In this guide I will take you through the steps to get Radarr up and running in Docker. As more people move away from using Couchpotato I thought it was time to get this guide up, the setup itself is very similar to Sonarr.
Downloading the Container
Open up Docker within DSM and navigate to the ‘Registry’ tab and search for ‘Radarr’ in the list of available containers select the one made by Linux|Server as shown below, right click on it and select ‘Download’ or click the button at the top of the window.
You can check the status of the download over on the ‘Image’ tab, while we wait for the download to complete lets move onto the next step.
Setting up a Docker User for Hydra and Obtaining the PGID and PUID
In previous versions of this guide we used your default admin account for each container, this is not very secure so please now follow the separate setup guide and then head back here.
Setting up the container
Now we have downloaded the container and got hold of our user IDs we can move onto the next stage, where we will configure the Docker container. First go back into Docker and click on the ‘Image’ tab, in the list of your containers select the ‘Linux|Server Radarr’ image and click on ‘Launch’
You will now see the initial setup screen, if you want to you can change the name of the container to something else, or if you are using a number of services on a machine with a limited amount of memory or lower powered CPU you can also setup resource limitations, this is generally not required.
Next up we are going to click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ button, this will take you to a new window with a number of tabs which we are going to work through and setup with the correct settings. On the first tab you can decide to put an icon on your desktop, you will need to specify the IP address and port so you may want to come back to this once we have decided on the port number later in the guide. The other option is to enable ‘Auto Restart’ I would suggest turning this on as this will ensure Radarr will automatically start up whenever you reboot your NAS.
Volume
We can now move onto the volume tab in which we will be specifying the directories where Radarr will be able find our existing movies, the location where your movies are downloaded to and a folder to store its configuration files. As you can see in the screenshot you will need to browse to each of the directories and add a corresponding mount point inside the Docker container. I generally keep all of my configuration settings in my Docker directory so they can easily be backed up. The other folders you will need to amend based on your own folder locations.
Network
You do not need to setup anything on this page.
Port Settings
We will now configure our port settings, in some of my earlier guides I used to change the external port to something random to make it harder to find, as I had all my ports forwarded for external access, I now use the Synology VPN so you can generally manually specify the same port numbers as the container. Do not leave the port to AUTO as it can potentially change with every restart of the container and you will have to go fishing for it each time.
Links
You do not need to setup anything on this page.
Environment Variables (PGID, PUID and Timezone)
Next we are going to setup a couple of environment variables this is the user details we took note of earlier so the Docker image has the right access to the shares we just added. As well as this a new requirement is that we add the correct Timezone to the container you can do this as shown in the screen shot below, you can find a list of timezone here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
Almost Done
You have now completed the setup of the container, click on OK to move back to the initial settings screen and then click next, you will be shown an overall summary of the settings we have specified, this is a good time to double check everything is correct. Finally click on Finish and the container should start to boot.
You should now be able to access Radarr via the IP of your NAS followed by the port number you specified.
First off – thanks for taking the time to post this – your guides have been helpful!
I have added both Sonarr and now Radarr to my Synology via Docker and, for the most part, they seem to be operating well.
The only issue I am having is in the final step. Movies (or episodes) get picked up and sent to SabNZBD, download, then get moved from the download folder to the (Plex) library folder. At this point what should happen (and used to in Sonarr’s case when I had it running outside of Docker), is the file gets renamed according to specification (and placed into Show/Season folders if TV).
Instead, movies are just sitting in a folder with the same name as the download file. Curiously, Radarr DOES create the correctly renamed movie folder, it just doesn’t complete the final step of moving the file into it (so there will be an empty folder “Title (Year)” and a populated folder “TitleDownlaodfileName.Filecontainer.etc” that contains the movie file. Sonarr’s case is similar; file is moved to the library folder but remans in a folder in the library’s root (vs the show’s sub folder).
TLDR, I think I may have a rights issue stopping some part of the renaming process, but not sure how to remedy. Any pointers? Thanks again!
Have you figured this out? I have the exact same issue and don’t know how to fix it.
Anyone having the missing mount /etc/localtime error? I’m unable to add that mount point and just stuck. Happens with both Radarr and Sonarr. Anyone know of a solution?
Yes! I had been been getting it too. It seems like with Sonarr and Radarr you now have to also set the TZ environment variable to get it to work.
Thanks, both Sonarr and Radarr guides have been updated with the information needed to get around this issue, you just need to specify a Timezone.
Your guides have been a tremendous help getting things running on my NAS. There is one thing left that still eludes me:
How to update the docker images. Some guides tell you not to use the update functions for Sonarr and Radarr in the images, but rather should update the container image itself whenever an update is needed.
How is this done while preserving everything? I’ll admit to being clueless. 🙂
I wanted to follow up on my comment to say I found a method that is fairly simple and works. I found instructions on the Home Assistant software page that worked with one change.
1) Login to Synology. Open Docker.
2) Go to the registry and download the latest version of the container.
3) Go to Container. Stop the container.
4) Right click the container and select Action > Clear.
5) Start the container again. It will start with new image with the config intact.
This worked with both Sonarr and Radarr.
Thanks Kevin, I think I will put together a separate guide for updating, as it will be a royal pain updating all my guides, at least then if the method changes I can do quick updates.
When I do this the config for Radarr is lost, but the config for the container is intact. However it only takes a few commands to restore the config backup so no biggie. However I am curious on why the config is maintained for you, cause “clear” means clear all container data…
I must of done something wrong, but I keep getting this error:
Import failed, path does not exist or is not accessible by Radarr:
Did you get this fixed? Likely a permissions issue to the directory or it’s mapped incorrectly
I am also getting this error. Apparently one of the fixes is to make sure the SAB and Radarr download directories appear exactly the same in “Volumes”.
However my SAB is /mnt/downloads
and Radarr is /downloads
If I try to change Sab I get an error that it can’t create the /downloads/complete folder
Set the remote path in Radarr or Sonarr correctly. It’s under download client tab at the bottom. Visible by toggling show advanced.
Also use the UID and GID under Media Management in Sonarr and Radarr.
Can you please give me a screenshot of how this should look? For the life of me i cant figure out how this works.
And also when i set the UID/GID, i get the error that they can’t change the permissions.
Thanks
I am a little confused. On your Sab guide the folder is downloads, on this one is download
Should they match in the config of both Radarr and Sab?
It’s probably because I had to recreate my download share between writing those guides. Just use whatever you called yours.
Has anyone had any success in setting up radarr to use SSL connections?
I would love to see a write up on Headphones, Jacket, and a home automation system such as Eynio
Jackett is certainly possible as I am using it, I gave up with Headphones a long time ago and eagerly awaiting Lidarr
Yeah Headphones is garbage. I tried to setup Radarr but it does not pull large IMDB lists like CouchPotato does, so I am back using CP now. If Radarr supported large lists I would definitely use it instead.
Hi All,
I have followed these instruction to the letter, but when I go to the IP of NAS with port number, cannot connect “This site can’t be reached”. Any ideas please?
It worked perfectly fine except I had to enable Terminal Services in the control panel of my synology as first step.
Why are your File/Folder and Mount Path on this guide “download” and on the nzbget and Sonarr guide the plural “downloads”? If you are installing all three (and I suspect most would) should it not be consistent across all three packages? I have been fighting this install in Docker on a Synology DS and want to make sure I have this right.
NVM – I see this was previously asked and answered. Sounds like it should be consistent across all three packages
How does volume mapping work with multiple download locations?
for example:
Download client – Download location .
ngbget /nbzbget/completed/movies
transmission . /transmission/completed/movies
How do I configure it so that Radarr knows about these 2 locations to pull file form?
I’m guessing it involves the downloads folder.
Would I map downs to both? like
-v /nbzbget/completed/movies:/downloads/nzbget
-v /transmission/completed/movies:/downloads/transmission
Would that work?
Could you not have both your torrent client and NZBGet download to the same location and then use categories to ensure Movies go into one folder TV in another etc.
I used your tutorial to get me all setup awhile back. All the sudden it’s not working with plenty of errors in the log. I’m running it in docker of course but I’m thinking I’ll need to start from scratch. Is there a way to install again and use one of the backups so I don’t lose everything and to where it’s as painless as possible?
You can export the config only within the Docker interface delete the container and its original image, redownload the image fresh and import the Docker config file. You should be set.. About 5 minutes work
Thanks. Didn’t fix the problem unfortunately. Any idea why I suddenly can no longer search for anything. It just pops up saying there was an error searching. It’s happened in the past but it’s been a month now and still not working. “Request failed: error resolutions failure” I believe is the error in the log. Any clue what the deal could be?
Are you searching your indexers directly or via Hydra(2)
Just directly with the search on Radarr. Never used hydra
Any suggestions?
Google didn’t really come up with much, it’s not something simple like the API key being incorrect
how frustrating
Hi there, great instructions.
I do want to install another docker image, but I do not understand one of the parameters listed on its page:
https://hub.docker.com/r/qvicksilver/logitechmediaserver/
At the end of the parameter list, it says: “qvicksilver/logitechmediaserver ”
I do not know how to implement this parameter in my synology docker. Is it an env var? If yes, what’s the var name and what its value?
The whole purpose is to maybe get around using PGID and PUID.
Regards, Till
That last part just tells docker what container you want to pull. If you are using the Syno interface you can skip that command element as you already downloaded the image from the UI
Thanks for the simple yet comprehendible info. Duh.
So is there any way generally in granting docker access to syno shared folders other than finding out PUID and PGID via CLI, and, of course, granting “everyone” access to a particular share?
(Granting “everyone” read access to a shared folder did the trick for me, but it’s a little unsafe).
And – by the way – is this documented anywhere by Synology? I only found this PUID and PGID info on forums. Also, some forums use “user_id” rather than PUID – are you aware of this and what’s the difference?
Essentially as long as you are using the correct environment variable the contain is asking for you could use either?
First of all thanks for making these guides. I’ve basically learned enough from reading your guides that i’ve been able to struggle through some other docker stuff. Can you please explain to me how to handle this line
-v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro \
its seems to be required for many containers but the docker GUI does seem to let me browse to /etc/localtime I noticed all of your demos use the EV instead of this file system way. Many thanks if you could!
There are some variables that can’t be used in the Synology interface, you would need to do it via SSH or Portainer. Have you tried passing it as a PATH environment variable
https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PATHforcomments.png
I tried it for a couple but it seems to be beyond me. If you were to do a guide on getting some sort of a Torrent Client/VPN combo container working I’d happily donate to your site.
Now its funny you mention this as I am actually looking for a guide myself, I paid for a cheap VPS and I am currently getting my own personal VPN server setup to route some torrent traffic through it.
I’d love some guidance on the torrent client/VPN combos as well. Binhex has some that people say work well, but for the life of me I can’t get them working with PIA. I wish you the best of luck in figuring it out!
Hi,
First of all thanks a lot for the installation guide. Has been tremendously helpful.
I have a question regarding Radarr. I have installed Radarr and Sonarr, but Radarr for some reasons is creating a connection to my server as admin, with an IP Address 172.17.0.x. I can see it in the widget showing me connections, as well as in the log. I changed my admin passwrd, and now radarr cannot connect anymore but create warnings in the log.
Not sure why it connects. Not sure why Sonarr doesn’t. Not sure how to use the network setup in docker between bridge and host etc.
Thanks a lot
Hi ! Any chance to have this good tutorial with a 2 Factor Authorization for admins on the NAS ? Maybe by creating a special user with no 2FA, restricted access on directories ?
Hey, you should be able to do all these with 2fa turned on. My main accounts all have 2fa but the Docker ones do not as I have limited all there access to just the specific directories and turned off there ability to access any other parts of DSM
Thanks for your superb guides. I’ve been using them for years I’m shortly going to be migrating from one Synology to another but one with fewer bays, so straight disk swaps not possible. What would be the best way to transfer the config across (& Sonarr)? I’ll have a download of the backups & copies of the docker config folders
Hey, thankfully Docker is super easy to migrate. Just backup (copy) your existing Docker share contents to the new Diskstation, I would then do an export of the actual docker settings themselves within the Docker UI and just load them back up in the new Diskstation.
Thanks for your help. I’ve restored the docker folders to new NAS. Sonarr & NZBGet working fine but Radarr mostly working but throwing up intermittent database locked messages. Any thoughts?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AgwFyk84qRnxCjSS6
Thanks for your help. I’ve restored docker folders to new NAS. NZBget & Sonarr working fine but Radarr working intermittently, throwing up a load of database locked errors. Any thoughts?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AgwFyk84qRnxCjSS6
Found your comment in spam! Are your user permissions the same?
Thanks for the quick reply. I had to change PUID to match new set-up & propagated that user’s permission to have full access to everything in my docker share (using file station-permissions), so assumed that would pass down to all files.
However, I’ve just now started afresh with new container & empty docker folder & used Radarr v3 restore option to restore a backup. It seems to be behaving & much quicker now (no errors yet). It’s just going through updating all the metadata/posters etc, fingers-crossed
If this is only happening occasionally it must be something else.
Something very odd is going on. I’m occassionally seeing similar errors in Sonarr too. Refreshing 1900 movies has taken 2 days. I’ve tried the Syno community Radarr too and that’s the same. I can’t help thinking something is up with my new NAS but at a loss how to narrow the issue down
Just tried with docker config on an external USB HDD and it’s flying, no errors. Looks like an issue with write speeds or similar to the NAS
OK, what drives did you use. You haven’t managed to get caught out by some of those Western Digital SMR drives?
I don’t think so, according to a quick Google search of the serials
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMRGeT6Lb5xsN6fh9
Thanks for the great guide.
I’m about to setup Radarr/Sonarr/SABNZBD/NZBHydra on a new DS920+.
Can I use the PUID/PGID values for a non-admin account, assuming that the account has r/w access to the relevant folders on the NAS?
If so, is there anything else needed to configure in this way? I like using least privilege principles where possible.
Yes this would be the ideal setup
Yes you can use the same one across multiple that’s exactly how I ended up doing it.
Can’t get it to run. It starts, but I can never get to the webpage. In the logs I see this error: failed to create coreCLR.
Followed your tutorial.
With a normal package it works instantly, but after an update I alway have to install Radarr again because it fails to start after the update.
Ping me an email I can help troubleshoot. drfranky@drfrankenstein.co.uk. Would be good if you can include a screenshot of your environment variables tab.
I think there must have been an issue with the Docker package as there have been a few people with exactly the same issue. You need to uninstall and reinstall Docker it will then work.
Great guide, but I didn’t understand how to tell radarr to organize the movies he downloads. Should Radarr move the downloaded movies to the main “movies” folder in order to make them read a plex?
In Radarr in “Root Folders” under settings, I cannot find the shared folder created in synology.
Radarr will automatically move the downloaded movie to the library you specified when adding it to Radarr