How To Set Up Hardlinks and Atomic-Moves¶

Description¶

Info

If you’re wondering why hard links aren’t working or why a simple move is taking far longer than it should.

Here we will try to explains it.

The paths you use on the inside matter. Because of how Docker’s volumes work, passing in two or three volumes such as the commonly suggested /tv, /movies and /downloads makes them look like two or three file systems, even if they aren’t. This means hard links won’t work and instead of an instant move, a slower and more I/O intensive copy + delete is used.

So you want one of the following ?

Instant moves (Atomic-Moves) during import of the *arr (useful when using Usenet)?
You don't want to use twice the storage when using torrents. (hardlinks)?
You want to perma seed?

Then keep reading.

FAQ

FAQ¶

Q: What are the *arr?
- Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, etc.
Q: What are hardlinks?
- Short answer is "having a file in multiple folders" without using up your storage, Long Answer.
Q: What's Atomic Moves?
- A real move and not a copy file from download folder to media folder and then delete file from download folder.

DockSTARTer

DockSTARTer¶

Note

I'm using the default paths in this example, and will keep the other paths unchanged so nothing will break if you make a mistake.

Folder Structure¶

We're going to use a mounted drive that we're going to use as storage for downloads and your media. In this example the mounted drive will be mounted to /mnt/ with the following folder structure.

storage
├── downloads
|  ├── torrents
│  |  ├── movies
│  |  ├── music
│  |  └── tv
|  └── usenet
│     ├── movies
│     ├── music
│     └── tv
└── medialibrary
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Changes to the .env¶

To accomplish this we need to change first a few paths in your .env (Usually ~/.docker/compose/.env)

# Global Settings
COMPOSE_HTTP_TIMEOUT=60
DOCKERCONFDIR=~/.config/appdata
DOCKERGID=999
DOCKERHOSTNAME=DockSTARTer
DOCKERLOGGING_MAXFILE=10
DOCKERLOGGING_MAXSIZE=200k
DOCKERSTORAGEDIR=/mnt/storage
PGID=1000
PUID=1000
TZ=America/Chicago

# DEPRECATED Settings (will be removed at the end of 2020)
DOCKERSHAREDDIR=~/shared
DOWNLOADSDIR=/mnt/downloads
MEDIADIR_AUDIOBOOKS=/mnt/medialibrary/audiobooks
MEDIADIR_BOOKS=/mnt/medialibrary/books
MEDIADIR_COMICS=/mnt/medialibrary/comics
MEDIADIR_MOVIES=/mnt/medialibrary/movies
MEDIADIR_MUSIC=/mnt/medialibrary/music
MEDIADIR_TV=/mnt/medialibrary/tv

Changes to your paths¶

When that's all set then you will need to change the paths you're going to use in the containers from:

/downloads => /storage/downloads

/audiobooks => /storage/medialibrary/audiobooks

/books => /storage/medialibrary/books

/comics => /storage/medialibrary/comics

/movies => /storage/medialibrary/movies

/music => /storage/medialibrary/music

/tv => /storage/medialibrary/tv

DockSTARTer Examples¶

Info

The screenshots in the examples are using the following root path /storage

Sonarr Examples

Sonarr¶

Settings => Media Management => Importing

sonarr-enable-hardlinks

Settings => Media Management => Root Folders

ds-sonarr-root-folder

Series => Add New

ds-sonarr-add-new

ds-sonarr-tv

Radarr Examples

Radarr¶

Settings => Media Management => Importing

radarr-enable-hardlinks

Settings => Media Management => Root Folders

ds-radarr-root-folder

Movies => Add New

ds-radarr-add-new

ds-radarr-movies

SABnzbd Examples

SABnzbd¶

SABnzbd config => Folders

ds-sabnzbd-folders

SABnzbd config => Categories

ds-sabnzbd-categories

NZBGet Examples

NZBGet¶

Settings => PATHS

ds-nzbget-settings-paths

Settings => CATEGORIES

ds-nzbget-settings-categories

qBittorrent Examples

qBittorrent¶

Options => Downloads

ds-qbt-options-downloads

Deluge Example

Deluge¶

Preferences => Downloads

ds-deluge-preferences-downloads

ruTorrent Examples

ruTorrent¶

../config/rtorrent/config/rtorrent.rc (path to your appdata)

ds-rtorrent.rc

Settings => Downloads

ds-rtorrent-settings-downloads

Settings => Autotools

ds-rtorrent-settings-autotools

UnRaid

UnRaid¶

Note

The first thing you need to do is forget the suggested paths from the Spaceinvader One YouTube Tutorials,

and don't use the predefined paths from the unraid templates.

(Spaceinvader One YouTube guides are great to learn how to start with unraid or how to setup certain applications, and yes I did and still do use them. Probably the main reason why he's using those path is because they are predefined in the template)

Attention

To get Hardlinks and Atomic-Moves working with Unraid you will need to make use of ONE share with subfolders.

For this example I'm using my own setup and preferred share data.

Go to your dashboard and on the top select shares select add share .

use data
if you got a cache drive and want to make use of it put it on Yes or keep it disabled (Hardlinks will stay in tact if you're using the cache)
click on ADD SHARE

Note

Keep in mind regarding the use of the Cache drive, The mover can't move files that are in use, like when seeding with torrents. You will need to shutdown your client or stop/pause the torrents so the mover can move them to your Array.

With Usenet you won't have any issues.

Folder Structure¶

On the host (Unraid) you will need to add /mnt/user before it. So /mnt/user/data

The data folder has sub-folders for torrents and usenet and each of these have sub-folders for tv, movie and music downloads to keep things neat. The media folder has nicely named TV, Movies and Music sub-folders, this is your library and what you’d pass to Plex, Emby or JellyFin.

These subfolders you need to create your self, you can use krusader or winscp to create them or any other way you prefer.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

I'm using lower case on all folder on purpose, being Linux is case sensitive.

Setting up the containers¶

After you created all the needed folders it's time to setup the paths in the docker containers.

Go to your dashboard and select your docker container you want to edit or if you're starting fresh add the docker containers you want to use or prefer.

Unraid makes it actually pretty clear what's the Host Path and what's the Container Path.

Container Path: => The path that will be used inside the container.

Host Path: => The path on your Unraid Server (The Host).

Torrent clients¶

qBittorrent, Deluge, ruTorrent

unraid-torrent-clients

Container Path: => /data/torrents/

Host Path: => /mnt/user/data/torrents/

Info

The reason why we use /data/torrents/ for the torrent client is because it only needs access to the torrent files. In the torrent software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/torrents/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── torrents
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Usenet clients¶

NZBGet or SABnzbd

unraid-usenet-client

Container Path: => /data/usenet/

Host Path: => /mnt/user/data/usenet/

Info

The reason why we use /data/usenet/ for the usenet client is because it only needs access to the usenet files. In the usenet software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/usenet/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── usenet
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

The arr(s)¶

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr

unraid-arr

Container Path: => /data

Host Path: => /mnt/user/data/

Info

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr gets access to everything because the download folder(s) and media folder will look like and be one file system. Hard links will work and moves will be atomic, instead of copy + delete.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Media Server¶

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr

unraid-media-server

Container Path: => /data/media

Host Path: => /mnt/user/data/media/

Info

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr only needs access to your media library, which can have any number of sub folders like Movies, Kids Movies, TV, Documentary TV and/or Music as sub folders.

data
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Final Result¶

Don't forget to look at the Examples how to setup the paths inside the containers.

Synology

Synology¶

Note

Being I don't have a Synology myself and I kind of hate the Synology GUI for the dockers, I'm doing this with the use of docker-compose.

This works like 10x faster then the GUI and after adding it shows up in the GUI.

Thnx to faxity for the initial compose that I used to create the Synology Guide.

We need to get some information that we need later to setup the docker-compose file.

PUID and PGID¶

In order for the Docker container to access the shares on the Synology, we need to give it the same permissions as your main user who has access to those shares. For this we need to figure out the PUID and the PGID of the user having access to your shares.

You will need to SSH into your Synology. If you didn't already enable it you need to do that first

Then use a program like Putty and SSH to your Synology.

Login if you get a popup asking if you want to trust the key, Just press OK or ACCEPT

Enter the login information of your main Synology user account.

Once logged in type id. This will show your UID (aka PUID). Which in this screenshot is 1026 for the administrator and the GID (aka PGID) which is 100 for the users group. Remember these values for later use.

Note

Yes we know it's not recommended to use the admin account but if you already know this then you wouldn't need to read this ;)

Folder Structure¶

Attention

To get Hardlinks and Atomic-Moves working with your Synology you will need to make use of ONE share with subfolders.

For this example we're going to make use of a share called data.

On the host (Synology) you will need to add /volume1/ before it. So /volume1/data

The data folder has sub-folders for torrents and usenet and each of these have sub-folders for tv, movie and music downloads to keep things neat. The media folder has nicely named TV, Movies and Music sub-folders, this is your library and what you’d pass to Plex, Emby or JellyFin.

These subfolders you need to create your self.

I'm using lower case on all folder on purpose, being Linux is case sensitive.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Breakdown of the Folder Structure

Breakdown of the Folder Structure¶

Torrent clients¶

qBittorrent, Deluge, ruTorrent

The reason why we use /data/torrents for the torrent client is because it only needs access to the torrent files. In the torrent software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/torrents/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── torrents
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Usenet clients¶

NZBGet or SABnzbd

The reason why we use /data/usenet for the usenet client is because it only needs access to the usenet files. In the usenet software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/usenet/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── usenet
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

The arr(s)¶

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr gets access to everything because the download folder(s) and media folder will look like and be one file system. Hard links will work and moves will be atomic, instead of copy + delete.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Media Server¶

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr only needs access to your media library, which can have any number of sub folders like Movies, Kids Movies, TV, Documentary TV and/or Music as sub folders.

data
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Appdata¶

Your appdata will be stored in /volume1/docker/appdata/{appname} These {appname} sub folders you need to create your self. (This is a limitation of the Synology) We're going to do this in Putty or a similar program.

sudo mkdir /volume1/docker/appdata
cd /volume1/docker/appdata
sudo mkdir radarr sonarr bazarr plex tautulli

So your appdata folder will look like this.

ls -al /volume1/docker/appdata

docker
└── appdata
   ├── radarr
   ├── sonarr
   ├── bazarr
   ├── plex
   └── tautulli

Needed files¶

First we will download the docker-compose.yml file

Download this docker-compose.yml to your /volume1/docker/appdata location so you got your important stuff together.

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TRaSH-/Guides-Synology-Templates/main/docker-compose/docker-compose.yml

What's included and What's not included

This docker-compose file will have the following docker containers included.

Radarr
Sonarr
Bazarr (Subtitle searcher and downloaded)
Plex
Tautulli
Watchtower (automatic docker container updater at 4am)

What's not included.

I didn't add a downloader to it because it depends on what you prefer usenet/torrents and which client you prefer, so i created a new Repository on Github where I provide and maintain some templates that you can find in the template folder ready to use with the main docker-compose.yml.

The only thing you need to do is copy/paste what's inside the .yml file in to the main docker-compose.yml, the template also has the command what you need to use to create the appdata folder that we explained earlier.

Second we will download the .env file

Download this .env to your /volume1/docker/appdata location so you got your important stuff together.

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TRaSH-/Guides-Synology-Templates/main/docker-compose/.env

Changes you need to do¶

The .env we downloaded holds the variables/information you need to change so everything works (I added also a description in the .env file)

DOCKERCONFDIR (only change this if you know what you're doing and decide to use another path then in this guide used)
DOCKERDATADIR (only change this if you know what you're doing and decide to use another path then in this guide used)
PUID/PGID (this info you got earlier from HERE)
TZ (Change to your timezone)

It holds more variables/information for other containers but they are described in the .env

Permissions¶

Now we need to make sure that the newly created files and folders have the correct permissions.

Note

If you're using another user then admin then you need to change it in the commands below !!!

sudo chown -R admin:users /volume1/data /volume1/docker
sudo chmod -R a=,a+rX,u+w,g+w /volume1/data /volume1/docker

Run the Docker Compose¶

Important

make sure you deleted/removed all your existing dockers from the GUI and also remove your native installs of these applications !!!

When you did all the above steps you only need to type the following in your /volume1/docker/appdata

cd /volume1/docker/appdata
sudo docker-compose up -d

You will notice that all the images will be downloaded, and after that the containers will be started. If you get a error then look at the error what it says and try to fix it. If you still got issues then put your used docker-compose.yml on pastebin and join the guides-discord here and provide the pastebin link with the error, have patience because of timezone differences.

Don't forget to look at the Examples how to setup the paths inside the containers.

Attention

If you need to do any changes only edit the docker-compose.yml file and activate the changes when you type sudo docker-compose up -d again.

Any changes you do/did in the GUI will be reverted when you run the docker-compose.

Just don't use the GUI !!!

docker-compose commands

sudo docker-compose up -d (This Docker-compose command helps builds the image, then creates and starts Docker containers. The containers are from the services specified in the compose file. If the containers are already running and you run docker-compose up, it recreates the container.)
sudo docker-compose pull (Pulls an image associated with a service defined in a docker-compose.yml)
sudo docker-compose down (The Docker-compose down command also stops Docker containers like the stop command does. But it goes the extra mile. Docker-compose down, doesn’t just stop the containers, it also removes them.)
sudo docker system prune -a --volumes --force (Remove all unused containers, networks, images (both dangling and unreferenced), and optionally, volumes.)

Docker

Docker¶

Tip

If you're new to dockers and want a easy setup I suggest to take a look at DockSTARTer. I've also created a short guide HERE where I explain the settings for the most used applications.

The main goal of DockSTARTer is to make it quick and easy to get up and running with Docker. You may choose to rely on DockSTARTer for various changes to your Docker system or use DockSTARTer as a stepping stone and learn to do more advanced configurations.

DockSTARTer was actually my first steps in to the world of dockers.

Note

I'm not going to explain how to get dockers installed and running, I will only explain which folder structure we recommend.

Folder Structure¶

Attention

It doesn't really matter which path you use for your media and appdata,

the only thing you should avoid is /home.

Because user folders in /home are expected to have some restrictive permissions.

It just could end up creating a permissions mess, so it's better to just avoid entirely.

For this example we're going to make use of a share called data.

The data folder has sub-folders for torrents and usenet and each of these have sub-folders for tv, movie and music downloads to keep things neat. The media folder has nicely named TV, Movies and Music sub-folders, this is your library and what you’d pass to Plex, Emby or JellyFin.

In this examples I'm using lower case on all folder on purpose, being Linux is case sensitive.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Breakdown of the Folder Structure

Breakdown of the Folder Structure¶

Torrent clients¶

qBittorrent, Deluge, ruTorrent

The reason why we use /data/torrents for the torrent client is because it only needs access to the torrent files. In the torrent software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/torrents/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── torrents
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Usenet clients¶

NZBGet or SABnzbd

The reason why we use /data/usenet for the usenet client is because it only needs access to the usenet files. In the usenet software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/usenet/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── usenet
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

The arr(s)¶

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr gets access to everything because the download folder(s) and media folder will look like and be one file system. Hard links will work and moves will be atomic, instead of copy + delete.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Media Server¶

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr only needs access to your media library, which can have any number of sub folders like Movies, Kids Movies, TV, Documentary TV and/or Music as sub folders.

data
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Don't forget to look at the Examples how to setup the paths inside the containers.

Bare Metal (Native)

Native¶

Note

I'm not going to explain how to install all the applications, I will only explain which folder structure we recommend.

Folder Structure¶

Attention

It doesn't really matter which path you use for your media,

the only thing you should avoid is /home.

Because user folders in /home are expected to have some restrictive permissions.

It just could end up creating a permissions mess, so it's better to just avoid entirely.

For this example we're going to make use of a share called data.

The data folder has sub-folders for torrents and usenet and each of these have sub-folders for tv, movie and music downloads to keep things neat. The media folder has nicely named TV, Movies and Music sub-folders, this is your library and what you’d pass to Plex, Emby or JellyFin.

I'm using lower case on all folder on purpose, being Linux is case sensitive.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Breakdown of the Folder Structure

Breakdown of the Folder Structure¶

Torrent clients¶

qBittorrent, Deluge, ruTorrent

The reason why we use /data/torrents for the torrent client is because it only needs access to the torrent files. In the torrent software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/torrents/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── torrents
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Usenet clients¶

NZBGet or SABnzbd

The reason why we use /data/usenet for the usenet client is because it only needs access to the usenet files. In the usenet software settings, you’ll need to reconfigure paths and you can sort into sub-folders like /data/usenet/{tv|movies|music}.

data
└── usenet
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

The arr(s)¶

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr

Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr gets access to everything because the download folder(s) and media folder will look like and be one file system. Hard links will work and moves will be atomic, instead of copy + delete.

data
├── torrents
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
├── usenet
│  ├── movies
│  ├── music
│  └── tv
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Media Server¶

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr

Plex, Emby, JellyFin and Bazarr only needs access to your media library, which can have any number of sub folders like Movies, Kids Movies, TV, Documentary TV and/or Music as sub folders.

data
└── media
   ├── movies
   ├── music
   └── tv

Permissions¶

Recursively chown user and group and Recursively chmod to 775/664

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /data
sudo chmod -R a=,a+rX,u+w,g+w /data

Don't forget to look at the Examples how to setup the paths inside the containers.

Examples¶

Info

Pick one path layout and use it for all of them.

It doesn't matter if you prefer to use /data, /shared, /storage or whatever.

The screenshots in the examples are using the following root path /data

Sonarr
Radarr
SABnzbd
NZBGet
qBittorrent
Deluge
ruTorrent

Sonarr Examples

Sonarr¶

Settings => Media Management => Importing

sonarr-enable-hardlinks

Settings => Media Management => Root Folders

sonarr-root-folder

Series => Add New

sonarr-add-new

sonarr-tv

Radarr Examples

Radarr¶

Settings => Media Management => Importing

radarr-enable-hardlinks

Settings => Media Management => Root Folders

radarr-root-folder

Movies => Add New

radarr-add-new

radarr-movies

SABnzbd Examples

SABnzbd¶

SABnzbd config => Folders

sabnzbd-folders

SABnzbd config => Categories

sabnzbd-categories

NZBGet Examples

NZBGet¶

Settings => PATHS

nzbget-settings-paths

Settings => CATEGORIES

nzbget-settings-categories

qBittorrent Examples

qBittorrent¶

Options => Downloads

qbt-options-downloads

Deluge Example

Deluge¶

Preferences => Downloads

deluge-preferences-downloads

ruTorrent Examples

ruTorrent¶

../config/rtorrent/config/rtorrent.rc (path to your appdata)

rtorrent.rc

Settings => Downloads

rtorrent-settings-downloads

Settings => Autotools

rtorrent-settings-autotools

Big Thnx to fryfrog for his Docker Guide that I used as basis for this guide.

Last update: 2021-03-02

How To Set Up Hardlinks and Atomic-Moves¶

Description¶

FAQ¶

How to Setup for¶

DockSTARTer¶

Folder Structure¶

Changes to the .env¶

Changes to your paths¶

DockSTARTer Examples¶

Sonarr¶

Radarr¶

SABnzbd¶

NZBGet¶

qBittorrent¶

Deluge¶

ruTorrent¶

UnRaid¶

Create the main share¶

Folder Structure¶

Setting up the containers¶

Torrent clients¶

Usenet clients¶

The arr(s)¶

Media Server¶

Final Result¶

Synology¶

PUID and PGID¶

Folder Structure¶

Breakdown of the Folder Structure¶

Torrent clients¶

Usenet clients¶

The arr(s)¶

Media Server¶

Appdata¶

Needed files¶

Changes you need to do¶

Permissions¶

Run the Docker Compose¶

Docker¶

Folder Structure¶

Breakdown of the Folder Structure¶

Torrent clients¶

Usenet clients¶

The arr(s)¶

Media Server¶

Native¶

Folder Structure¶

Breakdown of the Folder Structure¶

Torrent clients¶

Usenet clients¶

The arr(s)¶

Media Server¶

Permissions¶

Examples¶

Sonarr¶

Radarr¶

SABnzbd¶

NZBGet¶

qBittorrent¶

Deluge¶

ruTorrent¶