SABnzbd+ Install, Setup, and Configuration Guide for Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

Introduction

This is my long time coming, (updated) Install, Setup, and Configuration guide for SABnzbd+ on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx). This guide should be easily adaptable for Linux Mint 9 (Isadora), and somewhat close for Debian Squeeze and Sidux.

This guide will be actively maintained and updated throughout the life of the Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) Long Term Support release (two years). This is my supported and recommended operating system so I will not be doing specific guides for Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) or for any subsequent releases until Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (though this guide will likely be easily adaptable for the interim releases).

Since my last guide it’s become a lot easier to get SABnzbd+ up and running on an Ubuntu based system. To reflect that I’ve expanded this guide to include installing a multi-threaded par2 file checker, added a supplemental software list, and I have worked to polish up the guide even further (like adding select screen shots!).

For those that are not familiar, SABnzbd+ which, I read as “SAB-newzbin” (though “SAB-nzb-daemon plus” is probably much closer to correct!), is an Usenet client. It is highly automated, robust, and once set up can run and run with minimal user intervention.

Like my last, this guide avoids the command line as much as possible and is written in casual English in an effort to be accessible by as many as possible. I do not think Ubuntu is a nerds only operating system, and I write guides that even novices should be able to understand (see my About page for more information).

So, without further ado, lets move on to the…

Tutorial

Before continuing on please be aware of this sites CC BY-SA license and disclaimer both of which can be found at the bottom of this (or any other) page.

Pre-Installation

SABnzbd+

While it is now possible to get SABnzbd+ 0.5.0 in Ubuntu I still highly recommend installing the JCFP PPA. This will provide you with the latest and greatest SABnzbd+ releases and keep your system up-to-date for the duration of your install. This Personal Package Archive is maintained by the same gentleman who has gotten SABnzbd+ included in Ubuntu’s, Debian Squeeze’s, and Sidux’s repositories. So, it’s a trustworthy source.

To install, go to the System menu, then Administration, and select Software Sources. Type in your password when prompted then click on the Other Software tab. Click on Add and then type in (or copy) the following:

ppa:jcfp/ppa

Hit Add Source and then Close. That’s it. The JCFP PPA is now installed and the next time you update your system any updates within it will be added to your system.

PAR2

By default SABnzbd+ on Ubuntu comes with a par2 utility that only supports one thread. This means that if your computer has more than a single core processor, when it comes to checking and repairing, the other cores are not being utilized. To fix this, and to hopefully speed up the checking and repair process, we’ll install a par2 utility that supports multiple threads.

Note: If you only have a single core processor this step will do nothing for you! You should probably skip it (and the PAR2 Installation step below)!

First we need to download the new par2 utility. This can be found at this site. At the par2 site there are two GNU/Linux par2 downloads. One is for 64 bit operating systems and one is for 32 bit operating systems (highlighted in the image).

Choose the one that’s right for your Ubuntu install.

Once downloaded you should have an archive file with the name of something like par2cmdline-XXX. Extract this file so you have a folder with a similar name. In this par2cmdline folder there should be five items one file named par2 and two starting with libtbb (and two others that we don’t care about). Make note of these files as we’ll come back to them in a bit.

Installation

SABnzbd+

Now that we have access to the latest and greatest SABnzbd+ build it’s time to install it. To do this we’ll go back up to the System and Administration menus and this time select the Synaptic Package Manager. If you’re prompted, put in your user password, and then find the Reload button and hit it. Wait for the Downloading Package Information window to complete, now find the Quick Search field and type in:

sabnzbdplus

The first entry should be sabnzbdplus, right click on it and select Mark for Installation. You will now be prompted to Mark additional required changes. Hit the Mark button and then you’ll be taken back to the main Synaptic window. sabnzbdplus as well as three themes will be marked for installation.

Optional: You may also want to mark the sabnzbdplus-theme-mobile entry for installation. Currently, however, this is outside the scope of this guide (but I’ll happily add it if someone wants to send me a free iPod Touch!).

Now, hit the Apply button. You will be prompted to Apply the following changes. Hit Apply again, and the download and installation should proceed.

Once finished Close out of Synaptic and move on to the multi-threaded par2 installation.

PAR2

Now, we’ll need to launch a file manager (nautilus) with root (or administrative) privileges so we can copy those files over the existing single threaded par2 utility. To do so go up to Applications and then Accessories and click on the Terminal. In this window type in tho following:

sudo nautilus

Type in your password when prompted and hit Enter. This should launch a file browser. This file browser will have root access to your system so be VERY CAREFUL not to delete or do anything other than the following steps.

In this Root File Manager browse to the /usr/bin folder (to do so you can hit control-l and then type in the path). Once at /usr/bin, if you type in par2 (or manually browse) you should have a par2 file in this directory. If not go back and verify your SABnzbd+ installation.

If you do have the par2 file, copy the three files that were mentioned in the PAR2 Pre-Installation section (par2, libtbb.so, libtbb.so.2) into the /usr/bin directory. When prompted Replace the existing par2 file. After the copying has finished Close out of the Root File Manager.

Congrats, you now have a multi-threaded par2 utility that SABnzbd+ can utilize!

Auto-run

One of the nicest features of SABnzbd+ is the ability to set it and forget it, but to do that we need to set it to automatically start-up and shutdown (cleanly!). Luckily, this is easy (thanks to JCFP!).

First off, we need to launch a text editor (gedit) with root privileges. To do so we’ll need to launch the Terminal by going back to the Applications and Accessories menus and launch the Terminal shortcut. In the terminal type in the following:

sudo gedit /etc/default/sabnzbdplus

Type in your password and hit Enter. A text editor should launch with a bunch of configuration options. We only need to add one thing to this file. Find the section that says USER=. Here you will need to enter in your Ubuntu user name, this is not your full name but the short login name (see the image to the right for what it should look like).

If you are not sure what this is go back to the System and Administration menus and select Users and Groups. Your user name should be greyed out just below your full name.

Once you have entered your name the configuration file should look something like this (using ainer as an example):

# [required] user or uid of account to run the program as:
USER=ainer

Be sure to note that there is no space between the equal sign and the user name.

Once this is done, hit the Save button and close the text editor (and anything else you still have open). Now, reboot your system to test.

Setup

Wizard

After rebooting, you should be able to launch your web browser (I recommend Firefox) and go to http://127.0.0.1:8080. This should load the SABnzbd Quick-Start Wizard.

If it does not, retrace the above steps. Make sure SABnzbd+ is installed, and then make sure the auto-run settings are configured properly. If it still does not work see the Trouble-shooting section at the bottom.

On the initial page of the Wizard select your language and hit the Start Wizard button. On page 1, I recommend selecting smpl as your theme. This is the default theme and the one I will be assuming throughout the rest of this guide. On page 2, I recommend selecting I want SABnzbd to be viewable by any pc on my network. This will allow you to access SABnzbd+ from any computer on your local network.

Optional: If you plan on accessing SABnzbd+ from the Word Wide Web I recommend password protecting SABnzbd+ and enabling HTTPS to provide a secure connection to SABnzbd+ while you’re on public networks. You may also need to setup port-forwarding on your router, but that is outside the scope of this guide.

On the next page, page 3, put in your Server Details. If you don’t yet have a Usenet server I strongly recommend clicking on the Giganews link on the Wizard. This will give the SABnzbd+ guys a well deserved monetary thanks and help to fund further development.

If Giganews is too rich for your blood I whole heartily recommend Power Usenet or Supernews. These offer slightly lower retention (at a much lower price) but the same high quality as Giganews. Links to these can be found on Anihil.org.

Whichever server you decide on the Host should be news.SERVER.com. For the Port, I suggest you use 563 (this will allow you to use a secure connections to your Usenet server). The Connections will vary from 30 to 50 depending on which server you select. For SSL check this box to enable the aforementioned secure connections (see the image to the right for an example).

Once you have entered in your Server Details click on the Test Server button. If it tests successfully click Next to move on to the next page.

On page 4, you may enter in your NZBMatrix.com details. To do so you will need a VIP membership. Since Newzbin.com is now defunct, that is the only integrated Usenet index site option in SABnzbd+ (as of 0.5.2). For more information on NZBMatrix see the Index Sites Configuration section below.

Hit Next to restart SABnzbd+ and get a list of links. I recommend bookmarking at least one of these for future reference since SABnzbd+ wont be loading your browser automatically. However, if you forget to bookmark one this link: http://127.0.0.1:8080 (or https://127.0.0.1:9090 if you enabled HTTPS) should get you to SABnzbd+’s Web interface.

Once you’re done with the bookmarks hit the Go to SABnzbd button and move on to the Configuration section of this guide!

Configuration

Once you have launched the main SABnzbd+ page you should have a left hand column with Home, Queue, History, …, and Config. This is where we will spend the rest of our time in SABnzbd+. A lot of these settings depend heavily on your personal preference and how your computer system is configured.

I will provide some of the settings I use and offer recommendations based on my experiences, but you may need to adjust to taste. When in doubt reference the SABnzbd+ Wiki and Forums or post a comment below.

Note: Any questionable comments will not be approved. I also have limited time and energy so I may or may not be able to help you. Again, see this sites disclaimer for further information.

I will also provide links to the pages in question, these links are for the standard install as described above (non-HTTPS). So, if you’re using HTTPS, you’ll need to navigate manually.

General

On the General Config tab, I change the Web Interface to smpl – black as the white is fairly blinding. Toward the bottom, under Tuning, for Article Cache Limit I set this to either 128M or 256M as my system has 4GB of ram and ram is much faster than the hard drive. If you have significantly less ram (less than 1GB or so) leave this blank or set to a lower value.

While on the general tab be sure to note the API Key. While we will not be using it directly in this guide, it is needed for any application that interfaces with SABnzbd+ (such as Sick Beard or nzbdStatus).

The Cleanup List can help a ton in keeping your downloaded files from getting cluttered. But what you filter all depends on what you download. I tend to use the default recommendation of:

.nfo, .sfv

But I will also expand this as needed (such as with .nzb, .srr, or others). Basically, any files that you find in your downloads that you don’t want or need add here so you don’t have to manually erase.

And that’s all I do under General. Check the Wiki to see if there’s anything else you want to change. Once done, hit the Save Changes button and, if you’ve changed your theme, Restart SABnzbd+ (middle of left column). Then move on to the next section.

Folders

How you configure the Folders depends heavily on how your hard drives and partitions are set up. For example, I have a specific partition for downloading to. This prevents my archival disks from being overloaded while downloading and also helps to increase their reliability and dependability as I limit the amount of writing I do to them (thus reducing the chance of a catastrophic error).

Within my downloads partition I set the incomplete folder to be out of the way or hidden. You can create a hidden folder simply by putting a period in front of the folder name.

So, for my example I set the Temporary Download Folder to /home/ainer/Downloads/.hidden/incomplete. I then set the Completed Download Folder to /home/ainer/Downloads

For the Minimum Free Space for Temporary Download Folder entry I recommend setting this to about equal to the biggest file you download. For example, if you download 20 gigabyte files regularly, set this to 20G. If you only download 5 or 10 gigabyte files then set this to 5G or 10G.

If you have a smallish Temporary Download Folder then you may get annoyed with SABnzbd+ frequently pausing. However, this is far less of an annoyance than having a large download fail on extraction due to insufficient space (at least to me).

For the Permissions for completed downloads I generally set this to 777 (which means everyone with access has read, write, and execute permissions for all downloaded files). Though, if you’re concerned with security or privacy you may want to read about filesystem permissions in octal notation.

While we won’t be using it now, the Post-Processing Scripts field is where, if you’re using a program like Sick Beard, you would put in the path to the Sick Beard post processing folder (for example /home/ainer/.sickbeard/autoProcessTV). See my Sick Beard guide for more information.

I don’t configure anything else on this page. Be sure to check the Wiki for anything you might want to adjust, Save Changes, and move on to the next section.

Switches

On the Switches tab we can skip down to the Extra PAR2 Parameters. Here we have a couple options (if we installed the muli-threaded par2 utility above). Putting in t+ will use multi-threaded checking and repair. While t0 will use single-threaded checking, but multi-threaded repair. Using t0 might reduce stress on your Temporary Download Folder (and it’s partition/disk). Since I use a dedicated download partition (on a disk I don’t care about) I use t+.

If you’re using the JCFP PPA uncheck the Check for New Release box as you’ll have the new releases about as fast as they come out.

While we’re here, verify that the Launch Browser on Startup box is clear. If it has a check mark in it it will cause SABnzbd+ to load your system’s default browser every time you reboot the computer.

If you don’t use samples change the Ignore Samples to Delete after download. This will prevent samples from causing unnecessary repairs and also prevent you from having to manually delete them.

That’s all for the Switches tab, check the Wiki if you want to adjust anything else and take a breather, as we’re over the hump here! The rest of the pages are pretty straight forward. Save and lets move on.

Servers

Unless you have an additional server to add, or need to correct any thing you put in during the Wizard we should be able to skip the Server tab.

Scheduling

RSS

Email

I do not use any of these features. Which is not to say that they are not useful. Hit up the Wiki and read about them for yourself. If you dig them, configure them, save, and move on.

Index Sites

With the demise of Newzbin (RIP!), the only index site that’s currently supported in SABnzbd+ is NZBMatrix (as of 0.5.2). For SABnzbd+ to be able to access your NZBMatrix account directly you will need to be a VIP member. You will then need to put in your NZBMatrix user name (whatever you login with) and then your API key. The API key can be found here (if you’re signed in as a VIP member).

If you’ve changed anything here, Save, and we’ll move on.

Categories

On the Categories tab you can change the default post-processing, directory, and other settings on a per category basis. This page is handy if you use Sick Beard or want a specific type of download to be automatically moved to a different folder.

Sorting

The sorting features of SABnzbd+ are awesome. If you’re not going to be using Sick Beard you will likely want to Enable TV Sorting. Make sure to select at least tv from the list of Affected Categories (though you may want to also select Anime).

Make sure also to select a Sort String that fits your preferences. If you are not sure what to use here I recommend using the 1×05 Season Folder one.

If you are going to be using Sick Beard do not Enable TV Sorting as Sick Beard will take care of the sorting (and in a more robust manner).

The Generic Sorting options are recent additions to SABnzbd+ (as of 0.5.0) and can be really nice for cinematic and miscellaneous content. If nothing else I recommend Enabling Movie Sorting (hit the check box) and then selecting the Affected Categories. Use at least movies, but you may also want to select misc and unknown (to select multiple entries hold down the control key and click on each entry one at a time).

For the Sort String I recommend using the No folders option, but it’s purely a personal preference. Under the Multi-part label you may wish to change CD%1 to

 Part%1

Note the leading space. This naming convention is supported by media center applications like Boxee and is more fitting with the times than the CD%1 label is (I mean, unless you are still using Video CDs?).

I skip over the Date Sorting feature, see the Wiki if you might want to use it. Be sure to hit that last Save button and you’re golden!

Closing

Well, there you have it. With any luck you should have a fully installed, setup, and configured copy of SABnzbd+ to call your very own. If you have any questions or feedback feel free to use the comments section at the bottom of this page or if you want to talk to me directly see my Contact page.

Be warned though, any inappropriate comments will be blocked without warning (all comments are moderated). This is for both your and my protection, the Internet is no longer the free, anonymous place it once was so use your common sense when posting.

If you enjoyed this guide, first and foremost support the software mentioned in here. This guide is meaningless without their continued hard work! Forgo that extra cheeseburger and tip them a buck or few.

If, after that, you’re still feeling generous send some love my way, either with a kind or constructive word, or whatever works for you. I do these guides mainly for my own technical development, but if I can get them to pay for themselves then all the better!

I hope you enjoyed my guide, and I hope it was helpful!

Cheers!

Addendum

Supplemental Software

To get the most out of your brand spankin’ new SABnzbd+ install you may want to check out some of the following applications. These are applications that are either designed for SABnzbd+, or that just simply go hand in hand with the time saving features of SABnzbd+ (philosophical cousins if you will).

These applications are provided in no particular order, and I’m only including applications that I currently recommend using (this is not meant to be an exhaustive list!).

Sick Beard

Sick beard is described as a Usenet and Torrent Personal Video Recorder (PVR) application. It can scan any content you currently have, create a list from that content, and then automatically monitor, search for, and send files that you are missing to SABnzbd+. It will then take those downloaded files and rename them properly by using TheTVDB and TVRage and update your collection. Sick Beard supports a number of Usenet Index sites and is handy for partially filling the void that Newzbin has left.

For more information, and an Install, Setup, and Configuration Guide for an Ubuntu (or similar) system see my guide here.

Boxee

While it may not seem like an obvious supplemental application to SABnzbd+, when taken with Sick Beard it definitely is. Boxee provides a very polished and easy to use end point for any multimedia collection. That meticulously maintained collection will seem all the more amazing and accessible when it’s supported by images and information that are pulled from the Internet Movie Database.

nzbdStatus

nzbdStatus is a Firefox extension that interfaces with SABnzbd+ and can help make it easier to send nzb files from specific index sites to SABnzbd+. It will also provide status updates on what SABnzbd+ is doing from Firefox’s statusbar.

To run it you will need to put in SABnzbd+’s API and the IP address of the system it’s running on (if different from the computer you’re installing nzbdStatus on).

Trouble-shooting

• If your download/incomplete folders keep being reset back to their defaults after reboots verify that the partitions that they are pointing to are set to mount automatically. (Found and resolved by Sjonnie from the Linux Mint Forums)
• If, after following all of my guide, you are unable to connect to the web ui open up the process manager and verify that the sabnzbdplus process is running. If it is not, check the logs (found in a hidden folder in your home directory) and see if it’s complaining about anything. If it’s a port conflict change the port as described under the Auto-run section and reboot and try again. Failing that, take your logs to the SABnzbd+ forum and seek help there.

Revision History

• New Guide Written (woot!)

 

8 Responses to 'SABnzbd+ Install, Setup, and Configuration Guide for Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)'

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1. hey man, many thanks for this guide. finally decided to ditch windows and having sabnzb on ubuntu was a major factor. your guide set me right up

   

   adam

   3 Jul 10 at 11:52 PM

    

2. Setting up the mobile theme
   1. Install it as shown above.
   2. Once SABnzbd+ is setup go to the web interface url then click on General under Config.
   3. Change the setting “Secondary Web Interface” to “Mobile – light” or “Mobile – dark”.
   4. Scroll down and click on save.
   5. Click on Restart.
   6. Once SABnzbd+ is restarted use a phone or any other mobile device that has a web browser and go to “://:/sabnzbd/m” then you will be prompted to login if you setup authentication.

   

   F3lix85

   4 Jul 10 at 1:42 AM

    

3. Sorry for the second post but the comment system removed part of the text from step 6. It should read “http or http://servername:8080 or 9090/sabnzbd/m” for the url.

   

   F3lix85

   4 Jul 10 at 1:48 AM

    

4. How is it possible that Sabnzbd won’t autostart after a reboot of the system?
   I have put my username in the designated file.

   What could be wrong?

   

   Paul

   12 Jul 10 at 12:27 PM

    

5. Well, if it starts manually, and you’re using JFCP’s PPA on Ubuntu, then something is wrong with the config file (or something else).

   

   Ainer

   12 Jul 10 at 1:52 PM

    

6. I am using the JCFP ppa. And i have put my user name in the required field in /etc/default/sabnzbdplus.

   Isn’t there another way to autostart sab on system startup?

   Greetings

   

   Paul

   13 Jul 10 at 7:42 AM

    

7. There is, but it wont shut down SABnzbd+ properly, and I don’t support it. If you’re still having problems I recommend visiting the SABnzbd+ forums and providing more details if/when you ask for help.

   

   Ainer

   13 Jul 10 at 8:48 AM

    

8. Will have a look there, thanks for the useful guide anyhow!
   Will contact them because i have been testing a few times and it seems that the problem is random. Sometimes it does start other times it doesnt.

   

   Paul

   13 Jul 10 at 12:19 PM

    

 

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