---
name: sonarr
description: Use Sonarr to add TV shows and manually import existing raw-named folders into the Show Name (Year)/Season NN/... layout Jellyfin and Plex expect. Use when migrating the TV library, importing a newly-downloaded show, or otherwise interacting with this repo's Sonarr instance.
---

# Sonarr library migration/import

This repo's Sonarr manages TV show organization for both Jellyfin and Plex
(they share the same `nas_media` library at `/data/video/tv`). The
`claude-homelab` plugin's Sonarr skill (if installed) only covers
search/add/remove — it has no manual-import support. This skill's `sonarr.sh`
covers that gap: matching an existing raw-named folder to the right
show/episodes and importing it into place.

Always use `./sonarr.sh` (repo root) for this — never hand-roll the Sonarr API
calls, the folder-naming token gotcha below has already bitten this workflow
once.

## Workflow: migrate one existing show

1. **Find the TVDB match**: `./sonarr.sh lookup "<show name>"` — prints
   candidates as `tvdb:<id>  Title (Year)  status`. Pick the right one (check
   year/status against what's actually in the folder).
2. **Add it**: `./sonarr.sh add tvdb:<id>` — adds unmonitored, no search, root
   folder defaults to `/data/video/tv`. Skip if already in
   `./sonarr.sh list`.
3. **Preview the import**: `./sonarr.sh scan "<raw folder path>"` — shows how
   each file will map to season/episode, and flags anything Sonarr couldn't
   parse (`!! <rejection reason>`). **Read this before importing** — don't
   skip straight to step 4.
4. **Apply it**: `./sonarr.sh import "<raw folder path>"` — re-scans and
   imports only if every file matched cleanly (refuses and tells you to check
   `scan` output otherwise, rather than partially importing). Files are
   hardlinked (not copied) into
   `/data/video/tv/Show Name (Year)/Season NN/Show Name - SxxExx - Title Quality.ext`
   — no extra disk usage, original folder is left behind but empty.
5. **Clean up the empty source folder**:
   `docker exec jellyfin rmdir "<raw folder path>"` (any container with the
   `nas_media` mount works).
6. **Verify Plex picks it up correctly** — this is not automatic, see below.

## Verifying the Plex side (do this every time, not just once)

Moving a file changes its path. Plex's database still points at the *old*
path until it rescans — it does not watch the filesystem live here. After
every import:

```bash
TOKEN=$(docker exec plex grep -o 'PlexOnlineToken="[^"]*"' \
  "/config/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Preferences.xml" | cut -d'"' -f2)
curl -s "http://localhost:32400/library/sections/2/refresh?X-Plex-Token=$TOKEN"
```

(Section `2` is "TV Shows" in this Plex instance — confirm with
`curl -s "http://localhost:32400/library/sections?X-Plex-Token=$TOKEN"` if
unsure.) Then spot-check that the show's episodes still show the correct
`viewCount`/watch state pointing at the new file path — Plex re-matches by
its own metadata agent (title/GUID), not by the old path, so watched status
normally survives a move, but confirm it rather than assuming, especially for
messier shows (duplicate releases, specials, date-based naming).

## Known gotcha: `{Year}` is not a valid Sonarr token

The series folder format must use the combined token `{Series TitleYear}`
(produces `Title (Year)` as one unit) — `{Series Title} ({Year})` silently
produces `Title ()` with no year, because Sonarr has no standalone `{Year}`
token for series-level naming. This bit the first two shows migrated
(`Andor`, `3 Body Problem`) before being caught — check
`docker exec sonarr curl -s http://localhost:8989/api/v3/config/naming/examples -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY"`
(or `curl "$SONARR_URL/api/v3/config/naming/examples" -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY"`
from the host) any time naming config changes — `seriesFolderExample` should
show a real year, not `()`.

## Edge cases that will need manual handling (not automatable via scan/import)

- **Date-based shows** (e.g. Jeopardy) — no season/episode numbers in
  filenames. Set the show's Series Type to "Daily" in the Sonarr UI before
  scanning; `scan` will otherwise reject every file.
- **Specials mixed into a season folder** (e.g. Lower Decks `S00E501`-style
  files) — Sonarr should route these to `Season 00` correctly; verify rather
  than assume.
- **Duplicate episodes from two releases** (e.g. Poker Face) — decide which
  release to keep before importing; `scan` will show both, `import` will
  refuse until resolved since it won't guess.
- **Combined/ambiguous episode files** (e.g. `e01-02.` with no season number)
  — `scan` will likely reject these; use the Sonarr web UI's Manual Import
  screen instead, which allows manually assigning an episode range per file
  (the CLI script only handles clean auto-matches by design, so it can't
  silently mis-import something ambiguous).

## Other commands

- `./sonarr.sh list` — series currently in Sonarr
- `./sonarr.sh rootfolders` — root folders + how many unmapped (not-yet-added)
  folders each has
- `./sonarr.sh queue` — current download queue
- `./sonarr.sh test-client` — tests configured download client connections
  (currently just qBittorrent_vpn, category `tv-sonarr`)

## Credentials

`SONARR_API_KEY` / `SONARR_URL` live in this repo's `.credentials` (source it
before running `sonarr.sh` manually outside the script — the script sources
it itself). Get a fresh key from Sonarr UI → Settings → General → Security,
or `docker exec sonarr grep -o 'ApiKey>[^<]*' /config/config.xml`.