What is Buildarr?

Buildarr is a configuration-as-code tool for managing *Arr stack applications including Sonarr (TV shows), Radarr (movies), Prowlarr (indexer manager), and Jellyseerr (media requests). Users define their desired state in a YAML file (buildarr.yml), and Buildarr idempotently applies those settings to remote instances via their APIs. It can run once as an ad-hoc command or as a long-running daemon that periodically syncs configuration on a schedule. Buildarr also automatically fetches and applies optimal quality definitions and release profiles from TRaSH-Guides. It supports multiple instances of each application type, includes a plugin architecture for extensibility, and can generate Docker Compose files from the configuration. Buildarr is available as a Docker image (callum027/buildarr), Python packages (pip/pipx), and a Windows installer. It requires Python 3.8+ and the *Arr applications it manages must be running separately.

Should you self-host Buildarr?

Buildarr scores 48/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #7 of 8 in Configuration Management. It has 378 GitHub stars.

There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is GPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in Python.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is zookeeper (73/100, 12 826 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Buildarr vs zookeeper side by side.

Features

Configuration as Code
Configuration Dump
Configuration Includes
Cross-platform
Docker Compose generation
Idempotent Updates
Multi-Instance Support
Plugin Architecture
Scheduled Daemon Mode
TRaSH Guides sync

How to configure Buildarr

BUILDARR_INSTALL_PACKAGESSpace-separated list of packages to install via pip on container startup for additional plugins.
Space-separated list of packages to install via pip on container startup for additional plugins.
values: package names
BUILDARR_LOG_LEVELINFOBuildarr logging system log level. Can also be set using the --log-level command line argument.
Buildarr logging system log level. Can also be set using the --log-level command line argument.
values: ERROR, WARNING, INFO, DEBUG
docker_image_uricallum027/buildarrDefault image URI to use for the Buildarr service when generating Docker Compose files. Can be overridden by BUILDARR_DOCKER_IMAGE_URI environment variable.
Default image URI to use for the Buildarr service when generating Docker Compose files. Can be overridden by BUILDARR_DOCKER_IMAGE_URI environment variable.
values: Docker image reference
PGIDProcess group ID for file permissions in Docker container.
Process group ID for file permissions in Docker container.
values: numeric group ID
PUIDProcess user ID for file permissions in Docker container.
Process user ID for file permissions in Docker container.
values: numeric user ID
request_timeout30The timeout for any API requests Buildarr makes (in seconds). If the timeout is reached, an error will occur and Buildarr will stop the update process.
The timeout for any API requests Buildarr makes (in seconds). If the timeout is reached, an error will occur and Buildarr will stop the update process.
values: positive float
trash_metadata_dir_prefixGuides-masterMetadata directory name within the downloaded ZIP file.
Metadata directory name within the downloaded ZIP file.
values: Path
trash_metadata_download_urlhttps://github.com/TRaSH-/Guides/archive/refs/heads/master.zipURL to download the latest TRaSH-Guides metadata from.
URL to download the latest TRaSH-Guides metadata from.
values: Any HTTP URL
update_daysall daysThe days Buildarr daemon will run update operations on. By default, updates are scheduled to run every day.
The days Buildarr daemon will run update operations on. By default, updates are scheduled to run every day.
values: monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, sunday
update_times03:00The times Buildarr daemon will run update operations on each scheduled day. By default, updates are scheduled to run at 3:00am local time.
The times Buildarr daemon will run update operations on each scheduled day. By default, updates are scheduled to run at 3:00am local time.
values: HH:MM format (24-hour)
watch_configfalseWhen set to true, the Buildarr daemon will watch the loaded configuration files for changes and reload them and update remote instances if they are changed.
When set to true, the Buildarr daemon will watch the loaded configuration files for changes and reload them and update remote instances if they are changed.
values: true, false