arr-downloads

Arr Downloads

Nothing arrived. The chain from "user wants a thing" to "file is in the library" has six links, and the useful skill is finding which one broke instead of restarting everything.

request front-end -> arr decides -> indexer search -> release grabbed
   -> download client -> import into library

Walk it in order. Assumes arr-connect.

Start with health and history

Two calls answer most of these before you form a theory.

# the app has usually already diagnosed it
curl -sf -H "X-Api-Key: $ARR_KEY" "$ARR_URL/api/v3/health" \
  | jq '.[] | {source, type, message}'

# what actually happened recently, per title
curl -sf -H "X-Api-Key: $ARR_KEY" "$ARR_URL/api/v3/history?pageSize=30" \
  | jq '.records[] | {date, eventType, sourceTitle, data: (.data.reason // .data.message // empty)}'

eventType tells you exactly how far down the chain a title got: grabbed then nothing means the client never took it or never finished. downloadFolderImported means it worked. downloadFailed and importFailed name their own problem.

Link 1: the request front-end

If users say requests are being declined, check whether they actually failed. Request front-ends often surface a failed hand-off to the arr with wording that reads as a rejection.

The most common cause is a stale quality profile id in the front-end's server settings, usually after profiles were renumbered. The front-end's log carries the real error: adding the item failed because the quality profile does not exist. Fix the server settings, then retry the failed requests rather than asking users to re-request, because re-requesting hits the duplicate guard. Details in arr-quality-profiles.

Link 2: is the arr even searching

A search command returning queued means accepted. It does not mean anything was searched for. The most common reason a search matches nothing is that the target is not monitored, which arr-library-hygiene covers in depth.

# Sonarr: how many episodes are actually armed
curl -sf -H "X-Api-Key: $ARR_KEY" "$ARR_URL/api/v3/episode?seriesId=$SID" \
  | jq '[.[] | select(.monitored)] | length'