

1. Start with the categories. The #1 integration failure is qBittorrent categories not matching what Radarr/Sonarr expect. Create radarr and sonarr categories in qBittorrent before configuring download clients in the *arr apps.

2. Use container names, not IPs. Docker's internal DNS resolves qbittorrent, radarr, sonarr, etc. on the shared network. If you use IPs and your container restarts with a new IP, everything breaks.

3. Map the same host paths everywhere. qBittorrent downloads to /downloads. Radarr imports from /downloads. Sonarr imports from /downloads. Plex scans /movies and /tv. If these paths don't match across containers, files get stuck in limbo.

4. Don't skip the Plex notification step. Without Radarr/Sonarr telling Plex to scan, new files won't appear in your library until the next scheduled scan (which could be hours). The notification trigger is instant.

5. Test with one movie first. Don't bulk-add 500 movies before verifying the pipeline works. Request one movie, watch it flow through every app, confirm it lands in Plex. Then scale up.

6. Use a VPN for qBittorrent. Route qBittorrent through a VPN container (gluetun) so your ISP doesn't see torrent traffic. The other apps (Radarr, Sonarr, Plex) don't need VPN — only the torrent client does.

7. Set quality profiles conservatively. A 4K Remux is 50–80 GB. A 1080p BluRay is 8–15 GB. Start with 1080p profiles and only add 4K if you have the storage and bandwidth. You can always upgrade quality later.

Get It

• qBittorrent: qbittorrent.org
• Prowlarr: prowlarr.com
• Radarr: radarr.video
• Sonarr: sonarr.tv
• Plex: plex.tv
• Tautulli: tautulli.com
• Jellyseerr: github.com/Fallenbagel/Jellyseerr
• Docker Compose Docs: docs.docker.com/compose

Last updated: 2026-08-30 — Tested on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Docker 27.x. Versions: qBittorrent 5.2.3, Prowlarr v3, Radarr v6, Sonarr v4, Plex 1.40+, Tautulli 2.14+, Jellyseerr 2.0+.