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What is TRaSH Guides?
TRaSH Guides is a community-written documentation site for configuring the media automation stack around Radarr and Sonarr—the tools that monitor for movies and TV episodes, send releases to a downloader, and file the results into a library that Plex or similar servers can play. Rather than being software itself, it is a set of step-by-step guides and reference lists: quality profiles, custom formats, naming schemes, hardlink and folder-structure setup, downloader configuration, and indexer management through Prowlarr.
Who it is for
The guides assume you already run the applications and want them to behave better. Three typical readers:
- Someone whose downloads keep stalling or duplicating. The file-and-folder-structure section explains hardlinks and instant moves, plus how to check whether hardlinks actually work on your setup—relevant if you run Docker, unRAID, Synology, TrueNAS or Windows.
- Someone fighting quality decisions. The quality-profile and custom-format pages, including separate profiles for anime and for French and German releases, are the core of the site. They are reference material you import and adapt rather than a single switch to flip.
- Someone tidying an existing library. Recommended naming schemes and folder-renaming tips address the slow drift of inconsistent filenames over years of additions.
What it covers, and what that implies
| Area | What the guides address | Practical trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Radarr / Sonarr | Quality profiles, custom formats, naming | Detailed setup, but you must follow steps in order and keep custom formats updated |
| Downloaders | NZBGet, SABnzbd, qBittorrent, Deluge, ruTorrent basics, paths, categories | Path and category mistakes are the usual cause of failed imports |
| Prowlarr | Indexers, proxy setup, FlareSolverr | Adds a component to learn in exchange for central indexer management |
| File structure | Hardlinks, instant moves, platform-specific setup | Getting this right up front saves large amounts of disk space later |
The site also links to community support channels and credits contributors, which fits its nature: guidance maintained by users, so instructions can lag behind a new release of any of these applications.
A sensible first step
If you are starting fresh, read the file-and-folder-structure and hardlink material before touching quality profiles—path and hardlink decisions constrain everything downstream, and fixing them after a library is built is tedious. If your library already works and you only want better release selection, start with the Radarr or Sonarr quality-profile page and the custom-formats collection instead. For the surrounding applications, the official documentation for Radarr and Sonarr is the place to confirm current settings, since the guides describe recommended configurations rather than the applications' full feature set.
How do I set up quality profiles in Radarr or Sonarr using TRaSH Guides?
TRaSH Guides treats quality profiles as a deliberate ranking exercise rather than a one-click preset. Its Radarr and Sonarr sections each include dedicated pages for quality settings (including file-size guidance), a recommended naming scheme, and step-by-step instructions for building quality profiles—plus separate profile pages for Anime, French and German releases, and a companion page on importing and later updating Custom Formats.
What the workflow looks like in practice
- Decide what "good" means for your library. Before touching the interface, settle your order of preference: do you want the smallest acceptable file, the highest quality your storage can absorb, or a balance that avoids remuxes? TRaSH's quality-ordering and quality-merging tips pages exist precisely because most people get this wrong on the first pass.
- Set file-size limits per quality. The quality settings pages give reference sizes so Radarr and Sonarr will reject oversized or undersized grabs instead of accepting whatever an indexer offers.
- Build the profile in order. Follow the profile guide to arrange qualities top-to-bottom and mark which ones upgrades may move between. The naming-scheme page matters here too, since consistent filenames make later upgrades and rescans far less messy.
- Add Custom Formats for the finer distinctions. The import guide covers bringing in TRaSH's Custom Format collection, and the update page covers refreshing them when the collection changes. Language-specific Custom Formats have their own tip page.
- Keep two instances in sync if you run both. There is a dedicated guide for syncing two Radarr or Sonarr instances, useful for a 4K-plus-1080p split.
A concrete scenario
Say you run one Radarr instance on a 4 TB drive and want 1080p BluRay-quality files without remuxes. You would set a profile with BluRay and WEB-DL tiers above HDTV, cap file size at the 1080p reference values, apply the recommended naming scheme, then import Custom Formats to flag things like unwanted audio or release groups. The same profile logic transfers to Sonarr, but the Anime page is worth reading separately if you keep subtitled series—TRaSH maintains distinct profile guidance there because episode naming and multi-audio handling differ.
Trade-offs to weigh
- Strictness versus hit rate. Tight file-size caps and heavy Custom Format filtering reduce junk but also reduce the number of releases that qualify, which matters on small or niche indexers.
- Quality versus storage and transcoding. Higher tiers cost disk space and can push Plex into transcoding; TRaSH's Plex pages on client support and stopping 4K transcoding are relevant if that is your playback path.
- Maintenance. Custom Formats are not fire-and-forget—the update guide exists because the collection evolves, and stale formats can quietly change what your profile accepts.
- Setup route. The "How To Set Up" section branches into Docker, unRAID, Synology, TrueNAS, Windows and native installs, and the hardlinks page is worth reading before you commit, since folder layout affects whether instant moves and seeding work.
Next step: read the Radarr or Sonarr quality-profile page end to end, then the hardlinks page, before creating your first profile—getting the folder structure right first saves re-importing your library later. For the surrounding tools, the official sites for Radarr, Sonarr and Prowlarr document the application settings themselves.
How do I configure hardlinks and instant moves for my media server to avoid duplicate files?
Hardlinks and instant moves solve the "same file copied twice" problem by keeping one physical file on disk while letting Radarr, Sonarr and your download client each see it at their own path. A hardlink is a second name for the same data, not a copy, so seeding in qBittorrent can continue while your library shows the imported file. "Instant moves" (atomic moves) rely on the same disk: the file is renamed rather than copied, so it appears in the library immediately with no duplication.
What has to be true first
- One filesystem. Downloads and the media library must sit on the same disk or the same mounted volume. Hardlinks cannot span filesystems, and a move across filesystems becomes a copy.
- Consistent paths inside containers. If you use Docker, every container must see the shared volume at the same internal path, and Radarr/Sonarr's root folder plus the download client's completed folder must both point into that volume.
- Completed downloads, not in-progress. Import should trigger from the download client's completed category, not from a partially written file.
How to set it up
- Create a single parent folder (for example
/data) containingtorrents/andmedia/subfolders, and mount that one path into qBittorrent, Radarr and Sonarr. - In the download client, set the save path to the
torrentstree and use categories that map to Radarr and Sonarr. - In Radarr/Sonarr, set the root folder inside
mediaand point the download client's category paths at the sametorrentstree. - Enable the option that tells Radarr/Sonarr to prefer hardlinks/atomic moves when importing.
- Verify: after an import, compare the reported size and link count of the file in both locations—if the link count is above one, no duplicate data exists.
Trade-offs
Hardlinks mean deleting the library copy does not free space until the seeding copy is also removed, which can confuse cleanup. Cross-disk setups, common on Windows or mixed NAS layouts, fall back to copies and double storage. Some download clients and plugins behave differently under unRAID's mover or with thin clients, so test one import before converting a whole library.
TRaSH Guides documents this workflow in detail, including Docker, unRAID, Synology and Windows variants, plus a check for whether hardlinks are working: TRaSH Guides.
A practical next step: pick one small release, import it, and check the link count before changing anything else.
What are the recommended basic setup and category settings for qBittorrent, SABnzbd, or NZBGet?
The guides cover basic setup and path/category configuration for all three downloaders, but they are written as separate per-tool walkthroughs rather than one comparison. Choose the page matching your downloader and follow it end to end, since categories, paths and scripts are designed to work together.
What each tool's setup covers
| Tool | Basic setup page | Category/path guidance |
|---|---|---|
| qBittorrent | Basic Setup | Paths, how to add categories, port forwarding, unRAID mover tips, UI replacements |
| SABnzbd | Basic Setup | Paths and Categories, Scripts |
| NZBGet | Basic-Setup | Path and Categories, Scripts |
The shared logic: define download categories that match what your media manager (Radarr/Sonarr) expects, point each category at a folder, and keep folder structure consistent so completed downloads can be imported without copying. The "Scripts" sections for SABnzbd and NZBGet and the qBittorrent category instructions are where this gets concrete.
A practical next step
If you run Radarr or Sonarr, set up one downloader first, create its categories, then verify a test download imports cleanly before adding the second tool. The hardlinks material in the File and Folder Structure section explains why paths matter for instant moves.
Related official sites: qBittorrent, SABnzbd, NZBGet.
How can I set up and use Custom Formats to improve the quality of my Radarr or Sonarr downloads?
Custom Formats are Radarr's and Sonarr's way of scoring a release against your own criteria, so the automation picks better files instead of just the highest listed resolution. The TRaSH Guides treat them as a core part of the setup: they publish a collection of ready-made formats plus instructions for importing and updating them, alongside recommended quality profiles for Radarr, Sonarr, and anime libraries.
TRaSH Guides
A practical workflow
- Decide what "better" means for you before touching settings. Typical goals: prefer certain release groups, avoid bloated remuxes, require original-language audio, or keep a specific streaming service's encode. Each goal becomes one custom format with conditions.
- Import the formats rather than building every one by hand. The guides' import and update pages describe how to bring in the collection and keep it current when definitions change.
- Attach scores in a quality profile. A custom format does nothing until it carries a score in the profile your library uses. Positive scores pull releases toward you; negative scores push them away.
- Set minimum and upgrade thresholds in the same profile. Without a minimum, a release with zero matching formats can still be grabbed; without sensible upgrade rules, Radarr/Sonarr may churn through files chasing small score gains.
- Test on a small library first. Add one or two formats, watch a handful of grabs in the activity queue, then expand.
Where people get stuck
- Scores without a profile link. Formats imported correctly but never scored in the active profile change nothing.
- Overlapping formats. Two formats rewarding the same trait can stack into a runaway score. Check the combined effect, not each format alone.
- Upgrades that never stop. If every new release scores higher by a hair, set an upgrade-until threshold or cap the profile.
- Language and anime edge cases. These need their own profiles; the guides cover French, German, and anime variants separately for this reason.
Choosing between approaches
| Approach | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Hand-built formats | One or two very specific preferences | Precise but time-consuming to maintain |
| Imported community formats | Most users wanting solid defaults | You inherit someone else's priorities and must review scores |
| Quality profile alone, no formats | Simple setups, small libraries | Little control over release groups or file characteristics |
Next step
Start with the quality profile page for your tool (Radarr or Sonarr), set your file-size limits and ordering first, then add custom formats on top. If you run both apps, the guides also cover syncing two instances so profiles and formats stay aligned. For broader media-server context, Plex documents client playback limits that can inform which formats you actually want to prioritize.
How do I fix common Plex settings and client issues like 4K transcoding or buffering?
Fixing Plex playback problems usually means distinguishing between a server-side setting and a client-side limitation. TRaSH Guides addresses this directly with dedicated pages on suggested Plex Media Server settings, optimal Plex client settings, what your media player supports, and streaming/buffering troubleshooting TRaSH Guides. The practical approach is to first identify whether the problem is transcoding or buffering, then work through the matching guide.
4K transcoding
The core issue is that many clients cannot play 4K content directly, so Plex converts it on the fly, which is CPU-heavy and often stutters. TRaSH Guides treats "Stop 4k Video Transcoding" as its own topic, alongside a "Profiles Guide" for matching content to client capabilities TRaSH Guides. In practice:
- Check what your player supports first. If your TV or streaming box handles the 4K codec and audio format natively, direct play avoids transcoding entirely. The "What does my media player support" page is the starting point.
- Match server settings to your clients. The "Suggested Plex Media Server Settings" and "Optimal Plex Client Settings" pages give concrete configurations rather than general advice.
- Use quality profiles to prevent mismatches. If your library contains 4K files your clients can't handle, a profile that keeps 4K separate (or limits it to capable devices) prevents repeated transcoding.
Buffering
Buffering has several possible causes, and the TRaSH Guides "Streaming and Buffering Troubleshooting" page exists specifically to work through them TRaSH Guides. Before changing settings, ask:
- Is the file being transcoded? If so, fix the transcoding cause first—buffering is often a symptom, not the root problem.
- Is the issue network-related (Wi-Fi, remote streaming bandwidth) rather than server performance?
- Does it happen on one client or all clients? A single misbehaving device points to client settings; all devices point to the server or network.
A useful next step
Open the TRaSH Guides table of contents and go straight to the Plex section: read "What does my media player support" for your specific device, then apply the suggested server and client settings, and only then use the buffering troubleshooting page if playback still stutters. Working in that order avoids changing settings blindly and helps you tell a transcoding problem apart from a network one.
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