Hello, while using SABnzbd to download media every couple of minutes it will trigger a lost connection to SABnzbd error which lasts about 20 seconds and then it will reconnect. This will drop any download progress causing it to start over and any larger files that don't download in time will hold up the rest of the downloads and cause a never ending loop of nothing getting downloaded. The host is set to :: and the port is 8081. I also cannot access the downloads folder anymore after restart. SABnzbd can see the files but it gives me an error when saving the file structure. The drives are mounted correctly and the fstab file has permissions. //192.168.50.2/data /mnt/media cifs credentials=/root/.smbcred,uid=1000,gid=1000,uid=755,gid=755,filemode=0755,dirmode=0755,netdev,x-systemd.automount,nofail 0 0
23 replies
tomspark wrote:
Nice find — and good to know it was resources for you, not the VPN. Here's the deal: a reboot is fine, your change sticks (Docker brings the container back exactly as you edited it). But a SparkBox update, or a sudo sparkbox up, will reset it — those rebuild the containers from SparkBox's own config files, which don't carry your Portainer tweak. So if SAB starts choking again after an update, just re-apply the same resource bump in Portainer and you're set. There's no built-in setting for per-app resources yet, but I'm flagging it so we can make it stick properly down the road. Thanks for circling back with what worked.
tomspark wrote:
Quick follow-up — that permanent fix just shipped as v1.6.153. Run sudo sparkbox update on your box to pull it; SAB will recreate with the new (much higher) resource limits on the next start. You can leave your Portainer bump in place or undo it — the update overwrites it with the same/better defaults either way. Let me know if you keep seeing drops after the update.
tomspark wrote:
Awesome — really glad that landed it. Folder separation is the boring-looking step that quietly fixes half of these SAB ↔ arr handoff issues; thanks for staying with it through the whole thing and reporting back.
tomspark wrote:
Two separate things here, both fixable — nice detailed report. 1) The lost-connection-every-few-minutes: SABnzbd runs through your VPN (it shares the VPN container's network), so what you're seeing is the VPN tunnel dropping and reconnecting on a loop — every reconnect knocks SAB offline for ~20s. Confirm it with: sparkbox logs sb-gluetun — if you see "restarting VPN because it failed to pass the healthcheck" repeating, that's the culprit. The fix is almost always switching to a different/closer VPN server, since the endpoint you're on is unstable. Change the server city in Settings then run sudo sparkbox up media. (Tell me which VPN provider you're on and I'll point you to a good server.) 2) The downloads-folder error: there's a typo in your fstab line. uid= and gid= each appear twice, and the second pair (uid=755,gid=755) overrides the first — so your share mounts as user 755 while SABnzbd runs as user 1000, which is why it can't save. You meant filemode/dirmode=0755 (which you already have). Drop the uid=755,gid=755 so it reads: //192.168.50.2/data /mnt/media cifs credentials=/root/.smbcred,uid=1000,gid=1000,filemode=0755,dirmode=0755,netdev,x-systemd.automount,nofail 0 0 Then sudo mount -a (or reboot) and SAB will be able to write again.
currentlylive wrote:
I am also having this issue, only with SABnzbd. It keeps loosing connection and then receiving connection seconds after. So I just modified the docker container and gave SABnzbd more resources, 2 cores from the cpu and 2000 MB of ram. It seems to be running a lot smoother now with these changes. I am not sure if this is a permanent change once an update comes through and rebuilds the container, if not could you please tell me how to make the permenant?
tomspark wrote:
Same cause as the original post here. SABnzbd runs through your VPN, so when the VPN tunnel briefly drops and reconnects, SAB goes offline for ~20s each time — that's the loop you're seeing. Quick check: run sparkbox logs sb-gluetun and look for a line about "restarting because it failed the healthcheck" repeating. If it's there, the VPN server you're on is unstable — switch to a different or closer server city in Settings, then run sudo sparkbox up media. Which VPN provider are you on? I'll point you to a solid server. If you're still shopping for one, Surfshark's been rock-solid for the media stack (87% off + 4 months free): https://get.surfshark.net/affc?offerid=1126&affid=9447&affsub=hr52es
currentlylive wrote:
Sorry I just modified my comment above, I increased resources given to SABnzbd through portainer by editing the container, and it is running smoothly now. Is this change permanent or will it fall back to original in a reboot or update?
currentlylive wrote:
Honestly thank you for the attentiveness to this project, and the thorough and clear responses!
currentlylive wrote:
Actually I have another SAB related question now, my downloads are completing and are saving into my downloads folder but radarr and sonarr are not seeing activity or downloads from SAB , nor reorganizing them into their appropriate TV or Movie folders like QBitTorrent does.
tomspark wrote:
Ah, this one's expected and an easy fix. SparkBox automatically hooks qBittorrent up to Radarr and Sonarr for you, but it treats SABnzbd as an optional extra, so it doesn't wire it in — that's why qBit downloads get imported and organized but SAB ones just sit there. You just add SABnzbd as a download client once, in both apps. In Radarr: Settings → Download Clients → click the + → pick SABnzbd. For the Host, use the same value your existing qBittorrent entry already uses (open that one to copy it), set the Port to 8081, and paste SAB's API key (it's in SABnzbd → Settings → General). Give it a category like "movies", Save, then hit Test. Do the exact same thing in Sonarr with the category "tv". Once that's in, both apps will see your SAB downloads and sort them into your Movie/TV folders just like qBittorrent does. (And I'm flagging this so we auto-connect SABnzbd for everyone in a future update — you shouldn't have to do it by hand.)
currentlylive wrote:
So I have already figured that portion out, did the categories exactly how I saw QBitTorrent had them, sonarr and radarr, and made surge this matched up with categories in SAB. But it seems the downloaded files are still just sitting in the downloads folder.
tomspark wrote:
Nice — you're past the wiring step, that was the harder part. What you're seeing now is the import step failing: SAB finishes and tells the arr "done, here's the file," but the arr either can't see the location SAB reported or doesn't have permission to move it. Quick way to find out which: in Radarr → Activity → Queue. The SAB-completed downloads should show up there. Hover or click one and it'll show a yellow or red icon with the exact reason — usually "No files found in path," "Permission denied," or "Unable to import." Tell me what it says and I'll point you straight at the fix. Same in Sonarr → Activity → Queue. If the queue is empty (no SAB downloads showing at all), then the arr isn't being notified — usually the API key in SAB's download-client entry doesn't match SAB's real one. Open Radarr → Settings → Download Clients → your SABnzbd entry and hit Test; a green tick means notifications can flow.
currentlylive wrote:
Okay so I am getting a green tick when testing, but the queue is empty.
tomspark wrote:
Got it — green Test + empty Queue is informative. It means the arrs CAN talk to SAB, but the arrs only see downloads THEY sent to SAB. Anything you add to SAB manually won't show up in their Queue, ever. Quick question to nail it: how do downloads get into SAB right now — does Radarr/Sonarr search for them and send the NZB to SAB (you'd see "Sent to SABnzbd" in Radarr → Activity → History), or are you pasting NZBs into SAB yourself? If you're adding them yourself, that's the answer — the arrs only manage what they grab. You'd want to search inside Radarr/Sonarr instead (Movies/Series → click Search → click the Grab icon on a result → the arr sends the NZB to SAB → it shows in Queue → imports when done). If the arrs ARE searching but every grab is still going to qBittorrent instead, that's a download-client priority thing in each arr → Settings → Download Clients.
gdavidson26 wrote:
Okay so I am using Surfshark VPN with wireguard. I set my cities to the closest ones to me, (Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte. It will still lose connection randomly but it seems like it will not finish a download. I was running the gluetun logs in SSH while testing and the VPN never actually dropped so it doesn't seem like a VPN issues. Kinda stumped as to why its happening then. Here is the live logs from SABnzbd. 31@news.eweka.nl finished t2026-05-28T02:31:34.845635271Z 2026-05-28 02:31:34,845::INFO::[downloader:751] Connecting 10@news.eweka.nl finished n2026-05-28T02:33:50.334332344Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,332::INFO::[SABnzbd:1142] -------------------------------- ^2026-05-28T02:33:50.334465721Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1143] SABnzbd.py-4.4.1 2026-05-28T02:33:50.334569367Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1153] Commit = d897936da564ee5564a697dfcfd5eec5824b0d0c |2026-05-28T02:33:50.334621626Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1155] Full executable path = /app/sabnzbd/SABnzbd.py �2026-05-28T02:33:50.334683956Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1156] Arguments = "/app/sabnzbd/SABnzbd.py" "--config-file" "/config" "--server" "::" �2026-05-28T02:33:50.334758223Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1157] Python-version = 3.12.9 (main, Feb 7 2025, 17:39:29) [GCC 14.2.0] 2026-05-28T02:33:50.334844265Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1158] Dockerized = True g2026-05-28T02:33:50.334933436Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,334::INFO::[SABnzbd:1159] CPU architecture = x8664 �2026-05-28T02:33:50.337245515Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,337::INFO::[SABnzbd:1162] Platform = posix - Linux-7.0.0-15-generic-x8664-with h2026-05-28T02:33:50.337291990Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,337::INFO::[SABnzbd:1168] Preferred encoding = UTF-8 u2026-05-28T02:33:50.337383091Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,337::INFO::[SABnzbd:1190] SSL version = OpenSSL 3.3.3 11 Feb 2025 j2026-05-28T02:33:50.345390510Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,345::INFO::[SABnzbd:1199] Certifi version = 2024.08.30 �2026-05-28T02:33:50.345442025Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,345::INFO::[SABnzbd:1200] Loaded additional certificates from /lsiopy/lib/python3.12/site-packages/certifi/cacert.pem p2026-05-28T02:33:50.345501029Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,345::INFO::[SABnzbd:1210] Using INI file /config/sabnzbd.ini d2026-05-28T02:33:50.351952944Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,351::INFO::[postproc:143] Loading postproc queue �2026-05-28T02:33:50.354427218Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,354::INFO::[scheduler:190] Scheduling RSS interval task every 60 min (delay=50) �2026-05-28T02:33:50.354537319Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,354::INFO::[scheduler:200] Scheduling version check in 10 minutes and daily at 9:40 2026-05-28T02:33:50.354706089Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,354::INFO::[scheduler:215] Setting schedule for midnight auto history-purge v2026-05-28T02:33:50.354772156Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,354::INFO::[scheduler:224] Setting schedule for midnight BPS reset �2026-05-28T02:33:50.354870392Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,354::INFO::[scheduler:233] Setting schedule for midnight server expiration check v2026-05-28T02:33:50.354931734Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,354::INFO::[scheduler:242] Setting schedule for server quota check c2026-05-28T02:33:50.539351726Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,538::INFO::[init:303] All processes started �2026-05-28T02:33:50.574325926Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,573::INFO::[SABnzbd:340] Template location for Glitter is /app/sabnzbd/interfaces/Glitter �2026-05-28T02:33:50.574764252Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,574::INFO::[SABnzbd:340] Template location for Config is /app/sabnzbd/interfaces/Config }2026-05-28T02:33:50.575878201Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,575::INFO::[misc:1260] [N/A] Running external command: ['/usr/bin/unrar'] {2026-05-28T02:33:50.578892270Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,578::INFO::[misc:1260] [N/A] Running external command: ['/usr/bin/7zz'] �2026-05-28T02:33:50.586003863Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,585::INFO::[misc:1260] [N/A] Running external command: ['/usr/local/bin/par2', '-V'] p2026-05-28T02:33:50.593923967Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,593::INFO::[SABnzbd:425] SABCTools module (v8.2.5)... found! v2026-05-28T02:33:50.593948388Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,593::INFO::[SABnzbd:426] SABCTools module is using SIMD set: SSSE3 x2026-05-28T02:33:50.594058648Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,593::INFO::[SABnzbd:427] SABCTools module is linked to OpenSSL: True t2026-05-28T02:33:50.594163947Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:447] Cryptography module (v44.0.0)... found! w2026-05-28T02:33:50.594261365Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:453] par2 binary... found (/usr/local/bin/par2) s2026-05-28T02:33:50.594340895Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:460] UNRAR binary... found (/usr/bin/unrar) f2026-05-28T02:33:50.594551480Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:468] UNRAR binary version 7.01 o2026-05-28T02:33:50.594616639Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:475] 7za binary... found (/usr/bin/7zz) e2026-05-28T02:33:50.594731204Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:477] 7za binary version 24.08 m2026-05-28T02:33:50.594779753Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:483] nice binary... found (/bin/nice) q2026-05-28T02:33:50.594875472Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,594::INFO::[SABnzbd:487] ionice binary... found (/bin/ionice) o2026-05-28T02:33:50.595678169Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,595::INFO::[SABnzbd:1404] Starting web-interface on :::8081 z2026-05-28T02:33:50.595795725Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,595::INFO::[cplogging:213] [28/May/2026:02:33:50] ENGINE Bus STARTING �2026-05-28T02:33:50.698696941Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,698::INFO::[cplogging:213] [28/May/2026:02:33:50] ENGINE Serving on http://:::8081 y2026-05-28T02:33:50.698753475Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,698::INFO::[cplogging:213] [28/May/2026:02:33:50] ENGINE Bus STARTED g2026-05-28T02:33:50.698864230Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,698::INFO::[SABnzbd:1443] Starting SABnzbd.py-4.4.1 f2026-05-28T02:33:50.701787797Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,701::INFO::[dirscanner:112] Dirscanner starting up w2026-05-28T02:33:50.702285134Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,702::INFO::[panic:239] Launching browser with http://127.0.0.1:8081 �2026-05-28T02:33:50.702843317Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,702::INFO::[notifier:157] Sending notification: SABnzbd - SABnzbd 4.4.1 started (type=startup, jobcat=None) q2026-05-28T02:33:50.703192967Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,703::INFO::[zconfig:61] No bonjour/zeroconf support installed o2026-05-28T02:33:50.703505168Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,703::INFO::[ssdp:108] Serving SSDP on 172.20.4.2 as SABnzbd �2026-05-28T02:33:50.707870101Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,707::INFO::[misc:96] /data/torrents/incomplete is not writable with special character filenames. This can cause problems. �2026-05-28T02:33:50.711792299Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,711::INFO::[misc:96] /data/torrents is not writable with special character filenames. This can cause problems. �2026-05-28T02:33:50.904851026Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,904::INFO::[happyeyeballs:205] Quickest IP address for news.eweka.nl (port=443, IPv4 or IPv6): 81.171.92.204 (news.eweka.nl) w2026-05-28T02:33:50.905036013Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,904::INFO::[downloader:616] 14@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.923498729Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,923::INFO::[downloader:616] 27@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection v2026-05-28T02:33:50.923704593Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,923::INFO::[downloader:616] 2@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.923952777Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,923::INFO::[downloader:616] 40@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.924285057Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,924::INFO::[downloader:616] 15@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.924526722Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,924::INFO::[downloader:616] 28@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection v2026-05-28T02:33:50.924776951Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,924::INFO::[downloader:616] 3@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.925038083Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,924::INFO::[downloader:616] 41@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.925258304Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,925::INFO::[downloader:616] 16@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.925507922Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,925::INFO::[downloader:616] 29@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection v2026-05-28T02:33:50.925716935Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,925::INFO::[downloader:616] 4@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.925928300Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,925::INFO::[downloader:616] 42@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection w2026-05-28T02:33:50.926146470Z 2026-05-28 02:33:50,926::INFO::[downloader:616] 17@news.eweka.nl: Initiating connection
currentlylive wrote:
Okay so I am searching in Seerr, then Sonarr and Radarr are searching for them and sending to SAB, I can confirm this in the history tab on Sonarr/Radarr. SAB functions perfectly in the means of downloading and saving to set locations, but then just sit in that folder and aren’t seen by sonarr/radarr. Again even during downloading Sonarr/Radarr don’t see the status and show in the queue.
tomspark wrote:
Okay, that's a really specific signature now: arrs send to SAB ✓, SAB downloads ✓, but the arrs never see SAB's queue or status. There's a SAB-side gotcha that fits this exactly — SAB has TWO API keys, both in SAB → Settings → General: • API Key (full read+write — what the arrs actually need) • NZB Key (add-only — can send NZBs but CANNOT list the queue) If you pasted the NZB Key into Radarr/Sonarr's SAB download-client config, sending works (which is why History shows "Sent to SAB") and the Test passes (lightweight ping), but the arrs can't read SAB's queue because that endpoint needs the full key. That matches your symptom exactly. Quick check: open SAB → Settings → General → copy the API Key (the first one, full). In Radarr → Settings → Download Clients → your SAB entry → paste it into the API Key field → Save. Repeat in Sonarr. Trigger a search and the Queue should populate this time.
tomspark wrote:
Great work confirming the VPN's stable — that diagnostic cleanly ruled out the original flap theory and pointed straight at the actual root cause: SAB itself is being starved of resources on the default container limits. Another community member just hit the same thing and verified it by manually bumping SAB's CPU/memory in Portainer — fixed it instantly. To get you unblocked right now: in Portainer → Containers → sb-sabnzbd → "Duplicate/Edit" → Runtime & Resources → memory ~1GB, CPU 2.0 → Deploy. Restart SAB and try a fresh download. I've got a permanent fix queued up so future installs don't hit this — I'll post a note here once it's live so you can swap the workaround for the proper update.
currentlylive wrote:
Went ahead and refreshed the api key in SAB, re entered it into sonarr/radarr and I’m still not getting any queue information or the finished downloads showing up on sonarr/radarr
gdavidson26 wrote:
Quick question, Radarr and sonarr are no longer seeing SAB’s categories. For reference my file structure is /data/media/movies & TVs which is where the completed downloads go and where radarr and sonarr have root access to. /data/torrents/movies & tvs is where the downloads should go. What should I set my SAB temporary and completed downloads files too and my categories for movies / tv’s?
gdavidson26 wrote:
Awesome, thank you!
tomspark wrote:
Glad v1.6.153 is in! For the SAB paths + categories, cleanest no-conflict setup: In SAB → Settings → Folders: • Temporary Download Folder: /data/downloads/incomplete • Completed Download Folder: /data/downloads/complete (/data/torrents is qBit's — keep SAB's stuff under /data/downloads so they don't tangle.) In SAB → Settings → Categories: add "movies" and "tv" (just the names — leave the Dir field blank so SAB uses the category name as a subfolder under Completed). In Radarr → Settings → Download Clients → your SAB entry → set Category: movies. Same in Sonarr, Category: tv. With that, SAB drops finished files in /data/downloads/complete/movies (or /tv), the arrs find them there, and Radarr/Sonarr move them to your library at /data/media/movies and /data/media/TVs — clean separation. If the categories still don't show in the arrs' dropdown after that, the API key in their SAB download-client entry is probably SAB's NZB Key instead of the full API Key (both in SAB → Settings → General — you want the first one, the full key).
currentlylive wrote:
I am back to follow up on our above conversation, your comment above this is what fixed the issue for me. I separated QBitTorrent and SABnzbd folder schemes and this allowed sonarr/radarr to finally see the activity from SAB. Thank you!