SABnzbd

Automated Usenet Binary Newsreader

SABnzbd is a free, open-source Usenet binary newsreader written in Python. It automates downloading from Usenet with powerful post-processing including unpacking, repair, and organization. On QuickBox, SABnzbd runs as a per-user daemon with a Python 3.11 virtual environment at /opt/username/SABnzbd, self-signed SSL certificates for secure connections, par2cmdline-turbo for high-speed repairs, and a web interface published through the nginx reverse proxy.

Installation

Basic Installation

Install SABnzbd for a specific user:

qb install sabnzbd -u username

Directory Layout

Network & Access

SABnzbd binds to localhost on auto-assigned HTTP/HTTPS ports (base ports 65080/65131, auto-incremented per user if already in use). QuickBox publishes the UI through nginx at:

https://yourserver.com/username/sabnzbd/

Authentication Layers:

• Primary: SABnzbd’s built-in authentication (username/password configured in SABnzbd settings)
• Secondary: nginx Basic Auth with /etc/htpasswd.d/htpasswd.username (optional additional layer)

During installation, QuickBox automatically configures SABnzbd with your QuickBox username/password for convenience. You can change SABnzbd’s credentials later in Config → General → Security.

Nginx Configuration

QuickBox creates a reverse proxy configuration at /etc/nginx/software/username.sabnzbd.conf:

location /username/sabnzbd {
    include /etc/nginx/snippets/proxy.conf;
    proxy_pass https://127.0.0.1:65131/username/sabnzbd;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection $http_connection;
    proxy_set_header Host $proxy_host;
    auth_basic "Password Required";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/htpasswd.d/htpasswd.username;
}
 
location /username/sabnzbd/api {
    include /etc/nginx/snippets/proxy.conf;
    proxy_pass https://127.0.0.1:65131/username/sabnzbd/api;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection $http_connection;
    proxy_set_header Host $proxy_host;
    auth_basic off;
}

Configuration breakdown:

• proxy_pass forwards requests to SABnzbd’s HTTPS port on localhost
• auth_basic provides an optional secondary authentication layer (SABnzbd has its own login)
• auth_basic off on /api endpoint allows *arr apps to use API key authentication without nginx auth
• WebSocket support via Upgrade and Connection headers for real-time updates
• proxy.conf includes standard proxy settings (timeouts, buffering, etc.)

Services

SABnzbd uses a templated systemd unit (sabnzbd@.service) running as a simple daemon:

# Check status
systemctl status sabnzbd@username
 
# View logs
journalctl -u sabnzbd@username -f
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username
 
# Stop service
systemctl stop sabnzbd@username
 
# Start service
systemctl start sabnzbd@username

Service definition highlights:

[Unit]
Description=Sabnzbd
After=network-online.target
 
[Service]
Type=simple
User=username
Group=username
Environment="PYTHONIOENCODING=utf-8"
Environment="TMPDIR=/home/username/tmp/SABnzbd"
ExecStartPre=-/bin/mkdir -p /home/username/tmp/SABnzbd
ExecStart=/opt/username/SABnzbd/.venv/bin/python3.11 /opt/username/SABnzbd/SABnzbd.py --config-file /home/username/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini --server 127.0.0.1:65080 --browser 0 --https 65131 &
Restart=always
SyslogIdentifier=SABnzbd Usenet Client
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Initial Configuration

On first access, SABnzbd presents a Quick-Start Wizard to configure your Usenet provider and basic settings:

1. Complete Quick-Start Wizard

1. Language Selection - Choose your preferred language
2. Server Setup - Enter Usenet provider credentials
   • Host: Your provider’s server address (e.g., news.yourprovider.com)
   • Port: Usually 563 for SSL or 119 for standard
   • Username/Password: From your Usenet provider account
   • Connections: Maximum simultaneous connections (check provider limits)
3. Security - API key is auto-generated, save it for *arr apps

2. Configure Categories

Create categories for automated downloads:

1. Navigate to Config → Categories
2. Create categories matching your *arr apps: sonarr, radarr, lidarr, readarr
3. Set appropriate download paths for each category
4. Configure post-processing options (unpacking, deletion of archives)

Configuration

Connect *arr apps to SABnzbd using these settings:

FileBot Post-Processing (courtesy setup)

View the FileBot documentation for full FileBot setup and configuration.

QuickBox can wire SABnzbd to FileBot during FileBot installation:

1. Install FileBot with the SABnzbd option:

qb install filebot -u username -o sabnzbd -mp /path/to/media

2. QuickBox drops ~/.config/SABnzbd/scripts/sabnzbd-postprocess.sh and rewrites it with your username and media path.
3. QuickBox automatically updates sabnzbd.ini to enable the script for anime, movies, and tv categories.
4. In SABnzbd → Settings → Categories, verify the script is assigned to relevant categories.

Script Configuration

The post-processing script is automatically configured during FileBot installation:

Script Parameters

The script receives the following parameters from SABnzbd:

#!/bin/sh -xu
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LANGUAGE=en_US.UTF-8
export LC_CTYPE="en_US.UTF-8"
 
# Input Parameters
ARG_PATH="$1"    # Complete download path
ARG_NAME="$3"    # Job name
ARG_LABEL="$5"   # Category label
 
# Configuration
CONFIG_OUTPUT="/path/to/media"  # Set during FileBot install
/usr/local/bin/username/filebot -script fn:amc \
  --output "${CONFIG_OUTPUT}" \
  --action duplicate \
  --conflict skip \
  -non-strict \
  --log-file amc.log \
  --def unsorted=y music=y artwork=y \
  excludeList="/home/username/.config/Filebot/.excludes" \
  ut_dir="${ARG_PATH}" \
  ut_kind="multi" \
  ut_title="${ARG_NAME}" \
  ut_label="${ARG_LABEL}" \
  --def @/home/username/.config/Filebot/formatting &

Automatic sabnzbd.ini Updates

During FileBot installation with -o sabnzbd, QuickBox automatically updates these sections in sabnzbd.ini:

[misc]
script_dir = scripts
 
[anime]
script = sabnzbd-postprocess.sh
 
[movies]
script = sabnzbd-postprocess.sh
 
[tv]
script = sabnzbd-postprocess.sh

Manual Configuration

If you need to manually configure FileBot post-processing:

1. Create or edit categories in SABnzbd → Config → Categories
2. Assign the script to each category where you want automatic processing
3. Set download paths per category if desired
4. Test by adding a download with the appropriate category

Troubleshooting FileBot Integration

Python Environment & Dependencies

SABnzbd on QuickBox runs in an isolated Python 3.11 virtual environment with the following characteristics:

Troubleshooting

SABnzbd Won’t Start

Check service status and logs:

# Check service status
systemctl status sabnzbd@username
 
# View recent logs
journalctl -u sabnzbd@username -n 50
 
# View live logs
journalctl -u sabnzbd@username -f
 
# Check SABnzbd's own log file
tail -f ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.log

Common causes:

• Port conflicts (another service using 65080 or 65131)
• Corrupted Python virtual environment
• Permission issues on config directory
• Missing or corrupted SSL certificates

Check for port conflicts:

# Check assigned ports
grep -E 'https_port|port' ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini
 
# Check if ports are in use
ss -tulpn | grep -E '65080|65131'

Cannot Connect to Usenet Server

Python Virtual Environment Issues

If SABnzbd fails to start with Python-related errors:

# Check Python version in venv
/opt/username/SABnzbd/.venv/bin/python3.11 --version
 
# Check if venv is intact
ls -la /opt/username/SABnzbd/.venv/bin/
 
# Reinstall SABnzbd (preserves config)
qb reinstall sabnzbd -u username

Symptoms of corrupted venv:

• ImportError or ModuleNotFoundError in logs
• SABnzbd fails to start with Python traceback
• Missing Python executable or pip in .venv/bin/

Permission Issues

Fix file ownership and permissions:

# Check current ownership
ls -la /opt/username/SABnzbd
ls -la ~/.config/SABnzbd
 
# Fix permissions via QuickBox
qb fix permissions -u username
 
# Or manually fix
sudo chown -R username:username /opt/username/SABnzbd ~/.config/SABnzbd
sudo chmod 0750 ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username

SSL Certificate Issues

If you see SSL handshake errors or certificate warnings:

# Check certificate files exist
ls -la ~/.ssl/
ls -la ~/.config/SABnzbd/admin/
 
# Verify certificate validity
openssl x509 -in ~/.ssl/username-selfsigned.crt -noout -dates
 
# Regenerate certificates if needed
cd ~/.ssl
openssl req -config /opt/quickbox/config/system/ssl/openssl.conf \
  -x509 -nodes -days 1095 -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout username-selfsigned.key \
  -out username-selfsigned.crt
 
# Copy to SABnzbd admin folder
cp -f ~/.ssl/*.{crt,key,pem} ~/.config/SABnzbd/admin/
chown username:username ~/.config/SABnzbd/admin/*
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username

*arr Apps Can’t Connect

If Sonarr/Radarr/etc. can’t connect to SABnzbd:

curl -k "https://127.0.0.1:65131/username/sabnzbd/api?mode=version&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY"

Downloads Stalling or Failing

If downloads won’t start or complete:

Web Interface Not Loading

If nginx reverse proxy isn’t working:

# Check nginx configuration
sudo nginx -t
 
# Check if nginx is running
systemctl status nginx
 
# Verify nginx config file exists
ls -la /etc/nginx/software/username.sabnzbd.conf
 
# Check htpasswd file
ls -la /etc/htpasswd.d/htpasswd.username
 
# Reload nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Configuration Reset

# Backup current configuration
cp ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini.backup
 
# Remove configuration (will be regenerated)
rm ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username

Best Practices

Use Cases

Automated Media Downloads via Usenet

• Connect to Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr for automated TV, movie, and music downloads
• Category-based organization with automatic file management
• Fast, reliable downloads from Usenet with built-in repair and unpacking

High-Speed Binary Downloads

• Download large files faster than torrents (no upload required)
• Reliable completion with par2 repair for corrupted files
• Better privacy than public torrent trackers

Post-Processing Automation

• Custom scripts for advanced file management
• Automatic unpacking and cleanup of archives
• Integration with notification services for download completion

Related Applications

Additional Resources