Generate and start Plundarr¶

Maraudarr's interactive terminal helps you choose services and generates your Plundarr project. You edit its settings, then start the stack with Docker Compose. No Git, Make, or local image build is needed for this route.

Before you start¶

You need Docker with Compose v2, an amd64 or arm64 host, and an active PIA subscription for the default preset. Choose persistent host directories for downloads and media, and the host user/group that should own them. For NAS deployment, review the platform requirements.

The default preset includes automation and download services, a dashboard, and ebooks. Plex and Jellyfin are optional additions. Applications still need their own first-run setup after the containers start.

Watchtower is selected by default and can update eligible containers across this Docker host, including other projects. Run only one persistent Watchtower per host. Deselect it in the picker if you already use one or prefer manual updates; review its update policy before launch.

Maraudarr's interactive service picker generates the default Plundarr project

🔎 View the full-size demo.

1. Open the interactive generator¶

Run these commands in a new directory. Keep an existing deployment's files and settings; use the update guide when regenerating it.

mkdir -p plundarr
cd plundarr
docker run --rm -it --pull always \
  --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
  --read-only --network none \
  --cap-drop ALL --security-opt no-new-privileges:true \
  --tmpfs /tmp:rw,noexec,nosuid,size=64m \
  --volume "$PWD:/output:rw" \
  ghcr.io/scottgigawatt/maraudarr:latest configure

Choose Plundarr, review the preselected services, and confirm generation. Use the arrow keys to move, Space to select services, and Enter to continue. Maraudarr exits when the files are ready; it does not start the selected applications.

Your project is in dist/plundarr/: docker-compose.yml, .env, example.env, and config/. Container output paths beginning /output/ correspond to the directory you mounted above.

2. Edit the generated settings¶

Enter the generated project, then open .env in a text editor:

cd dist/plundarr

Search for Edit before launch:, Edit for your host:, and host-port comments. Keep generated passwords and keys private; example.env is a reference and has no working generated secrets.

Review	What to change
`PIA_USER`, `PIA_PASS`	Your PIA VPN username and password; the username is `p` or `P` followed by seven digits, not your email
`DEFAULT_PUID`, `DEFAULT_PGID`, `DEFAULT_GROUP`	The numeric host user and groups with access to your folders; obtain them with `id`
Host media/download paths	Real absolute paths on the machine that will run the stack; replace `/volume1/...` examples where needed
`TZ`, `COMPOSE_NETWORK_`, `_WEBUI_PORT`	Your timezone and available network/host ports
`HOMEPAGE_EXTERNAL_URL`, `HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS`	The browser URL and matching hostname/port without its scheme; see Homepage login

For Calibre-Web Automated, set CWA_CONFIG_PATH, CWA_INGEST_PATH, and CWA_LIBRARY_PATH to three separate writable host directories. Books are removed from ingest after processing; keep originals and ongoing downloads elsewhere. A new library can use an empty directory, which CWA initializes automatically, or you can select an existing Calibre library. See ebook folder setup.

Maraudarr generates the shared recovery key and Homepage password. Keep automatic recovery enabled for the default stack. Configuration explains optional region selection and service settings.

3. Validate and start¶

From the generated dist/plundarr/ directory, validate without printing passwords:

docker compose config --quiet

Success produces no output. Fix any reported setting before continuing. This validates the Compose model; it does not verify PIA credentials, folder permissions, or live connections. Check those after startup.

For Synology or TrueNAS, transfer this complete project directory and continue with your platform's deployment steps. Start only one copy. For Docker Compose on this host:

docker compose up --detach --pull always
docker compose ps

Image downloads can take several minutes. Check that Privateerr is ready, Gluetun is healthy, and qBittorrent is running. Inspect locally if needed:

docker compose logs --tail 100 privateerr gluetun qbittorrent

Look for Automatic recovery enabled and Gluetun tunnel is healthy in Privateerr's logs. Keep logs, .env, and VPN files private. Use troubleshooting for the first failing service.

4. Open your applications¶

Use the machine running Docker as YOUR-HOST, or localhost when it is this computer. Use the ports from your .env if you changed them.

Application	Default browser address	First action
Homepage	Your `HOMEPAGE_EXTERNAL_URL`	Sign in with `HOMEPAGE_AUTH_PASSWORD` from `.env`; no username
qBittorrent	`http://YOUR-HOST:8080`	Read the initial password locally in qBittorrent's logs, sign in as `admin`, and change it
Prowlarr	`http://YOUR-HOST:9696`	Complete initial authentication setup
Radarr / Sonarr	`http://YOUR-HOST:7878` / `http://YOUR-HOST:8989`	Complete initial authentication setup

You have reached the first milestone when these UIs open and the VPN is healthy. Next, connect your applications so requests, downloads, and imports work together. Configure Tracearr monitoring and other optional integrations afterward.

To stop the project while retaining settings and data:

docker compose down

Use repository helpers later¶

Git and Make provide shortcuts for generation and maintenance. From a directory outside the project folder above:

git clone https://github.com/scottgigawatt/plundarr.git plundarr-source
cd plundarr-source
make pull-image
make configure

This generates a separate project under that checkout's dist/. Do not start another copy against the same application data. To manage the project you already generated, keep using its Compose commands. See command reference for Make equivalents and developer documentation when you want to build your own generator.