sonarr-grab

name	sonarr-grab
description	Find a good torrent for a specific TV series/season and add it to Sonarr — search Prowlarr, evaluate seeds/quality, confirm with user, enable monitoring, grab

User wants to download a specific TV series season via Sonarr. Get series name and season number from user. Always confirm with user before grabbing.

Auth

source /workspaces/home-kubernetes/.env
SONARR_BASE=https://sonarr.local.abbottland.io
PROWLARR_BASE=https://prowlarr.local.abbottland.io

Note: SONARR_BASE is NOT set in .env — always set it explicitly.

Step 1: Find series in Sonarr

curl -s "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/series" -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys,json
term = '<search term>'.lower()
[print(s['id'], s['title'], s.get('tvdbId','')) for s in json.load(sys.stdin)
 if term in s['title'].lower()]
"

If not found, the series may need to be added to Sonarr first (out of scope for this skill — add via UI).

Step 2: Check season exists and current monitoring state

curl -s "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/series/<ID>" -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
print('Title:', d['title'])
for s in d.get('seasons',[]):
    stats = s.get('statistics',{})
    print(f\"S{s['seasonNumber']:02d}: monitored={s['monitored']} eps={stats.get('totalEpisodeCount','?')}\")
"

Step 3: Search Sonarr release endpoint for the season

This searches all indexers synced to Sonarr:

curl -s "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/release?seriesId=<ID>&seasonNumber=<N>" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
print('Total:', len(d))
d.sort(key=lambda r: r.get('seeders',0), reverse=True)
for r in d[:20]:
    print(
        r.get('seeders','?'), 'seeds |',
        r.get('quality',{}).get('quality',{}).get('name','?'), '|',
        r.get('indexer','?'), '|',
        r.get('title','?')[:80]
    )
"

Step 4: Prowlarr direct search (catches what Sonarr misses)

Useful when Sonarr results look wrong or incomplete:

curl -s "$PROWLARR_BASE/api/v1/search?query=<Title+Season+Keywords>&categories[]=5000&type=search" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $PROWLARR_API_KEY" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
print('Total:', len(d))
d.sort(key=lambda r: r.get('seeders',0), reverse=True)
for r in d[:20]:
    print(r.get('seeders','?'), 'seeds |', r.get('indexer','?'), '|', r.get('title','?')[:90])
"

Note: Prowlarr direct search bypasses backoffs and finds releases Sonarr may not surface. However, releases found only via Prowlarr (not in Sonarr's /release results) need a manual push using their GUID and indexer ID.

Step 5: Evaluate and present options to user

Pick top candidates and show:

#	Title	Seeds	Size	Source	Notes
1	...	N	X GB	indexer	quality notes

Quality guidance for classic/older shows:

• DVD is often the best authentic source for pre-2010 anime/shows — no real 720p/1080p exists
• Season packs preferred over individual episode torrents for Sonarr
• fullSeason: true in Sonarr release JSON = season pack, maps to all episodes
• Suspicious: complete season under ~2 GB usually means very low quality
• Check languages field to verify English dub if needed
• approved: true in Sonarr release JSON = passes quality profile; grab it

Always confirm with user before proceeding.

Step 6: Enable season monitoring

SERIES=$(curl -s "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/series/<ID>" -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY")
UPDATED=$(echo "$SERIES" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
for s in d['seasons']:
    if s['seasonNumber'] == <N>:
        s['monitored'] = True
print(json.dumps(d))
")
curl -s -X PUT "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/series/<ID>" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$UPDATED" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
for s in d.get('seasons',[]):
    if s['seasonNumber'] == <N>:
        print('S0<N> monitored:', s['monitored'])
"

Step 7: Grab the release

Use the guid and indexerId from the Sonarr release search result:

curl -s -X POST "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/release" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"guid": "<guid>", "indexerId": <indexerId>}' | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
print('approved:', d.get('approved'))
print('rejected:', d.get('rejected'))
print('rejections:', d.get('rejections'))
"

Note: ambiguous response (approved=False, rejected=False, empty title) is normal for a successful grab — always verify via queue.

Step 8: Verify in queue

curl -s "$SONARR_BASE/api/v3/queue?pageSize=100" -H "X-Api-Key: $SONARR_API_KEY" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
records = d.get('records', [])
target = [r for r in records if '<title keyword>'.lower() in r.get('title','').lower()]
ids = set(r.get('downloadId','') for r in target)
print(f'Queue entries: {len(target)} | Unique downloads: {len(ids)}')
for r in target[:3]:
    print('  Status:', r.get('status'), '| State:', r.get('trackedDownloadState'))
    print('  Size:', round(r.get('size',0)/1024/1024/1024, 2), 'GB')
    break
"

Multiple queue entries with 1 unique downloadId = correct. Sonarr creates one entry per episode from season pack, all pointing to the same torrent.

Known indexer notes (as of 2026-06-15)

Prowlarr ID	Sonarr indexerId	Name	Notes
8	16	Nyaa.si	Best for anime; classic series often here
9	?	AnimeTosho	Anime; mirrors Nyaa
1	?	The Pirate Bay	General; check quality carefully
10	15	LimeTorrents	General TV; good for recent content
11	?	YTS	Movies only

Common issues

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Sonarr season search returns wrong show's episodes	TVDB season numbering mismatch	Use Prowlarr direct search with specific title keywords
Release in Prowlarr but not Sonarr results	Category mismatch or indexer not synced for TV	Push via GUID + indexerId from Prowlarr result
10+ same entry in queue	Normal for season pack	Verify unique downloadId count = 1
approved: False on POST response	Normal — response format differs from GET	Check queue instead