# Promptarr - full facts

Source: https://promptarr.lunarwerx.com/

> Promptarr is a self-hosted AI for the *arr stack. It watches every Sonarr and Radarr grab, checks it against rules you write in plain English, and swaps a bad release for a better one while the download is still running. It also gives any MCP client one server for the whole media stack.

## How judging works

1. **Check.** Your rules are read once into a checklist (resolution, size per episode, audio, and so on). Code checks the grab against it. A grab that meets every item is kept, and no search or AI call runs.
2. **Search.** Otherwise the grab gets a real search through Sonarr or Radarr. A season search runs too, because Sonarr's episode search never returns season packs. Code checks every release the same way.
3. **Ask.** Only what code cannot settle goes to the AI, as narrow typed questions: an audio language the release does not list, a rule the checklist cannot express, a tie between at most 3 releases.
4. **Swap.** In act mode the better release is grabbed first. Only then is the old one removed and blocklisted. If the grab fails, the old download carries on.

When a file lands, its real audio is read with mediainfo or ffprobe. `und` counts as unknown, never as wrong.

## Safety limits

- Writes are off until you turn them on, per service.
- Budgets for searches per hour, AI calls per day and swaps per item per day.
- A grab is never checked twice; Promptarr never re-checks its own swap.
- Out of AI quota or provider overloaded: the grab waits for a later pass.
- Everything an indexer returns is fenced as data.

## Services

Radarr, Sonarr, Prowlarr, Bazarr, Jellyfin, Plex, Seerr, SABnzbd, NZBGet, Transmission, qBittorrent, Profilarr, Cleanuparr

## Questions

### What is Promptarr?

Promptarr is a self-hosted AI for the *arr stack. It watches every Sonarr and Radarr grab, checks it against rules you write in plain English, and swaps a bad release for a better one while the download is still running. It also gives any MCP client one server for the whole media stack.

### Does Promptarr replace Sonarr and Radarr?

No. It runs next to normal Sonarr and Radarr and talks to them through their public API. They have no plugin system, so there is nothing to install inside them.

### Will it change my library straight away?

No. Writes are off until you turn them on, per service. Watch mode does everything except the swap and logs what it would have done, so start there and read the decision log for a few days.

### Which AI can I use?

Bring your own key for Gemini, OpenAI or anything OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic, or a local Ollama. Or skip the key and sign in with your ChatGPT plan. A free Gemini key judges about 10 grabs a day on Flash, so pick a Flash-Lite model or a paid key.

### Does the AI see my links or indexer keys?

No. It never sees a link or an indexer key. Code settles what it can, and only narrow typed questions go to the AI, which picks an option and a confidence. Everything an indexer returns is fenced as data, so a release named "ignore your rules" stays a release name.

### How is it different from Recyclarr, Profilarr and TRaSH Guides?

Those set quality profiles and custom formats ahead of time. Promptarr judges each grab after it happens, against rules you write in plain English, and can swap it. They work well together: Promptarr can talk to Profilarr, and its MCP guide carries the TRaSH Guides profiles and custom formats.

### How do I run it, and can I try it today?

Promptarr runs in Docker, with an Unraid template in the repository, and serves its web page on port 6060. It is pre-release: the container image is not public yet, so ask for early access on Discord.

### What licence is it under?

Promptarr is MIT licensed. The licence notices of the code it is built on are in the repository's NOTICE and LICENSE files.

## Status

Pre-release. Early access: https://lunarwerx.com/discord/promptarr

A LunarWerx product. https://lunarwerx.com/