SABnzbd

Automated Usenet Binary Newsreader

SABnzbd is a free, open-source Usenet binary newsreader written in Python. It automates downloading from Usenet with powerful post-processing including unpacking, repair, and organization. On QuickBox, SABnzbd runs as a per-user daemon with a Python 3.11 virtual environment at /opt/username/SABnzbd, self-signed SSL certificates for secure connections, par2cmdline-turbo for high-speed repairs, and a web interface published through the nginx reverse proxy.

Installation

Have your Usenet provider credentials (host, port, username, password) ready — you enter them in the SABnzbd web interface after installation.

Install from the Dashboard

Open App Dashboard → Package Management (/dashboard?mode=packages), find SABnzbd in the catalog (browse Download Clients or search), and click Install. The install dialog offers a channel choice — Stable (default) or Beta — for the SABnzbd release you want. The dashboard streams the install log live and SABnzbd appears in your Application Control panel when it finishes. Reinstall and Remove are in the same Package Management panel. To update, use the amber Update badge on the SABnzbd row in the App Dashboard.

The default channel is Stable; pick Beta only if you want development releases. See Channels & Versions for how channels work. What you see and can manage is gated by your account: admins manage any user’s apps; regular users manage their own. For the full package flow see App Management.

Install from the CLI (automation)

The CLI runs the same install and is suited to automation and scripting. It installs the Stable release by default; add --beta for the development release:

qb install sabnzbd -u username

Directory Layout

Network & Access

SABnzbd binds to localhost on auto-assigned HTTP/HTTPS ports (base ports 65080/65131, auto-incremented per user if already in use). QuickBox publishes the UI through nginx at:

Authentication Layers:

• Primary: SABnzbd’s built-in authentication (username/password configured in SABnzbd settings)
• Secondary: nginx Basic Auth with /etc/htpasswd.d/htpasswd.username (optional additional layer)

During installation, QuickBox automatically configures SABnzbd with your QuickBox username/password for convenience. You can change SABnzbd’s credentials later in Config → General → Security.

Services

SABnzbd uses a templated systemd unit (sabnzbd@.service) running as a simple daemon:

# Check status
systemctl status sabnzbd@username
 
# View logs
journalctl -u sabnzbd@username -f
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username
 
# Stop service
systemctl stop sabnzbd@username
 
# Start service
systemctl start sabnzbd@username

The service runs SABnzbd in its Python virtual environment and restarts it automatically on failure.

Initial Configuration

On first access, SABnzbd presents a Quick-Start Wizard to configure your Usenet provider and basic settings:

1. Complete Quick-Start Wizard

1. Language Selection - Choose your preferred language
2. Server Setup - Enter Usenet provider credentials
   • Host: Your provider’s server address (e.g., news.yourprovider.com)
   • Port: Usually 563 for SSL or 119 for standard
   • Username/Password: From your Usenet provider account
   • Connections: Maximum simultaneous connections (check provider limits)
3. Security - API key is auto-generated, save it for *arr apps

2. Configure Categories

Create categories for automated downloads:

1. Navigate to Config → Categories
2. Create categories matching your *arr apps: sonarr, radarr, lidarr, readarr
3. Set appropriate download paths for each category
4. Configure post-processing options (unpacking, deletion of archives)

Configuration

Connect *arr apps to SABnzbd using these settings:

FileBot Post-Processing (courtesy setup)

View the FileBot documentation for full FileBot setup and configuration.

QuickBox can wire SABnzbd to FileBot during FileBot installation:

1. Install FileBot with the SABnzbd option:
   bash

   qb install filebot -u username -o sabnzbd -mp /path/to/media

2. QuickBox drops ~/.config/SABnzbd/scripts/sabnzbd-postprocess.sh and rewrites it with your username and media path.
3. QuickBox automatically updates sabnzbd.ini to enable the script for anime, movies, and tv categories.
4. In SABnzbd → Settings → Categories, verify the script is assigned to relevant categories.

The script copies matched media into your configured media path using FileBot’s AMC preset (duplicate action, skip on conflict), honoring your exclude list. QuickBox assigns it to the anime, movies, and tv categories automatically.

Manual Configuration

If you need to manually configure FileBot post-processing:

1. Create or edit categories in SABnzbd → Config → Categories
2. Assign the script to each category where you want automatic processing
3. Set download paths per category if desired
4. Test by adding a download with the appropriate category

Troubleshooting FileBot Integration

Python Environment & Dependencies

SABnzbd on QuickBox runs in an isolated Python 3.11 virtual environment with the following characteristics:

Browser Download Index

SABnzbd gets the same per-user browser file index as the torrent clients. It lists your SABnzbd completed-download folder in a dark-themed fancyindex view, which is useful for grabbing a single finished file without loading the SABnzbd web interface. The Download Activity panel in the dashboard links to it as Open download folder.

• The listing is the folder set as complete_dir in SABnzbd (the completed download folder in sabnzbd.ini), not a fixed location. Change it in SABnzbd and QuickBox re-renders the index on its own, usually within seconds, with an hourly check as a safety net. If the folder can’t be served (it is a symlink, it is outside your home folder, /mnt and /media, it doesn’t exist, or the web server can’t read it), the index keeps serving the default folder and the dashboard shows a note beginning “Showing the default folder.” See Open download folder for each note.
• Removing SABnzbd keeps your finished downloads. qb remove sabnzbd deletes the client’s configuration and install files but never the completed-download folder or what is inside it, so the default folder and the path leading to it stay while the rest of ~/.config/SABnzbd is deleted, and the remove output names the folder it kept. Reinstalling keeps the folder you had by writing complete_dir back into the fresh configuration.
• If the page fails to load while the rest of the dashboard works, see Downloads / browse index page not loading.

Troubleshooting

SABnzbd Won’t Start

Check service status and logs:

# Check service status
systemctl status sabnzbd@username
 
# View recent logs
journalctl -u sabnzbd@username -n 50
 
# View live logs
journalctl -u sabnzbd@username -f
 
# Check SABnzbd's own log file
tail -f ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.log

Common causes:

• Port conflicts (another service using 65080 or 65131)
• Corrupted Python virtual environment
• Permission issues on config directory
• Missing or corrupted SSL certificates

Check for port conflicts:

# Check assigned ports
grep -E 'https_port|port' ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini
 
# Check if ports are in use
ss -tulpn | grep -E '65080|65131'

Cannot Connect to Usenet Server

Python Virtual Environment Issues

If SABnzbd fails to start with Python-related errors:

# Check Python version in venv
/opt/username/SABnzbd/.venv/bin/python3.11 --version
 
# Check if venv is intact
ls -la /opt/username/SABnzbd/.venv/bin/
 
# Reinstall SABnzbd (preserves config)
qb reinstall sabnzbd -u username

Symptoms of corrupted venv:

• ImportError or ModuleNotFoundError in logs
• SABnzbd fails to start with Python traceback
• Missing Python executable or pip in .venv/bin/

Permission Issues

Fix file ownership and permissions:

# Check current ownership
ls -la /opt/username/SABnzbd
ls -la ~/.config/SABnzbd
 
# Fix permissions via QuickBox
qb fix permissions -u username
 
# Or manually fix
sudo chown -R username:username /opt/username/SABnzbd ~/.config/SABnzbd
sudo chmod 0750 ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username

SSL Certificate Issues

If you see SSL handshake errors or certificate warnings:

# Check certificate files exist
ls -la ~/.ssl/
ls -la ~/.config/SABnzbd/admin/
 
# Verify certificate validity
openssl x509 -in ~/.ssl/username-selfsigned.crt -noout -dates
 
# Regenerate certificates if needed
cd ~/.ssl
openssl req -config /opt/quickbox/config/system/ssl/openssl.conf \
  -x509 -nodes -days 1095 -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout username-selfsigned.key \
  -out username-selfsigned.crt
 
# Copy to SABnzbd admin folder
cp -f ~/.ssl/*.{crt,key,pem} ~/.config/SABnzbd/admin/
chown username:username ~/.config/SABnzbd/admin/*
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username

*arr Apps Can’t Connect

If Sonarr/Radarr/etc. can’t connect to SABnzbd:

curl -k "https://127.0.0.1:65131/username/sabnzbd/api?mode=version&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY"

Downloads Stalling or Failing

If downloads won’t start or complete:

Web Interface Not Loading

If nginx reverse proxy isn’t working:

# Check nginx configuration
sudo nginx -t
 
# Check if nginx is running
systemctl status nginx
 
# Verify nginx config file exists
ls -la /etc/nginx/software/username.sabnzbd.conf
 
# Check htpasswd file
ls -la /etc/htpasswd.d/htpasswd.username
 
# Reload nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Configuration Reset

# Backup current configuration
cp ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini.backup
 
# Remove configuration (will be regenerated)
rm ~/.config/SABnzbd/sabnzbd.ini
 
# Restart service
systemctl restart sabnzbd@username

Downloads / browse index page not loading

QuickBox builds a per-user nginx fancyindex view of each user’s completed downloads, and SABnzbd’s completed folder is included in it. This browse index is a single shared per-user config — /etc/nginx/software/username.dlindex.conf — that covers every download client that user has installed, not SABnzbd alone. It has no service of its own.

The same fix applies to the browse page for every download client — see the Download Clients overview.

Best Practices

Related Applications

Additional Resources