How to install Sonarr with Docker

Sonarr is a free, open-source PVR for TV shows. Tell it which series you want and it watches your indexers for new episodes, sends them to your download client, then renames and files them neatly in your library. It can even upgrade episodes when a better quality turns up. There is no subscription, and everything stays on your own server.

In this guide we will run Sonarr in Docker using the linuxserver.io image, set up a shared /data folder so imports are instant hardlinks instead of slow copies, connect it to a download client, and get it ready to sit behind a reverse proxy.

STEP 1: Find your user and group IDs

Sonarr should run as a normal user, not as root. Log in to your Docker host over SSH and run:

id

You will see something like uid=1000(you) gid=1000(you). Make a note of the two numbers; they become PUID and PGID below.

STEP 2: Create the folders

Every app in my media stack shares one data folder, with downloads and the finished library side by side. Create the app's own config folder and the shared layout (skip the second block if you already made it for another *arr app or your download client):

mkdir -p /path/to/appdata/sonarr/config

mkdir -p /path/to/data/{torrents/{movies,tv,music},media/{movies,tv,music}}
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /path/to/data
sudo chmod -R u=rwX,g=rwX,o=rX /path/to/data

Swap 1000:1000 for your own IDs from STEP 1. When you are done, the shared folder should look like this:

/path/to/data/
    torrents/                     # the download client saves here
        movies/
        tv/
        music/
    media/                        # your finished library (Jellyfin reads this)
        movies/
        tv/
        music/

Finally, I put all my media apps on one shared Docker network so they can reach each other by name (for example, Sonarr reaching http://qbittorrent:8080). If you followed the Jellyfin guide you already have it; otherwise create it once:

docker network create media

STEP 3: The compose file

Create /path/to/appdata/sonarr/docker-compose.yml and paste in the following. Use the copy button in the top right corner of the block.

services:
  sonarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/sonarr:latest
    container_name: sonarr
    hostname: sonarr
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - PUID=1000            # your user ID from STEP 1
      - PGID=1000            # your group ID from STEP 1
      - TZ=Europe/London     # your time zone
      - UMASK=002            # new files are group-writable
    volumes:
      - /path/to/appdata/sonarr/config:/config
      - /path/to/data:/data  # ONE mount for downloads and library
    ports:
      - 8989:8989            # web UI
    networks:
      - media

networks:
  media:
    external: true

STEP 4: The settings explained

STEP 5: Start Sonarr

From the folder containing your compose file:

cd /path/to/appdata/sonarr
docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f

Wait until the logs settle down (press Ctrl+C to stop following them; the container keeps running), then check it is up:

docker ps --filter name=sonarr

After a few seconds the status should read Up.

STEP 6: First-run setup

Open http://192.168.1.20:8989 in your browser, replacing the IP with your Docker host's address.

1. Set up a login. Sonarr asks you to choose an authentication method straight away. Pick Forms (Login Page), leave Authentication Required on Enabled, and choose a username and a strong password such as CHANGE_ME_STRONG_PASSWORD (please do change it).
2. Add your root folder. Go to Settings → Media Management, click Add Root Folder and choose /data/media/tv.
3. Check hardlinks are on. On the same page, click Show Advanced and make sure Use Hardlinks instead of Copy is ticked (it is by default). Click Save Changes.
4. Add your download client. Go to Settings → Download Clients, click + and pick qBittorrent (or Transmission). Set Host to qbittorrent (the container name, thanks to the shared network) and Port to 8080 (Transmission: transmission and 9091), enter the client's username and password, and change Category from tv-sonarr to tv so downloads land in /data/torrents/tv. Click Test, then Save.
5. Add indexers. Either add them under Settings → Indexers, or (much easier with several *arr apps) add them once in Prowlarr and let it sync them to Sonarr.
6. Grab your API key. Settings → General shows the API key that Prowlarr, Jellyseerr, JellyGlance and Homarr widgets use to talk to Sonarr.

That's the core setup done. Add your first few series from the search bar and watch them appear under Activity.

STEP 7: Put Sonarr behind a reverse proxy

Never forward port 8989 straight from your router. Put Sonarr behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS, keep the login from STEP 6 enabled, or keep it private and use a VPN such as WireGuard or Tailscale.

Option A: Traefik (Docker labels)

If Traefik runs on the same Docker host and is attached to the media network, add these labels to the sonarr service. They assume your HTTPS entry point is called websecure and your certificate resolver is called cloudflare; change them to match your Traefik config.

    labels:
      - traefik.enable=true
      - traefik.http.routers.sonarr.rule=Host(`sonarr.example.com`)
      - traefik.http.routers.sonarr.entrypoints=websecure
      - traefik.http.routers.sonarr.tls.certresolver=cloudflare
      - traefik.http.services.sonarr.loadbalancer.server.port=8989

Option B: Traefik (file provider)

If Traefik runs on a different machine, add a router and service to your dynamic config file instead:

http:
  routers:
    sonarr:
      rule: Host(`sonarr.example.com`)
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      tls:
        certResolver: cloudflare
      service: sonarr
  services:
    sonarr:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: http://192.168.1.20:8989

Option C: Nginx Proxy Manager

Add a Proxy Host for sonarr.example.com with scheme http, forward hostname sonarr (if NPM is on the media network) or 192.168.1.20, and forward port 8989. Request a certificate on the SSL tab and tick Force SSL.

Sonarr needs no special headers on its own subdomain. If you would rather serve it on a path such as https://example.com/sonarr, set Settings → General → URL Base to /sonarr first and restart the container.

Updating Sonarr

The latest tag always follows the newest stable release. To update:

cd /path/to/appdata/sonarr
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
docker image prune -f

Troubleshooting

Imports are slow or files are copied, not hardlinked. The download client and Sonarr are not seeing the same file system. Check both containers mount /path/to/data:/data (not separate download and library folders), and that torrents and media are on the same disk. ls -li on a file in both places should show the same inode number.

"Path does not exist" or "access denied" on the root folder. This is almost always permissions. Run docker exec -it sonarr ls -ln /data/media: the owner should match your PUID/PGID. Fix it on the host with the chown/chmod commands from STEP 2.

The download client test fails. Make sure both containers are on the media network (docker network inspect media) and that you used the container name, not localhost. Inside a container, localhost is the container itself.

Downloads finish but never import. Look at Activity → Queue and hover over the warning icon. A category mismatch (the client saving outside /data/torrents/tv) or a file still being written are the usual causes.

port is already allocated when starting. Something else is using 8989. Change the left-hand side of the port mapping, for example 8990:8989.

That's it! Sonarr is now quietly looking after your TV shows for you. Put the kettle on and let it do the hunting. 📺