Auto-Download & Organize Movies with Radarr

// Before you start

What you need

A Windows, macOS, or Linux computer that stays on (or a Raspberry Pi)
A Usenet or BitTorrent download client already installed (e.g. qBittorrent, SABnzbd)
A Usenet indexer or torrent indexer account (e.g. Jackett, Prowlarr, or a direct indexer)
About 1 GB free disk space for Radarr itself
A folder where your movies will be stored

Step 1 of 7

Download and install Radarr

5 min

Radarr provides a native installer for every major platform. Go to the official download page and grab the right version for your system. On Windows you get a standard .exe installer. On Linux/Raspberry Pi you run a one-line install script from the Radarr wiki. The installer sets Radarr up as a background service that starts automatically with your computer.

Terminal · mac

$ # Windows: download the installer from https://radarr.video/#downloads and double-click it.

$ # Linux (Debian/Ubuntu/Raspberry Pi OS) — copy and run this single command:

$ bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Radarr/Radarr/develop/distribution/debian/install.sh)

What you should see

On Windows: an installer wizard completes and Radarr opens in your browser automatically. On Linux: the script prints 'Install complete' and Radarr starts as a systemd service.

This might happen

Linux script asks for a user/group — just press Enter to accept the defaults unless you have a specific media user set up.

If the service does not start, run: sudo systemctl start radarr && sudo systemctl status radarr

Step 2 of 7

Open the Radarr web UI

1 min

Radarr runs a small web server on your machine. You access everything through a browser — no separate app needed. The default address is localhost port 7878.

Terminal · mac

$ # Open this address in any browser on the same machine:

$ http://localhost:7878

What you should see

The Radarr setup wizard or main dashboard loads in your browser.

This might happen

Accessing from another device on your network (e.g. a phone) — replace 'localhost' with the computer's local IP address, e.g. http://192.168.1.50:7878

Find the machine's local IP: on Windows run 'ipconfig' in Command Prompt; on Linux run 'ip a'. Look for the 192.168.x.x address.

Step 3 of 7

Set your root (movies) folder

2 min

Radarr needs to know where to put finished movies. This is called a Root Folder. Go to Settings → Media Management → Root Folders and click the + button. Browse to the folder on your drive where you want movies stored. Radarr will create sub-folders per movie automatically.

Terminal · mac

$ # No command needed — done entirely in the browser UI:

$ # Settings → Media Management → Root Folders → Add Root Folder → pick your folder → Save

What you should see

Your chosen folder path appears listed under Root Folders with a green checkmark.

This might happen

Radarr cannot write to the folder — permission denied error.

On Linux, give the radarr service user ownership: sudo chown -R radarr:radarr /your/movies/folder

Step 4 of 7

Connect your download client

5 min

Radarr needs to hand off downloads to a client like qBittorrent, SABnzbd, or NZBGet. Go to Settings → Download Clients, click +, choose your client from the list, and fill in the host (usually localhost), port, and any username/password you set in that client. Click Test — Radarr will confirm the connection works before you save.

Terminal · mac

$ # Done in the browser UI:

$ # Settings → Download Clients → + → choose your client → fill in host/port/credentials → Test → Save

What you should see

A green 'Connection successful' banner appears after clicking Test.

This might happen

Test fails with 'Unable to connect' even though the download client is running.

Check that the port matches exactly what your download client uses. qBittorrent default is 8080; SABnzbd default is 8080; NZBGet default is 6789. Also make sure the Web UI is enabled inside the download client's own settings.

Step 5 of 7

Add an indexer

5 min

An indexer is the source Radarr searches for movie releases — think of it as a search engine for downloads. If you use Prowlarr or Jackett (recommended aggregators), add those under Settings → Indexers using the Torznab or Newznab option and paste in the URL and API key they provide. If you have a direct indexer account, add it the same way.

Terminal · mac

$ # Done in the browser UI:

$ # Settings → Indexers → + → choose Torznab (torrents) or Newznab (Usenet)

$ # Paste the URL and API key from Prowlarr/Jackett or your indexer → Test → Save

What you should see

Green 'Connection successful' after Test. The indexer appears in your list.

This might happen

No indexers show results when you search for a movie.

Make sure the indexer supports movies (not just TV). In Jackett/Prowlarr, confirm the indexer has the 'Movies' category enabled.

Step 6 of 7

Add your first movie and search

3 min

Now the fun part. Click 'Add Movies' at the top, type a movie title, select it from the results, choose your root folder and quality profile (HD-1080p is a safe default), then click 'Add Movie'. Radarr will immediately search your indexers. If a match is found it sends it to your download client automatically. You can also click the movie and hit 'Search' manually.

Terminal · mac

$ # Done in the browser UI:

$ # Add Movies (top nav) → search title → select result → choose Root Folder + Quality Profile → Add Movie

What you should see

The movie appears on your dashboard. Its status changes from 'Missing' to 'Downloading' once a release is found and sent to your download client.

This might happen

Movie stays 'Missing' and no download starts.

Click the movie → Activity tab to see why releases were rejected (wrong quality, no indexer results, etc.). Try a manual search: click the movie → Manual Search to see exactly what is available.

Step 7 of 7

Verify the movie imported correctly

2 min

When the download finishes, Radarr detects it, renames the file to its standard format, and moves it into your root folder. Check the Activity → Queue tab to watch progress, and then look in your movies folder to confirm the file landed there. The movie's status on the dashboard will turn green.

Terminal · mac

$ # Check in the browser UI:

$ # Activity → Queue (while downloading)

$ # Movies dashboard → the movie tile should show a green quality badge when done

$ # Optionally verify on disk (Linux):

$ ls /your/movies/folder/

What you should see

The movie folder exists inside your root folder with a properly named video file, e.g. 'The Matrix (1999)/The Matrix (1999) Bluray-1080p.mkv'.

This might happen

Download finishes but Radarr shows 'Import Failed'.

Usually a permissions issue or the download folder is not accessible to Radarr. On Linux: sudo chown -R radarr:radarr /your/downloads/folder. Also check Settings → Download Clients → your client → Remote Path Mappings if Radarr and the download client run on different machines.

// Status

cooked. baked. worked.

A self-hosted web dashboard that automatically searches for movies you add, sends them to your download client, and imports finished downloads into a neatly named folder structure — ready for Plex, Kodi, or any media server.

// the honest bit

The honest part

Radarr itself is free and open source, but it is only as useful as your indexers and download client. Without a paid Usenet provider/indexer or access to private torrent trackers, search results may be limited. Radarr does not provide any content — it only automates finding and organizing what your indexers can see. Public torrent indexers vary wildly in reliability. Also note: only one version of a movie per instance is supported; 4K and 1080p libraries require two separate Radarr installs.