Media Center for SBC (ARM/x86)

A modular, Docker-based media center solution optimized for Single Board Computers like Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB+) and x86 SBCs.

Features

• Native: Kodi (with Elementum), Samba.
• Minimal: Radarr, Sonarr, Transmission (+ Gluetun VPN).
• Extended: Minimal + Audiobookshelf, Lidarr, Prowlarr, FlareSolverr, Watchtower.
• Full: Extended + Home Assistant, Portainer, Jellyfin.
• Optimized Storage: Uses "Unified Root" architecture (/data) to enable Hardlinks. Downloads are instantly imported to the library without taking up double space.
• VPN Protected: All torrent traffic is routed through an encrypted VPN tunnel (Gluetun), keeping your activity private from your ISP. Built-in kill switch ensures torrents stop immediately if the VPN drops — no leaks, ever.
• Fully Configurable: All secrets, paths, ports, and API keys are read from a single .env file. Clone, configure, and go.

Prerequisites

• A Debian-based Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS, etc.).
• sudo access.

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/VenomekPL/MediaCenter.git
cd MediaCenter

2. Create your .env file

cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Fill in at minimum:

• VPN credentials — WIREGUARD_PRIVATE_KEY, WIREGUARD_ADDRESSES, WIREGUARD_PUBLIC_KEY, WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP (see VPN Setup Guide)
• Passwords — TRANSMISSION_PASS, SAMBA_PASS
• Network — LOCAL_IP (your machine's LAN IP, e.g. 192.168.1.100)

Optional but recommended:

• API_KEY — Shared API key for all *arr apps. Default works out of the box; for production, generate one with openssl rand -hex 16.
• TRAKT_USERNAME — Enables automatic watchlist sync in Radarr/Sonarr.
• JELLYFIN_DRM_DEVICE — Hardware acceleration device path (e.g. /dev/dri/renderD128).

All available variables are documented in .env.example with comments.

3. Start services

Choose a profile: minimal, extended, or full.

./start.sh full

On the first run, this will:

1. Check VPN credentials (warns if missing, asks to confirm).
2. Run scripts/setup_configs.sh — creates config directories and pre-seeds all app configs from templates using your .env values.
3. Run scripts/install_native.sh — installs Docker, Kodi, Samba, and dependencies (first run only, creates .native_installed marker).
4. Start all Docker containers with the chosen profile.
5. Run scripts/link_services.sh — connects Transmission to all *arr apps, adds indexers to Prowlarr, configures quality limits, sets up Trakt watchlists.

4. Verify

After startup, check that all services are healthy:

docker compose ps

Web Interfaces

Service	URL	Profile
Transmission	http://<ip>:8020	minimal
Radarr (Movies)	http://<ip>:8021	minimal
Sonarr (TV)	http://<ip>:8022	minimal
Lidarr (Music)	http://<ip>:8023	extended
Prowlarr (Indexers)	http://<ip>:8024	extended
Audiobookshelf	http://<ip>:8025	extended
Jellyfin	http://<ip>:8026	full
Home Assistant	http://<ip>:8027	full
Portainer	https://<ip>:9443	full

All ports are configurable via .env.

Post-Installation

• Kodi: Open Kodi and install the Elementum plugin from ~/Downloads/repository.elementum.zip.
• Samba: Shares for Videos, Music, Books, and Audiobooks are configured automatically. Connect using your system username and the SAMBA_PASS from .env.
• Trakt: If TRAKT_USERNAME is set in .env, watchlists are synced to Radarr/Sonarr automatically. Open Radarr/Sonarr → Settings → Import Lists → Trakt Watchlist and click "Authenticate with Trakt" to authorize.

For detailed configuration (quality profiles, Trakt integration, download logic), see the Configuration Guide.

Maintenance

Stop all services:

./stop.sh

Update containers:

./update.sh full

Cleanup finished torrents & dangling downloads:

./scripts/cleanup.sh

Library audit (find duplicates, fix hardlinks, check Sonarr/Radarr tracking):

python3 scripts/library_audit.py --dry-run   # preview changes
python3 scripts/library_audit.py              # apply fixes + trigger rescans

Find space wasters:

python3 scripts/find_space_wasters.py

Architecture

~/                          ← DATA_ROOT_PATH (mounted as /data in containers)
├── Downloads/              ← Transmission downloads here
│   ├── radarr/             ← Movies (category set by Radarr)
│   │   └── Movie.Name.2024/
│   │       └── movie.mkv
│   ├── sonarr/             ← TV (category set by Sonarr)
│   └── lidarr/             ← Music (category set by Lidarr)
└── Videos/
    ├── Movies/             ← Radarr library (hardlinked from Downloads)
    │   └── Movie Name (2024)/
    │       └── Movie Name (2024).mkv  ← Same inode as Downloads copy
    └── TvSeries/           ← Sonarr library (hardlinked from Downloads)
        └── Show Name/
            └── Season 1/
                └── Show Name - S01E01.mkv

Hardlinks mean the movie file in Videos/ and the one in Downloads/ are the same file on disk — zero extra space. When cleanup.sh removes finished torrents, the library copy remains.

VPN routing: Transmission runs inside Gluetun's network (network_mode: service:gluetun). All *arr apps connect to Transmission at gluetun:9091 (not transmission:9091). The kill switch blocks all traffic if the VPN tunnel drops.

Download categories: Each *arr app uses a dedicated Transmission category (radarr, sonarr, lidarr). This creates subdirectories under Downloads/ (e.g. Downloads/radarr/) so each app only sees its own downloads. Without categories, every app sees all Transmission torrents in its queue, causing phantom "stuck" items and cross-contamination. Categories are set automatically by link_services.sh.

Project Structure

├── .env.example            ← Template — copy to .env and fill in
├── docker-compose.yml      ← Includes all modules
├── start.sh / stop.sh / update.sh  ← Lifecycle scripts
├── modules/                ← One compose.yaml per service
│   ├── gluetun/            ← VPN tunnel (WireGuard/OpenVPN)
│   ├── transmission/       ← Torrent client (routes through gluetun)
│   ├── radarr/             ← Movie management
│   ├── sonarr/             ← TV series management
│   ├── lidarr/             ← Music management
│   ├── prowlarr/           ← Indexer manager
│   ├── flaresolverr/       ← Cloudflare CAPTCHA solver
│   ├── jellyfin/           ← Media streaming server
│   ├── audiobookshelf/     ← Audiobook/podcast server
│   ├── home-assistant/     ← Home automation
│   ├── portainer/          ← Docker management UI
│   └── watchtower/         ← Auto-update containers
├── configs/                ← Template configs (pre-seeded on first run)
├── config/                 ← Live container configs (gitignored)
├── scripts/                ← Helper scripts
│   ├── setup_configs.sh    ← Pre-seeds configs from .env
│   ├── link_services.sh    ← Auto-connects all services via API
│   ├── install_native.sh   ← Installs Docker, Kodi, Samba
│   ├── cleanup.sh          ← Removes finished torrents
│   ├── discover_hardware.sh ← Detects HW accel devices for .env
│   ├── library_audit.py    ← Library health: dupes, orphans, tracking
│   ├── deduplicate.py      ← Hardlink deduplication
│   └── find_space_wasters.py ← Space usage analysis
├── docs/                   ← Guides and documentation
└── .github/skills/         ← AI agent skills for library cleanup

Documentation

• Configuration Guide — Detailed setup and automation.
• VPN Setup Guide — VPN tunnel and kill switch.
• Copilot Context — Project rules and architectural decisions.
• config/: (Created on run) Persistent configuration data for containers.