Mediabot — User Guide & FAQ
How to use the mediabot workflow to search, select, and download movies, TV shows, and anime.
Quick Start
- Open MediaManager at media.eva-00.network
- Log in with your account
- Search for a movie or TV show
- Add it to the correct library (Anime, Live Action, Anime Movies, or Movies)
- Browse available releases — scored and ranked automatically
- Pick a release and download
- MediaManager sends it to qBittorrent and routes it to the right folder
Step-by-Step: Adding a TV Show
1. Search
Use the search bar or the API:
GET /api/v1/tv/search?query=Attack on Titan
MediaManager searches TMDB and returns matching shows with metadata (year, seasons, description, poster).
2. Add to Library
Select the show and add it. Choose the right library:
| Library | Use for | Folder |
|---|---|---|
| Anime | Anime TV series | /data/tv/anime/ |
| Live Action | Non-anime TV series | /data/tv/live-action/ |
The library determines: - Where files are saved - Which scoring ruleset is applied (anime rules vs default rules)
3. Browse Releases
Select a season, then browse available torrent releases. Each release shows:
- Release title — group name, quality, codec, audio info
- Score — calculated by the scoring ruleset (higher = better)
- Size — total download size
- Seeders — how many peers are sharing
Releases are sorted by score. The scoring system automatically: - Prefers HEVC/x265 (+100) - Penalizes cam/telesync rips (-10000) - For anime: prefers dual audio (+200), batch releases (+150), trusted groups like SubsPlease/Erai-raws (+100) - Filters out nuked releases
4. Download
Select a release. MediaManager sends it to qBittorrent, which downloads to the library folder. The download appears in the active torrents list.
5. Notification (Phase 2)
Once Ntfy is deployed, you'll get a push notification on your phone when the download completes.
Step-by-Step: Adding a Movie
Same flow as TV, but with movie libraries:
| Library | Use for | Folder |
|---|---|---|
| Anime Movies | Anime films (e.g., Your Name, Spirited Away) | /data/movies/anime/ |
| Movies | Everything else | /data/movies/general/ |
Search → Add → Browse releases → Download.
Libraries
Libraries control folder routing and scoring rulesets. Always assign the correct library when adding content.
TV Libraries
| Library | Path | Scoring Ruleset |
|---|---|---|
| Anime | /data/tv/anime/ |
anime — includes dual audio, batch, trusted group preferences |
| Live Action | /data/tv/live-action/ |
default — general quality rules only |
Movie Libraries
| Library | Path | Scoring Ruleset |
|---|---|---|
| Anime Movies | /data/movies/anime/ |
anime |
| Movies | /data/movies/general/ |
default |
Scoring Rulesets Explained
Scoring rulesets rank torrent releases so the best ones float to the top. Releases with score <= 0 are filtered out entirely.
Default Ruleset (Live Action, Movies)
| Rule | Keywords/Flags | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Prefer HEVC | h265, hevc, x265 | +100 |
| Avoid cam rips | cam, camrip, hdcam, telesync, ts, tc | -10000 |
| Reject nuked | nuked flag | -10000 |
| Prefer freeleech | freeleech flag | +100 |
Anime Ruleset (Anime, Anime Movies)
Everything in the default ruleset, plus:
| Rule | Keywords/Flags | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Prefer dual audio | dual audio, multi audio | +200 |
| Prefer batch/complete | batch, complete, complete series | +150 |
| Prefer trusted groups | subsplease, erai-raws, judas, ember | +100 |
How Scores Work
A release starts at a base score (usually from seeders/size heuristics), then each matching rule adds or subtracts its modifier. Example:
[SubsPlease] Attack on Titan S01 1080p HEVC Batch Dual Audio
Base score: 100
+ prefer_h265: +100 (matched "HEVC")
+ prefer_batch: +150 (matched "Batch")
+ prefer_dual: +200 (matched "Dual Audio")
+ prefer_trusted: +100 (matched "SubsPlease")
Final score: 650
Trackers
MediaManager searches for releases via Prowlarr, which manages tracker connections.
Currently Active Trackers
| Tracker | Speciality |
|---|---|
| Nyaa.si | Anime (primary) |
| YTS | Movies (small, high-quality encodes) |
Adding More Trackers
Trackers are managed through the Prowlarr UI or API. See the Mediabot Runbook for instructions.
Chatbot Workflow (Phase 3 — Coming Soon)
Once the MCP server and Open WebUI chatbot are deployed, you'll be able to do everything through conversation:
You: "I want to watch Attack on Titan"
Mediabot: Found "Attack on Titan" (Shingeki no Kyojin) on TMDB.
Type: TV Show | Seasons: 4 | Year: 2013
This looks like anime — I'll use the Anime library.
Should I add it to your library?
You: "Yes, add it"
Mediabot: Added to Anime library. Which season do you want to download?
Season 1 (25 eps) | Season 2 (12 eps) | Season 3 (22 eps) | Season 4 (28 eps)
You: "Season 1"
Mediabot: Found 15 releases for Season 1:
1. [SubsPlease] S01 1080p HEVC Batch — 12.4 GB | Score: 650 | 45 seeds
2. [Judas] S01 1080p x265 Dual Audio — 8.2 GB | Score: 500 | 32 seeds
3. [Erai-raws] S01 720p — 6.1 GB | Score: 300 | 28 seeds
Which release?
You: "Number 1"
Mediabot: Downloading to /data/tv/anime/Attack on Titan/Season 1/
I'll notify you when it's ready.
The chatbot will be available as a dedicated "Mediabot" assistant in Open WebUI, with access only to media management tools.
FAQ
General
Q: What is MediaManager? A: An open-source FastAPI application that combines media search (via TMDB), torrent indexing (via Prowlarr), and download management (via qBittorrent) into a single workflow. Think of it as a self-hosted alternative to the Sonarr/Radarr stack but unified into one app.
Q: Where do I access it? A: media.eva-00.network. The API docs are at media.eva-00.network/docs.
Q: What's the difference between MediaManager and the seedbox? A: The seedbox (LXC 111) is for general torrenting via Gluetun VPN. MediaManager (LXC 113) is specifically for the media acquisition workflow — search, score, download, and organize movies/shows. They're separate qBittorrent instances.
Libraries & Downloads
Q: How do I know which library to pick? A: If it's anime (Japanese animation), use Anime or Anime Movies. Everything else goes in Live Action or Movies. The library affects where files are saved and which scoring rules apply.
Q: Where do downloaded files go? A: Into the library folder on LXC 113:
| Content | Path |
|---|---|
| Anime TV | /data/tv/anime/<show name>/Season X/ |
| Live action TV | /data/tv/live-action/<show name>/Season X/ |
| Anime movies | /data/movies/anime/<movie name>/ |
| General movies | /data/movies/general/<movie name>/ |
Q: Can I change which library a show is in after adding it?
A: Yes — use the API endpoint POST /api/v1/tv/shows/{id}/library?library=<name> or POST /api/v1/movies/{id}/library?library=<name>.
Q: What does "score" mean on a release? A: It's a quality ranking calculated by the scoring ruleset. Higher is better. Releases with score <= 0 are hidden. See Scoring Rulesets Explained above.
Trackers & Indexers
Q: Why are some trackers missing? A: Some public trackers (1337x, Anidex, EZTV, TorrentGalaxy) are currently blocked by Cloudflare or returning errors. Nyaa.si and YTS are working. More trackers will be added as availability improves.
Q: Can I add private trackers?
A: Yes — add them through Prowlarr. Private tracker credentials (API keys, login cookies) should be stored in Vault at secret/mediabot and referenced in the Prowlarr configuration. See the Runbook for the workflow.
Q: What's the difference between Jackett and Prowlarr? A: Both are indexer managers that aggregate tracker searches. Prowlarr is the primary indexer (has a full REST API for IaC management). Jackett is still deployed as a fallback but is disabled in the MediaManager config.
Troubleshooting
Q: Search returns no results
A: Check that Prowlarr is running and its trackers are healthy. Some trackers have intermittent Cloudflare issues. Try the Prowlarr UI at http://192.168.1.113:9696 to test individual tracker searches.
Q: Download stuck at 0%
A: Check qBittorrent status. The release might have no active seeders, or there could be a connectivity issue. qBittorrent WebUI is at http://192.168.1.113:8080 (internal network only — SSH to LXC 113 or use the Prowlarr/MediaManager logs).
Q: "Score: 0" on all releases A: The scoring ruleset might be filtering everything out. This can happen if all available releases match a penalty rule (e.g., all are cam rips). Check the release titles and scoring rules in the config.
Q: Wrong library — files went to the wrong folder A: Change the library assignment via the API, then manually move the files. MediaManager doesn't auto-move files when you reassign libraries.
Q: How do I check what's currently downloading?
A: Via the MediaManager UI or API: GET /api/v1/torrent lists all active and completed torrents with progress, speed, and ETA.
Future Features
Q: When will the chatbot be ready? A: Phase 3 — after Ntfy notifications are wired up (Phase 2). The MCP server needs ~1-2 days of development.
Q: Will there be Jellyfin integration? A: Phase 4 — a separate Jellyfin LXC with GTX 750 Ti GPU passthrough for hardware transcoding. Once deployed, completed downloads will be available for streaming automatically via bind mounts.
Q: Will downloads go through VPN? A: Not yet — this is an open decision. The mediabot qBittorrent currently connects directly. VPN routing through Gluetun (like the seedbox) can be added later.