Sonarr

Automatic TV episode manager for Usenet and BitTorrent that watches feeds, grabs new episodes, renames them and upgrades their quality.

17.5k stars, 2.1k forks C# On GitHub since September 2011

What is Sonarr?

Sonarr is a personal video recorder for downloaders. You add the shows you follow, and it monitors RSS feeds for new episodes, sends releases to SABnzbd, NZBGet or a torrent client, then sorts and renames the files into your library. It can scan an existing collection and fetch missing episodes, swap in better-quality copies later, retry when a download fails, and handle specials and multi-episode files. It notifies Kodi and Plex and updates their libraries. A web UI runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and Raspberry Pi.

Good fit if

  • You keep a TV library on a home server and want new episodes to arrive and get organized without manual work.
  • You already use a Usenet or torrent client and a media server.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want the player or streaming server itself: Jellyfin or Kodi.

Before you adopt it

Sonarr is GPL-3.0 and has no paid parts; contributions require a CLA. A team of about fifteen people committed over the past three months. Builds exist for Windows, macOS and Linux, and Docker images are common. You are responsible for what you download and whether your sources are legal where you live.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

Sonarr health: is it still maintained?

82 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    372 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    12 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 33% of them.
    15 / 20
  • Releases
    1 release in the last 12 months; the latest, v4.0.20.3014, on 16 September 2026.
    14 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 89% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 0 hours.
    19 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 4.3 of 10.
    4 / 10

Read from GitHub on 3 November 2026. How the score works

Sonarr license: is it open source?

Sonarr uses GPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI. Contributors sign a contributor license agreement, which lets the owner relicense their work later.

  1. September 2011First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayGPL-3.0. A contributor license agreement is required.

How to run Sonarr yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: sonarr.tv or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to Sonarr

  • JellyfinThe Free Software Media System - Server Backend & API 94 health · GPL-2.0 · 59k stars
  • NavidromeYour Personal Streaming Service 85 health · GPL-3.0 · 24.5k stars
  • AudiobookshelfSelf-hosted audiobook and podcast server 83 health · GPL-3.0 · 14.9k stars
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All 8 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about Sonarr

Is Sonarr open source?

Yes. Sonarr is published under GPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Sonarr still maintained?

Its health score is 82 of 100 (actively developed). It had 372 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 16 September 2026.

How do I run Sonarr?

You can run it with Docker, as an app for Windows, macOS, Linux, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to Sonarr?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include Jellyfin, Navidrome, Audiobookshelf.