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Quick Start

This guide takes a freshly installed streamarr.media server from an empty database to a working instance: create the first admin account, configure metadata providers, create libraries, wire up download automation, import some content, and invite your users.

1. Run the setup wizard

Open http://<your-server>/install in a browser. The wizard is only available while no user account exists — afterwards it reports "System already installed" and points you to the login page.

The wizard has three steps:

  1. Administrator Account — first name, last name, email address, and a password (at least 8 characters, containing an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, and a digit). The first account is automatically a full administrator.
  2. System Configuration — the site name (shown as the name of your media collection) and the default system language (English or German).
  3. Confirmation — review your entries and click Complete Setup.

You are redirected to the login page; sign in with the credentials you just created. Site name and language can be changed later under Administration → Settings.

2. Configure metadata providers

Go to Administration → Metadata. Each provider shows whether it is Configured, Not Configured, or needs no configuration at all. Expand a provider, enter its credentials, use Test Connection, and save.

Provider Used for Credentials
TMDB Movies & shows API key (Bearer token)
TVDB TV shows API key, optional subscriber PIN
IGDB Games Twitch Client ID + Client Secret
Spotify Music Client ID + Client Secret
MusicBrainz Music none required
OpenLibrary Books none required

Providers first, libraries second

Configure providers before creating libraries — the library form auto-selects a compatible metadata provider and warns you if none is configured for the chosen type.

See Metadata Providers for details.

3. Create your libraries

Go to Administration → Libraries → Create Library and create one library per media type you want to serve: Movies, Shows, Music, Games, Books, or Photos.

  • Library Type — the media type; the matching library plugin and metadata provider are selected automatically.
  • Library Name — a unique name.
  • Library Path — where files are stored. The path must be an existing directory visible to the backend, e.g. /data/library/movies.

One library per type

Only one library of each type can be created.

Per-library settings — file naming templates, download rules, and quality/release scoring — are covered in Libraries.

4. Wire up download automation (optional)

Skip this section if you only stream existing files. With at least one indexer and one download client configured, Smart Play works: pressing play on an item you don't have yet searches your indexers, downloads the best-scored release, and starts streaming.

Administration → Indexers → Add Indexer. Choose Newznab (Usenet) or Torznab (torrents), then enter a name, the host/URL, and your API key. The form tests the connection before saving (you can also continue without a test). Options include RSS sync and per-indexer priority. See Indexers.

Administration → Downloaders → Add Downloader. Choose SABnzbd (Usenet), Deluge (torrents), or SpotDL (Spotify music), give it a label, and fill in the connection fields for that client type, including the SSL options. See Download Clients.

5. Import trending content (optional)

To fill empty libraries and the home page with popular titles, go to Administration → Tasks and run the trending refresh tasks in the Metadata category:

  • Trending Movies Refresh and Trending Shows Refresh (from TMDB)
  • Trending Games Refresh (from IGDB)
  • Trending Music Refresh (from Spotify Charts)

Each task imports the current trending items into the matching library and keeps a trending list up to date. These tasks also run automatically on a schedule.

6. Invite your users

Registration requires an invite by default. Go to Administration → Invites → Create Invite, optionally set a description, expiry date, and maximum number of uses, then copy the invite link and share it. The link opens the registration page with the invite applied.

Alternatively, create accounts directly under Administration → Users → Add User. Organize users into groups with library access, streaming limits, and parental controls — see Users & Groups.

Next steps