Media pipeline troubleshooting
End-to-end flow from request to watching on Jellyfin, with failure points and deep FAQ links at each stage.
Pipeline overview
flowchart LR
OVR[Overseerr request.saxobroko.com] --> SON[Sonarr / Radarr / Lidarr]
SON --> PRO[Prowlarr indexers]
PRO --> QBT[qBittorrent on NAS]
QBT -->|files to pool| IMP[Import / rename]
IMP --> LIB[A:/Media on TrueNAS]
LIB --> JFY[Jellyfin stream.saxobroko.com]
LIB --> NAV[Navidrome music.saxobroko.com]Windows PC maps A:/Media for local tools; canonical storage is TrueNAS pool paths documented in arr-stack.
Stage 1 — Request (Overseerr)
| Symptom | Check | FAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Request stuck pending | Overseerr → Sonarr/Radarr linked? | OVR-* |
| Approved but nothing downloads | Sonarr/Radarr activity queue | OVR-*, ARR-* |
| "Not available" | Indexer / tracker caps | PRW-* · Aither |
Server docs: arr-stack · adding media
Stage 2 — Search & grab (*arr + Prowlarr)
| Symptom | Likely cause | FAQ |
|---|---|---|
| No results | Indexer down or wrong category | PRW-* |
| Grabbed but not importing | Path / permissions / category | ARR-* |
| Wrong quality | Quality profile | ARR-* · arr-stack |
Prowlarr → Sonarr/Radarr sync: if indexers work in Prowlarr but not Sonarr, sync is broken → PRW-015 area.
Stage 3 — Download (qBittorrent)
Do not delete torrents or paths casually
See using-qbittorrent-dont-touch and QBT-*.
| Symptom | Check | FAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Stalled at 0% | Swarm / tracker / VPN | QBT-* |
| Completes but *arr doesn't import | Labels / paths / categories | QBT-*, ARR-* |
| Disk full mid-download | Pool space | STG-* |
Doc: qBittorrent
Stage 4 — Library (Jellyfin / Navidrome)
| Symptom | Check | FAQ |
|---|---|---|
| File on NAS, not in Jellyfin | Library path + scan | JFL-* |
| Plays on PC, buffers on phone | Transcode / geo / bitrate | JFY-* |
| Music missing | Lidarr → path → Navidrome scan | NAV-*, ARR-* |
| Metadata wrong | NFO / TheTVDB / refresh | JFL-* |
Common cross-stage failures
| "I see this" | Root cause layer | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing new for weeks | Indexers or qBit | PRW-* → QBT-* |
| Downloads OK, Jellyfin empty | Import path / library roots | JFL-001 area · addingmedia |
| Everything slow | NAS CPU transcode or disk | JFY-* · STG-* |
| Works at home, not remote AU | Tunnel or WAF | TUN-* · JFY-005 |
Verify full pipeline (health check)
- Overseerr — submit test request (obscure title you can delete after)
- Sonarr/Radarr — Activity shows grab
- qBittorrent — torrent completes
- Sonarr/Radarr — Import OK (green)
- Jellyfin — Library scan or wait for scheduled scan
- Client — Play at stream.saxobroko.com
Any step fails → use the stage section above, not random restarts.