Prowlarr

Centralized indexer management for the *arr ecosystem

Prowlarr is an indexer manager/proxy built on the popular *arr .NET/ReactJS base stack to integrate with your various PVR apps. Prowlarr supports both torrent trackers and Usenet indexers, integrating seamlessly with Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, and Readarr offering complete management of your indexers with no per-app indexer setup required. QuickBox Pro installs Prowlarr from the nightly branch at /opt/username/Prowlarr with automatic SQLite compatibility patches for Debian 11.

Installation

Basic Installation

Install Prowlarr for a specific user:

qb install prowlarr -u username

CLI Commands

Accessing Prowlarr

After installation, access Prowlarr at:

https://your-server-ip/username/prowlarr

Initial Configuration

1. Add Indexers

Navigate to Indexers → Add Indexer and configure your sources:

Popular Torrent Trackers:

• Public trackers: The Pirate Bay, 1337x, RARBG (no login required)
• Private trackers: IPTorrents, TorrentLeech, PassThePopcorn (require credentials)

Usenet Indexers:

• NZBGeek, NZBPlanet, NZBFinder
• DrunkenSlug, DOGnzb, NZB.su
• Requires API keys from providers

Configuration Steps:

1. Click Add Indexer (+)
2. Search for your indexer by name
3. Enter credentials (username, password, API key, or cookie)
4. Click Test to verify connection
5. Save the indexer

2. Connect Applications

Link Prowlarr to your *arr apps for automatic indexer synchronization:

1. Go to Settings → Apps
2. Click Add Application (+)
3. Select application type (Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, or Readarr)
4. Enter connection details:
   • Prowlarr Server: http://localhost:9696
   • Radarr Server: http://localhost:7878 (example)
   • API Key: Copy from your *arr app (Settings → General → Security → API Key)
   • Sync Level: Choose Full Sync for complete management
5. Click Test then Save

3. Test and Verify

After adding indexers:

1. Click Test All Indexers button in Indexers tab
2. Verify green checkmarks for successful connections
3. Fix any red errors (usually authentication, rate limiting, or expired accounts)
4. Verify indexers appear in your connected *arr apps

Service Management

Prowlarr runs as a systemd service for reliability and automatic startup.

systemctl status prowlarr@username     # Check status
systemctl restart prowlarr@username    # Restart service
journalctl -u prowlarr@username -f     # View live logs
systemctl enable prowlarr@username     # Start on boot
systemctl disable prowlarr@username    # Prevent auto-start

Troubleshooting

Prowlarr Won’t Start (Debian 11 Bullseye)

Indexers Not Syncing to Apps

Rate Limiting Issues

# Check indexer response times in web UI
# Settings → Indexers → View indexer stats
 
# Adjust rate limits per indexer
# Edit Indexer → Advanced → Rate Limit (requests per second)
 
# Check for ban warnings in logs
journalctl -u prowlarr@username -f | grep -i "rate\|ban"

Permission Issues

qb fix permissions -u username
systemctl restart prowlarr@username

Configuration Reset

# Backup current configuration
cp -r ~/.config/Prowlarr ~/.config/Prowlarr.backup
 
# Stop service
systemctl stop prowlarr@username
 
# Remove configuration (will be regenerated)
rm -rf ~/.config/Prowlarr/*
 
# Restart service
systemctl start prowlarr@username

Best Practices

Use Cases

Centralized Indexer Management

• Add indexers once in Prowlarr instead of configuring them in every *arr app
• Update credentials in one place and changes propagate automatically
• Maintain consistent indexer configuration across all applications

Multi-User Environments

• Each user has their own Prowlarr instance with personal indexer accounts
• Per-user rate limiting prevents conflicts on shared indexers
• Isolated configurations for privacy and security

Indexer Health Monitoring

• Track indexer response times and success rates from unified dashboard
• Identify failing indexers before they impact downloads
• Replace underperforming indexers with better alternatives

Related Applications

Additional Resources