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title Unpackerr
description A guide to installing Unpackerr in TrueNAS Scale as well as docker via compose
published true
date 2026-06-17 13:27:01 UTC
tags
editor markdown
dateCreated 2026-01-15 15:02:58 UTC

What is Unpackerr?

Unpackerr runs as a daemon on your download host or seedbox. It checks for completed downloads and extracts them so Lidarr, Radarr, Readarr, and Sonarr may import them. If your problem is RAR files getting stuck in your activity queue, then this is your solution.

Not a Starr app user, and just need to extract files? It does that too. Unpackerr can run standalone and extract files found in a "watch" folder — point it at any download folder and it will happily extract everything that lands there.

Unpackerr extracts rar, tar, tgz, gz, zip, 7z, bz2, tbz2, and iso, recursively, including archives nested inside archives. Multi-file and password-protected RAR and 7-Zip archives are supported.

Unpackerr has no web interface. It runs silently in the background, so the only way to confirm it's working is by reading its logs. That's by design — once it's set up, you shouldn't have to look at it. {.is-info}

1 · Deploy Unpackerr

{.tabset}

TrueNAS

There is an official Unpackerr app in the TrueNAS Community catalog, so no Dockge or compose file is required.

  1. Go to Apps → Discover Apps, search for Unpackerr, and click Install.
  2. Application Name — leave as unpackerr.
  3. Unpackerr Configuration → Timezone — set your timezone so log timestamps are readable.
  4. Unpackerr Configuration → Settings — click Add for each Starr app you want to link, and fill in the fields below.

Settings (per Starr app)

Field What to enter
Type Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, Readarr, or Whisparr
URL Your TrueNAS LAN IP + the app's port (see warning below)
API Key From the app: Settings → General → Security → API Key
Path The container path Unpackerr should check — must match your Storage mount (ex. /media/downloads)
Protocols Torrent, Usenet, or both — match your download clients
Timeout 10 seconds (default)
Delete Delay 300 seconds / 5 min (default)
Delete Original Leave unchecked if you seed
Syncthing Leave off unless the path is Syncthing-managed

The URL must use your host IP, not a container name. Inside a compose file http://sonarr:8989 works because the apps share a Docker network. TrueNAS catalog apps do not share a network by default — they publish ports on the host — so use your TrueNAS box's LAN IP and the app's port, e.g. http://192.168.1.50:8989 (Radarr 7878, Lidarr 8686, Readarr 8787, Whisparr 6969). {.is-danger}

The wizard often pre-fills two Path boxes and two Protocol boxes. You only need one of each — remove the extras with the ✕. Add a second only if you genuinely have a second value (e.g. a Usenet protocol alongside Torrent). {.is-warning}

  1. User and Group Configuration — leave at 568:568 (the host apps user). Make sure 568 has read/write on your downloads dataset.
  2. Storage Configuration — click Add, set Type to Host Path (not ixVolume). Point the Host Path at the dataset where your media lives (ex. /mnt/tank/media) and set the Mount Path to the container side (ex. /media).
  3. Network Configuration (optional) — enable the web server / metrics option to expose Prometheus metrics on port 5656 for the Unpackerr Grafana dashboard.
  4. Scroll down and click Install. Once the app is Running, open its Logs to confirm it connected to each Starr app and is polling.

This is the step everyone gets wrong. The Mount Path in Storage (plus its subfolder) must equal the Path you typed in Settings — and both must point to the same place your Sonarr and qBittorrent already use. If you mount /mnt/tank/media → /media, then the Path is /media/downloads. If these don't line up, Unpackerr starts perfectly and silently finds nothing to extract. {.is-danger}

Docker Compose

Prefer to run it as code in Dockge? Use the official golift/unpackerr image. Edit the URL, API Key, and PATHS_0 for each app you use, and delete the blocks for apps you don't run.

services:
  unpackerr:
    image: golift/unpackerr
    container_name: unpackerr
    volumes:
      # You need at least this one volume mapped so Unpackerr can find your files to extract.
      # Make sure this matches your Starr apps; the folder mount (/downloads or /media) should be identical.
      - /mnt/tank/media:/media
    restart: unless-stopped
    user: 568:568
    environment:
      - TZ=America/New_York
      # General config
      - UN_DEBUG=false
      - UN_INTERVAL=2m
      - UN_START_DELAY=1m
      - UN_RETRY_DELAY=5m
      - UN_MAX_RETRIES=3
      - UN_PARALLEL=1
      - UN_FILE_MODE=0644
      - UN_DIR_MODE=0755
      # Sonarr Config
      - UN_SONARR_0_URL=http://sonarr:8989
      - UN_SONARR_0_API_KEY=YOUR_SONARR_API_KEY
      - UN_SONARR_0_PATHS_0=/media/downloads
      - UN_SONARR_0_PROTOCOLS=torrent
      - UN_SONARR_0_TIMEOUT=10s
      - UN_SONARR_0_DELETE_ORIG=false
      - UN_SONARR_0_DELETE_DELAY=5m
      # Radarr Config
      - UN_RADARR_0_URL=http://radarr:7878
      - UN_RADARR_0_API_KEY=YOUR_RADARR_API_KEY
      - UN_RADARR_0_PATHS_0=/media/downloads
      - UN_RADARR_0_PROTOCOLS=torrent
      - UN_RADARR_0_TIMEOUT=10s
      - UN_RADARR_0_DELETE_ORIG=false
      - UN_RADARR_0_DELETE_DELAY=5m
      # Lidarr Config
      - UN_LIDARR_0_URL=http://lidarr:8686
      - UN_LIDARR_0_API_KEY=YOUR_LIDARR_API_KEY
      - UN_LIDARR_0_PATHS_0=/media/downloads
      - UN_LIDARR_0_PROTOCOLS=torrent
      - UN_LIDARR_0_TIMEOUT=10s
      - UN_LIDARR_0_DELETE_ORIG=false
      - UN_LIDARR_0_DELETE_DELAY=5m
      # Readarr Config
      - UN_READARR_0_URL=http://readarr:8787
      - UN_READARR_0_API_KEY=YOUR_READARR_API_KEY
      - UN_READARR_0_PATHS_0=/media/downloads
      - UN_READARR_0_PROTOCOLS=torrent
      - UN_READARR_0_TIMEOUT=10s
      - UN_READARR_0_DELETE_ORIG=false
      - UN_READARR_0_DELETE_DELAY=5m
      # Web Server / Metrics (optional — for Grafana)
      - UN_WEBSERVER_METRICS=false
      - UN_WEBSERVER_LISTEN_ADDR=0.0.0.0:5656

Unlike the TrueNAS app, the compose method can use container names like http://sonarr:8989 for the URL — as long as Unpackerr and your Starr apps share the same Docker network. {.is-info}

Permissions & Folder Structure

  • PUID / PGID — use a user/group with permission to your media folders. TrueNAS SCALE defaults to 568:568 for apps.
  • 📌 See the Folder-Structure guide for the recommended single-mount layout.

For a full reference of every configuration option with examples, see the Unpackerr documentation. {.is-success}

2 · Configuration Notes

A few options worth knowing about, set as environment variables (Docker) or wizard fields (TrueNAS):

Option Default What it does
UN_INTERVAL 2m How often Unpackerr polls your Starr apps
..._DELETE_DELAY 5m How long after import before extracted files are removed
UN_PARALLEL 1 How many extractions run at once (raise on powerful hardware)
UN_MAX_RETRIES 3 Retry attempts before giving up on an archive
UN_FOLDER_0_PATH (empty) Watch-folder path for non-Starr extraction
UN_WEBSERVER_METRICS false Exposes a Prometheus metrics endpoint on :5656

Password-protected archives: Unpackerr can crack password-protected RAR/7-Zip if given a password list, but a wrong password forces it to read the entire archive before failing. A long password list will dramatically slow extractions and hammer your disk — use sparingly. {.is-warning}

3 · Video