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SABnzbd in Container Manager on a Synology NAS

Important or Recent Updates
UpdateDate
New guide update for DSM7.2 and Container Manager06/05/2023
Moved from UI setup to Project Setup which is more flexible and easier to maintain.21/10/2023
Added an addition element to the compose to restrict the container from gaining additional privileges and also umask environment variable25/10/2023
Historic updates.


What is SABnzbd?

SABnzbd is a binary newsreader, it is used to download files from Usenet, and where required will also repair and extract releases. It works on its own or in conjunction with other tools such as Lidarr and Radarr.

Let’s Begin

In this guide I will take you through the steps to get Sabnzbd up and running in Container Manager. We will be using the new Projects (Docker Compose) feature to get this running as it will save you time vs manual setup using the normal UI

In order for you to successfully use this guide please complete the three preceding guides

Folder Setup

Let’s start by getting some folders set up for the containers to use. Open up File Station create the following.

Folders
/docker/projects/sabnzbd-compose
/docker/sabnzbd

Container Manager

Next we are going to set up a ‘Project’ in Container Manager. Open up Container Manager and click on Project then on the right-hand side click ‘Create’.

In the next screen we will set up our General Settings, enter the following:

SectionSetting
Project Name:sabnzbd
Path:/docker/projects/sabnzbd-compose
Source:Create docker-compose.yml

Next we are going to drop in our docker compose configuration, copy all the code in the box below and paste it into line ‘1’ just like the screenshot.

YAML
services:
  sabnzbd:
    image: linuxserver/sabnzbd:latest
    container_name: sabnzbd
    environment:
      - PUID=1234 #CHANGE_TO_YOUR_UID
      - PGID=65432 #CHANGE_TO_YOUR_GID
      - TZ=Europe/London #CHANGE_TO_YOUR_TZ
      - UMASK=022
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/sabnzbd:/config
      - /volume1/data/usenet:/data/usenet
    ports:
      - 8080:8080/tcp
    network_mode: synobridge
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    restart: always

Environment Variables

We are now going to amend some key variables to make sure the container has access to our folders and also knows where we are in the world. Don’t change any other settings other than those I mention.

VariableValue
PUID(required) The UID you obtained in the user setup guide
PGID(required) The GID you obtained in the user setup guide
TZ(required) Your timezone wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones

Once you have made the edits you can click ‘Next’

You do not need to enable anything on the ‘Web portal settings’ screen click ‘Next’ again.

On the final screen click ‘Done’ which will begin the download of the container images and once downloaded they will be launched!

The image will now be downloaded and extracted. You should see ‘Code 0’ when it has finished.

Firewall Exceptions

(Skip if you don’t have the Firewall configured)

If you have enabled and configured the Synology Firewall you will need to create exceptions for any containers that have a Web UI or have any incoming or outgoing connections.

Make a note of the ports used in the compose section of the guide, these will be the ones you need to create exceptions for.

(Please note this is a generic section and will not show the specific ports used in this guide however it applies in the same way)

Also, I would like to refer people to the great guide on getting the Firewall correctly configured over on WunderTechs site.

Head into the Control Panel> Security > Firewall, from here click Edit Rules for the profile you set up when you enabled the Firewall.

Next click on Create and you will see the screen below. Source IP and Action will be automatically selected to All and Allow, I will leave it up to you as to your own preference on whether you want to lock down specific Source IPs from having access. In this example we will leave as All.

You will now choose ‘Custom‘ and then the Custom button

Now select Destination from the drop-down menu, most web based containers require TCP access but check the guide as it will show the port and protocol. Then add comma separated ports. Then press OK.

Click OK a couple of times to get back to the main screen. You will see by default the new rule is added to the bottom of the list. You must always have your Block All rule last in the list as the rules are applied top down so move your container up.

You have now completed the Firewall changes and can continue with the guide.

Some final steps

SABnzbd will now be running on port 8080 you can connect to it by going to the IP address of your NAS with that port

e.g. 192.168.0.40:8080

Once you have completed the setup wizard, go into the settings and amend your folders to the following

SettingPath
Temporary Download Folder/data/usenet/intermediate
Completed Download Folder/data/usenet/completed
Watched Folder/data/usenet/nzb

If you are using SABnzbd for your download client in the Arrs you will want to add some categories and paths as shown below. When adding SABnzbd to each of the Arrs match up the category in the download client settings, like the example below in Sonarr.

You are now configured to get downloads working, there are quite a few options in the configuration sections of the app that can both improve and hinder performance. These really depend on the capability of your NAS so keep this in mind.




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Published inDockerDownload Tools 7.2Synology

106 Comments

  1. Eddy Eddy

    Hi Dr_Frankenstein,

    is it possible that you’ve missed to add the folder to to your yaml script?
    /volume1/data/usenet:/data/usenet

    Thanky you so much for your website, made my first steps with docker thanks to you 🙂

    Regards
    Eddy

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      Hey – in my eagerness to update the guide to use Projects I managed to miss that! Thanks it is now fixed!

  2. Sean Sean

    Aloha from Hawaii! Thanks for demystifying Docker for me and others.

    My issue is that I can’t get sabnzb to recognize the Synology NAS Data Folder (/volume1/data/usenet/)

    I set the Docker settings exactly as you suggest and when I configure teh User Folders in sabnzb User Settings, it creates folders within the Default Base Folder: /config when I’m trying to get it to point to the Shared Data/Usenet folder.

    Using DSM 7.2 Thanks in advance.

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      Aloha!

      This is my fault I somehow managed to remove the path /volume1/data/usenet:/data/usenet when doing my update to the guide the other day! Grab that line from the yaml above and you should be good!

  3. Chris Chris

    I tried to follow this to install sabnzbd for the first time, but got into a problem with the ports, as 8080 is already being used by qbittorrent. If I try to change both ports to another, say, 8686, the webui refuses to load. May I ask for advice on how to fix the conflict and successfully use both webuis at the same time?

    Thank you!

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      Hey

      You will just need to amend the left hand port
      Left = Local Port
      Right = Container Port

      So change the left to 8686 and leave the left on 8080

  4. Gary Kalt Gary Kalt

    I’ve installed the gluetun container (as per your guide, thanks for your help) for use with qbittorrent. What would I change in this guide to use the vpn for this? (Or is it not worth it?). Thanks!

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      Hey! There is no real need for Usenet. Your connection to your provider will be using SSL so only you and for a very short period they know what posts you grabbed. There is no one else eavesdropping on the connection like with Torrents.

  5. Roland Roland

    Very nice step by step guide you have and I’ve followed every step for most of the applications you propose.
    I’ve been using sabnzbd, radarr, and sonarr previously on a windows machine and am very happy with the new setup.
    Almost everything is working as expected, only running into 1 issue on SABnzbd. I receive the following error

    Failed to connect: [Errno 111] Connection refused sabnzbd:563 (172.20.0.5)

    The download starts but then freezes and never completes.

    – No matter whether it is for radarr or sonarr. I get the same error.
    – I tried rebooting the NAS, force restarting all containers.
    – All 3 containers are up and running without errors and I’m able to access all 3 web UIs. Any idea what it could be?
    – I verified the settings. Port is 8080:8080, network is synobridge.
    – I only noticed a small difference in the PATH vs the screenshot, though I hadn’t modified that field during setup.
    The PATH I have showing is /lsiopy/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr….
    The screenshot shows /usr/local/sbin:/usr….

    Could the different path be the problem or any idea what it could be?

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      Hey your path looks fine – I will swap the image as it looks like it has changed since I pulled it originally.

      Where are you seeing that error in the UI?

      • Roland Roland

        Yes, in the SABnzbd web UI as well as in the container logs. In now see in the container logs that it also says “stdout” in the [Stream] column.

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