Installation

Blockbusterr is distributed as a Linux container for AMD64 and ARM64 systems. Use Docker directly, Docker Compose, or a container-management UI such as Unraid, TrueNAS SCALE, or Portainer.

Keep it private

Blockbusterr can use an optional owner token, but you should still keep port 9090 behind a trusted LAN, VPN, or HTTPS reverse proxy. The built-in owner boundary is not a multi-user identity system.

Prerequisites

Docker

Docker 20.10+ or Docker Desktop

Persistent storage

A writable host directory mounted at /app/data

Network

Access to at least one discovery provider (TMDB, Simkl, Trakt, or MDBList) and your delivery stack

Trakt is optional

Configure any one supported discovery provider: TMDB, Simkl, Trakt, or MDBList. You only need Trakt credentials for jobs that use Trakt as their source.

Installing the v2 beta

Use ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta to follow beta updates, or pin the immutable ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:v2.0.0-beta.6 image. The latest tag remains on stable v1 until v2 is released.

Using a NAS or container UI

See Deployment platforms for field-by-field Unraid, TrueNAS SCALE, and Portainer instructions.

Installation Methods

Docker Run

Quickest way to get started - Single command deployment.

1. Pull the latest image:

   docker pull ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta

2. Run the container:

   docker run -d \
     --name blockbusterr \
     -p 9090:9090 \
     -v blockbusterr-data:/app/data \
     -e TZ=America/New_York \
     ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta

3. Access the web UI at http://localhost:9090

Tip

Use docker logs blockbusterr -f to view live logs and verify startup.

Docker Compose

Best for production - Easy management and restarts.

1. Create compose.yaml:

   services:
     blockbusterr:
       image: ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta
       container_name: blockbusterr
       ports:
         - "9090:9090"
       volumes:
         - blockbusterr-data:/app/data
       environment:
         TZ: America/New_York
         # BLOCKBUSTERR_AUTH_TOKEN: replace-with-at-least-32-random-characters
       restart: unless-stopped
   
   volumes:
     blockbusterr-data:

2. Start the stack:

   docker compose up -d

3. View logs:

   docker compose logs -f blockbusterr

With Full Stack

Complete setup - Blockbusterr + Radarr + Sonarr on the same network.

networks:
  media:
    driver: bridge

services:
  blockbusterr:
    image: ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta
    container_name: blockbusterr
    networks:
      - media
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./blockbusterr/data:/app/data
    environment:
      - TZ=America/New_York
    restart: unless-stopped

  radarr:
    image: linuxserver/radarr:latest
    container_name: radarr
    networks:
      - media
    ports:
      - "7878:7878"
    volumes:
      - ./radarr/config:/config
      - /path/to/movies:/movies
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    restart: unless-stopped

  sonarr:
    image: linuxserver/sonarr:latest
    container_name: sonarr
    networks:
      - media
    ports:
      - "8989:8989"
    volumes:
      - ./sonarr/config:/config
      - /path/to/tv:/tv
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=America/New_York
    restart: unless-stopped

Caution

When using container networking, use container names in URLs:

• Radarr: http://radarr:7878
• Sonarr: http://sonarr:8989

From Source

For developers - Build from source code.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mahcks/blockbusterr.git
   cd blockbusterr

2. Install dependencies:

   go mod download

3. Build the binary:

   make build

4. Run Blockbusterr:

   ./bin/blockbusterr

Development mode with hot reload:

make dev

Environment Variables

Configure Blockbusterr behavior with environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
CONFIG_PATH	config search paths	Directory containing the config file
DATA_DIR	./data	Database directory
DISABLE_UI	false	Disable the web UI when set to true, 1, or yes
BLOCKBUSTERR_AUTH_TOKEN	unset	Optional owner token (at least 32 characters); sign in with username blockbusterr
BLOCKBUSTERR_DRY_RUN	false	Evaluate jobs and record decisions without sending content to Radarr, Sonarr, Jellyseerr, or Seerr
VERSION	build metadata	Override displayed version metadata
COMMIT	build metadata	Override displayed commit metadata
TZ	UTC	Timezone for scheduling

Example with custom settings:

docker run -d \
  --name blockbusterr \
  -p 8080:9090 \
  -e DATA_DIR=/app/data \
  -e TZ=Europe/London \
  -v $(pwd)/data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta

Health Check

Verify Blockbusterr is running correctly:

curl -u blockbusterr:$BLOCKBUSTERR_AUTH_TOKEN http://localhost:9090/v1/

Expected response:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "uptime": "1785518792000"
}

Updating

Docker

docker pull ghcr.io/mahcks/blockbusterr:latest-beta
docker stop blockbusterr
docker rm blockbusterr
# Then run the original docker run command

Docker Compose

docker compose pull blockbusterr
docker compose up -d blockbusterr

From source

Download the new release or pull the latest code:

git pull origin main
make build
./bin/blockbusterr

Backup Before Updating

Always backup your data directory before major version upgrades:

docker stop blockbusterr
docker run --rm \
  -v blockbusterr-data:/data:ro \
  -v "$PWD:/backup" \
  alpine tar -czf /backup/blockbusterr-data.tar.gz -C /data .

Troubleshooting

Port Already in Use

Change the port mapping: -p 8080:9090 (host:container)

Permission Denied

Ensure the data directory is owned and writable by the user running Blockbusterr.

Can't Connect to *arr

Use container names if on same Docker network, not localhost

Database Locked

Only run one Blockbusterr instance per data directory

Next Steps

Quick Start

Get up and running in 5 minutes

Configuration

Configure a discovery provider and your delivery integrations

Set Up Jobs

Create automated content discovery jobs