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Configuration Reference

Will Luck edited this page May 11, 2026 · 3 revisions

Configuration Reference

iplayer-arr is configured through a combination of environment variables (set at container creation) and application settings (managed through the web UI).

Application Variables

These environment variables are set when creating the container and control core application behaviour.

Variable Default Description
CONFIG_DIR /config BoltDB and config storage directory
DOWNLOAD_DIR /downloads Download output directory
PORT 62001 HTTP server listen port

The API key is auto-generated on first run. You can view it on the Config page in the web UI. This key is required when configuring Sonarr's indexer and download client connections.

Application Settings (via UI)

These settings are managed through the web UI Config page and stored in BoltDB. They can be changed at any time without restarting the container.

Setting Default Options Description
Maximum Quality any any, 1080p, 720p, 540p, 396p Caps the highest quality the indexer advertises to Sonarr. any (default) means no cap; named heights drop anything above them from the RSS feed so Sonarr's profile cannot request a higher quality than the BBC actually offers.
Max Workers 10 1--20 Number of concurrent download workers
Auto Cleanup Off On / Off Removes folders with no .mp4 files every 5 minutes

Quality notes:

  • 1080p availability depends on the BBC stream. Many programmes are only available up to 720p.
  • Setting Maximum Quality to a named height is a hard ceiling: Sonarr never sees an RSS item above that quality, so its quality profile can only pick from what is advertised.
  • Leaving Maximum Quality at any (default) means the indexer emits every available height per programme and Sonarr's own quality profile picks the winner.

Container Variables (hotio base)

These variables are handled by the hotio base image and control file permissions and timezone inside the container.

Variable Default Description
PUID 1000 User ID for file permissions
PGID 1000 Group ID for file permissions
TZ Europe/London Container timezone
UMASK 002 File permission mask

Set PUID and PGID to match the user that owns your download and config directories on the host. You can find your user's IDs with:

id $(whoami)

Volumes

Container Path Purpose
/config BoltDB database and configuration storage
/downloads Download output directory (map to your media library)

Both volumes should be mapped when creating the container. /config is typically a named volume or bind mount for persistence. /downloads should point to wherever your media library expects completed downloads.

Related Pages

  • VPN Configuration -- WireGuard VPN setup, kill switch, and provider-specific variables
  • Installation -- Deployment examples for Docker CLI and Docker Compose

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