Instruction 06-bazarr-and-subtitle-automation: Reading

Bazarr does not replace Sonarr or Radarr. Sonarr remains responsible for series and episode records, while Radarr remains responsible for movie records. Bazarr connects to their APIs, learns what titles are monitored, receives the file paths those applications know about, and then evaluates subtitle requirements against configured language profiles. It also needs filesystem access to the same media files. These are two separate dependencies: an API connection supplies metadata and monitoring state, while a media mount supplies access to inspect media and write sidecar subtitles.

Path consistency is one of the most important design concerns. If Radarr reports a movie at /movies/Example/Example.mkv, Bazarr must be able to find that file at the reported path or translate it with an intentional path mapping. Using matching container paths across the media stack is generally easier to reason about than adding translations. A mapping can solve a legitimate difference, but it can also hide a poor storage design and make troubleshooting harder.

Bazarr normally writes subtitle files next to media, so a read-only media mount supports inspection but prevents complete automation. Production write access should therefore be narrow rather than broad: run Bazarr as a dedicated unprivileged identity and grant that identity only the permissions required for relevant movie and series directories. Do not grant access to unrelated storage. Existing media ownership and group strategy should be understood before enabling writes.

Language profiles express intent. A household may require one language for all titles, prefer another language when available, request forced subtitles, or choose hearing-impaired variants. Profiles should be tested on a small library subset before broad assignment. Provider limits and authentication also matter. Aggressive searches can cause throttling or account restrictions, and a poorly matched result may have incorrect timing or release characteristics. Bazarr's scoring, minimum score, upgrade behavior, and provider selection should be treated as quality controls rather than bypassed merely to obtain any result.

The safest rollout is staged. First validate networking, paths, ownership, and API reachability. Next connect Sonarr and Radarr and confirm that their libraries appear without launching a broad search. Then configure one provider and one language profile. Test a small number of known titles, inspect the resulting filenames and timing, and only then enable scheduled searches or upgrades. Back up Bazarr's configuration before major profile, provider, or path changes. This class stages and validates a deployment definition but deliberately does not start a container, pull an image, contact subtitle providers, or modify an existing media library.