Quality Profiles¶

Quality profiles in Radarr, Sonarr, and Lidarr control which media qualities are acceptable and when to upgrade. qBitrr's temporary quality profile feature allows dynamic profile switching for hard-to-find content.

Overview¶

What are quality profiles?

Quality profiles (in Arr applications) define:

Allowed qualities - Which quality tiers to download
Quality order - Preference ranking for qualities
Cut-off quality - Stop upgrading after reaching this quality
Upgrade behavior - When to replace existing files

qBitrr integration:

Temporary profile switching - Lower quality requirements temporarily for missing media
Profile reset - Automatic reset to main profile after download
Timeout management - Auto-reset after configurable duration
Upgrade facilitation - Searches for upgrades using main profile

How Quality Profiles Work in Arr¶

Quality Profile Structure¶

Quality Profile: HD-1080p
├── Allowed Qualities
│   ├── WEBDL-1080p ✓
│   ├── Bluray-1080p ✓
│   ├── HDTV-1080p ✓
│   ├── WEBDL-720p ✓ (for missing content)
│   └── WEBDL-2160p ✗ (not in profile)
├── Quality Order (preference)
│   1. Bluray-1080p (most preferred)
│   2. WEBDL-1080p
│   3. HDTV-1080p
│   4. WEBDL-720p (least preferred)
├── Cutoff: Bluray-1080p
└── Upgrade Until Cutoff: Yes

How it works:

Arr searches for all allowed qualities
Downloads highest available quality
Continues searching for upgrades
Stops upgrading when cut-off quality is reached

Example Quality Profiles¶

Radarr Quality Profiles¶

4K Profile:

Name: Ultra-HD
Allowed:
  - Remux-2160p (cut-off)
  - Bluray-2160p
  - WEBDL-2160p
  - WEBRip-2160p
Cutoff: Remux-2160p

1080p Profile:

Name: HD-1080p
Allowed:
  - Bluray-1080p (cut-off)
  - WEBDL-1080p
  - WEBRip-1080p
  - HDTV-1080p
Cutoff: Bluray-1080p

Any Profile:

Name: Any
Allowed:
  - All qualities from 480p to 2160p
Cutoff: WEBDL-1080p

Sonarr Quality Profiles¶

WEB-DL 1080p:

Name: WEB-1080p
Allowed:
  - WEBDL-1080p (cut-off)
  - WEBRip-1080p
  - HDTV-1080p
  - WEBDL-720p (fallback)
Cutoff: WEBDL-1080p

Anime Profile:

Name: Anime-1080p
Allowed:
  - Bluray-1080p (cut-off)
  - WEBDL-1080p
  - HDTV-1080p
Cutoff: Bluray-1080p

Lidarr Quality Profiles¶

Lossless:

Name: Lossless (FLAC)
Allowed:
  - FLAC (cut-off)
  - FLAC 24bit
  - WAV
Cutoff: FLAC

Lossy:

Name: Lossy (MP3-320)
Allowed:
  - MP3-320 (cut-off)
  - MP3-V0
  - AAC-320
Cutoff: MP3-320

Any:

Name: Any
Allowed:
  - FLAC (cut-off)
  - MP3-320
  - MP3-256
  - MP3-192
Cutoff: FLAC

qBitrr Temporary Quality Profiles¶

The Problem¶

Scenario: You want lossless music (FLAC only), but some rare albums don't have lossless releases.

Without temporary profiles: - Album sits in "Wanted" forever - Never downloads because no FLAC release exists - You manually switch profile to "Any" to get MP3 - You forget to switch back - Never upgrades to FLAC when it becomes available

With temporary profiles: - qBitrr automatically switches to "Any" profile - Downloads MP3 version - Switches back to "Lossless" profile - Continues searching for FLAC upgrade - Automatically replaces MP3 with FLAC when found

flowchart TD
    Start([Content Added to Arr]) --> Check{Has<br/>File?}
    Check -->|Yes| Done([No Action Needed])
    Check -->|No| Profile{Current<br/>Profile<br/>Mapped?}

    Profile -->|No| Search1[Search with<br/>Current Profile]
    Profile -->|Yes| Switch1[Switch to<br/>Temp Profile]

    Switch1 --> Search2[Search with<br/>Lower Requirements]
    Search2 --> Found{Content<br/>Found?}

    Found -->|Yes| Download[Download &<br/>Import]
    Found -->|No| Wait1[Wait for<br/>Next Search]

    Download --> Switch2[Switch Back to<br/>Main Profile]
    Switch2 --> Upgrade[Enable Upgrade<br/>Search]

    Upgrade --> Monitor{Better<br/>Quality<br/>Available?}
    Monitor -->|Yes| Download2[Download<br/>Upgrade]
    Monitor -->|No| Wait2[Keep<br/>Monitoring]

    Download2 --> Replace[Replace<br/>Lower Quality]
    Replace --> Done2([Mission Complete])

    Wait1 --> Timeout{Timeout<br/>Reached?}
    Timeout -->|Yes| Switch3[Reset to<br/>Main Profile]
    Timeout -->|No| Search2
    Switch3 --> Search1

    Wait2 --> Monitor
    Search1 --> Done

    style Start fill:#4dabf7
    style Download fill:#51cf66
    style Download2 fill:#51cf66
    style Done2 fill:#51cf66
    style Switch1 fill:#ffa94d
    style Switch2 fill:#4dabf7

Configuration¶

Temporary profiles are configured in [<Arr>-<Name>.EntrySearch]:

[Lidarr-Music.EntrySearch]
# Enable temporary profile switching
UseTempForMissing = true

# Don't keep temp profile after download
KeepTempProfile = false

# Map main profiles to temporary profiles
QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Lossless (FLAC)" = "Any (MP3)",
  "Ultra-HD" = "HD-1080p"
}

# Reset all temp profiles on startup
ForceResetTempProfiles = false

# Auto-reset temp profiles after X minutes
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080  # 7 days

# Retry attempts for profile API calls
ProfileSwitchRetryAttempts = 3

UseTempForMissing¶

UseTempForMissing = true

Type: Boolean Default: false

Enable temporary quality profile switching for missing media.

When enabled:

qBitrr detects missing album/movie/episode
Checks if it's using a main profile (from mapping)
Switches to temporary profile
Arr searches with lowered quality requirements
Downloads whatever matches temp profile
After import, qBitrr switches back to main profile

Requirement: Must configure QualityProfileMappings.

Recommendation: Great for Lidarr (rare music), less needed for Radarr/Sonarr (better availability).

Platform-Specific Behavior: Sonarr

Sonarr only supports quality profiles at the SERIES level, not episode level.

Consequence: If ANY episode is missing, the ENTIRE series switches to temp profile.

Example:

Series: "Breaking Bad" (62 episodes)
- Episodes 1-61: ✅ Downloaded
- Episode 62: ❌ Missing

With UseTempForMissing=true:
→ Entire "Breaking Bad" series switches to temp profile
→ ALL 62 episodes now subject to temp profile searches
→ Increases chance of finding episode 62

Why this design: Prioritizes finding missing content over maintaining strict quality for existing files. Once all episodes exist, series reverts to main profile.

Radarr (Movies) & Lidarr (Music): Profile switching works at the item level (movie/album) as expected.

QualityProfileMappings¶

QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Main Profile Name" = "Temporary Profile Name"
}

Type: Dictionary (main → temp profile names) Default: {} (empty, no mappings)

Maps main quality profiles to temporary profiles for missing content.

Profile names must match exactly as they appear in your Arr instance (case-sensitive).

Format:

QualityProfileMappings = {"MainProfile" = "TempProfile", "Another" = "Fallback"}

Examples:

# Lidarr - Music
QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Lossless (FLAC)" = "Any (MP3-320)",
  "FLAC Only" = "Lossy"
}

# Radarr - Movies
QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Ultra-HD (4K)" = "HD-1080p",
  "Bluray-1080p" = "Any"
}

# Sonarr - TV
QualityProfileMappings = {
  "WEB-DL 1080p" = "HDTV-720p"
}

Exact Profile Names Required

Profile names must match exactly as shown in Arr:

✅ Correct: "Lossless (FLAC)"
❌ Wrong: "lossless (flac)"  # Case mismatch
❌ Wrong: "Lossless"  # Missing part of name

To find exact names: - Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr → Settings → Profiles - Copy profile names exactly

KeepTempProfile¶

KeepTempProfile = false

Type: Boolean Default: false

Control whether to switch back to main profile after download.

When false (default): - Download completes - qBitrr switches back to main profile - Future upgrade searches use main profile criteria

When true: - Download completes - Profile stays as temp profile - No automatic upgrades

Use cases:

false - (Recommended) Enable upgrade workflow
true - Permanently accept lower quality

Example:

# Enable upgrade workflow
KeepTempProfile = false

# Album flow:
# 1. Profile: "Lossless (FLAC)" → No releases found
# 2. Switch to: "Any (MP3-320)" → Downloads MP3
# 3. Import completes
# 4. Switch back to: "Lossless (FLAC)"
# 5. Future searches look for FLAC upgrade

ForceResetTempProfiles¶

ForceResetTempProfiles = false

Type: Boolean Default: false

Reset all items using temp profiles to main profiles on qBitrr startup.

When true: - qBitrr starts up - Queries Arr for all items - Finds items using temp profiles (from mapping) - Resets them to main profile

Use cases:

Cleanup after testing
Fix stuck temp profiles
Reset after config changes

Example:

# Reset all temp profiles on startup
ForceResetTempProfiles = true

On next qBitrr start: - Album was using "Any (MP3)" profile - Gets reset to "Lossless (FLAC)" - New upgrade searches triggered

TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes¶

TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080  # 7 days

Type: Integer (minutes) Default: 0 (disabled)

Automatically reset temp profiles to main profiles after X minutes.

When enabled: - qBitrr tracks when temp profile was set - After timeout duration, resets to main profile - Triggers upgrade search

Common values:

Disabled (0 minutes)

Manual reset only. Temp profiles remain until explicitly reset.

Use when: You want full control over profile resets.
1 Day (1440 minutes)

Quick retry for new releases.

Use when: Content releases frequently (TV shows).
7 Days (10080 minutes)

Weekly upgrade check.

Use when: Balanced approach for most content.
30 Days (43200 minutes)

Monthly upgrade check.

Use when: Rare content (4K movies, obscure music).

Example:

# Reset temp profiles after 7 days
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080

Workflow:

graph LR
    A[Day 0: Missing Album] --> B[Switch to Temp Profile<br/>MP3-320]
    B --> C[Download MP3]
    C --> D[Days 1-6:<br/>Album on Temp]
    D --> E[Day 7: Timeout<br/>Expires]
    E --> F[Reset to Main<br/>Profile FLAC]
    F --> G{FLAC<br/>Available?}
    G -->|Yes| H[Download FLAC<br/>Replace MP3]
    G -->|No| I[Keep MP3<br/>Retry Later]

    style A fill:#ff6b6b
    style C fill:#51cf66
    style F fill:#4dabf7
    style H fill:#51cf66

ProfileSwitchRetryAttempts¶

ProfileSwitchRetryAttempts = 3

Type: Integer Default: 3

Number of retry attempts for profile switch API calls.

Why retries?

Network issues
Arr temporary unavailability
API rate limiting
Database locks

Recommendation: 3 is safe. Increase to 5 if you experience failures.

Temporary Profile Workflows¶

Workflow 1: Lidarr - Get Music Now, Upgrade Later¶

Goal: Download MP3 immediately, upgrade to FLAC when available

Setup:

[Lidarr-Music.EntrySearch]
UseTempForMissing = true
KeepTempProfile = false
QualityProfileMappings = {"Lossless (FLAC)" = "Lossy (MP3-320)"}
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080  # 7 days
SearchAgainOnSearchCompletion = true
DoUpgradeSearch = true

Process:

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Lidarr
    participant qBitrr
    participant Indexer

    User->>Lidarr: Add Album<br/>Profile: Lossless (FLAC)
    Lidarr->>qBitrr: Notify Missing Album
    qBitrr->>Indexer: Search for FLAC
    Indexer-->>qBitrr: No FLAC Found

    Note over qBitrr: Switch to Temp Profile
    qBitrr->>Lidarr: Update Profile<br/>→ Lossy (MP3-320)
    qBitrr->>Indexer: Search for MP3
    Indexer-->>qBitrr: MP3-320 Available
    qBitrr->>Lidarr: Download MP3-320

    Lidarr->>qBitrr: Import Complete
    Note over qBitrr: Switch Back to Main
    qBitrr->>Lidarr: Update Profile<br/>→ Lossless (FLAC)

    loop Upgrade Search
        qBitrr->>Indexer: Check for FLAC
        Indexer-->>qBitrr: FLAC Available!
        qBitrr->>Lidarr: Download & Replace
    end

Workflow 2: Radarr - 4K Then 1080p Fallback¶

Goal: Prefer 4K, accept 1080p if 4K unavailable

Setup:

[Radarr-4K.EntrySearch]
UseTempForMissing = true
KeepTempProfile = false
QualityProfileMappings = {"Ultra-HD" = "HD-1080p"}
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 43200  # 30 days
DoUpgradeSearch = true

Process:

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Missing: Movie Added<br/>(Ultra-HD Profile)

    Missing --> SearchingUHD: qBitrr Searches<br/>for 4K
    SearchingUHD --> TempProfile: No 4K Found<br/>Switch to HD-1080p

    TempProfile --> Downloading: 1080p Found
    Downloading --> Downloaded: Import Complete

    Downloaded --> MainProfile: Switch Back<br/>to Ultra-HD
    MainProfile --> Waiting: Upgrade Search<br/>Active

    Waiting --> Checking: 30 Days<br/>Elapsed
    Checking --> Upgrading: 4K Available
    Checking --> Waiting: Still No 4K

    Upgrading --> [*]: 4K Downloaded

    note right of TempProfile
        Temporary profile allows
        getting content now
    end note

    note right of MainProfile
        Original profile restored
        for upgrade search
    end note

Workflow 3: Sonarr - New Episodes vs Back Catalog¶

Goal: Accept HD for new episodes, WEB-DL preferred for back catalog

Setup:

[Sonarr-TV.EntrySearch]
UseTempForMissing = true
KeepTempProfile = false
QualityProfileMappings = {"WEB-DL 1080p" = "HDTV-1080p"}
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 1440  # 1 day
PrioritizeTodaysReleases = true

Process:

New episode airs today
No WEB-DL available yet (too new)
Switch to HDTV profile
Download HDTV release
Switch back to WEB-DL after 1 day
WEB-DL becomes available
Upgrade to WEB-DL

Best Practices¶

1. Create Appropriate Profiles in Arr First¶

Before configuring qBitrr:

Create main profiles (strict quality)
Create temp profiles (lenient quality)
Test manually in Arr
Then configure qBitrr mappings

Example Arr setup:

Profiles in Lidarr:
- "Lossless (FLAC)" → Main profile
- "Any (MP3-320)" → Temp profile
- "Lossy (MP3-256)" → Temp profile

2. Use Descriptive Profile Names¶

# Good - Clear purpose
QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Lossless (FLAC)" = "Lossy (MP3-320)"
}

# Bad - Ambiguous
QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Profile1" = "Profile2"
}

3. Start Without Temp Profiles¶

# Phase 1: Standard operation
UseTempForMissing = false

# Phase 2: After validating need
UseTempForMissing = true

Only enable if you frequently encounter missing content due to quality requirements.

4. Set Realistic Timeout¶

# Too short - Wastes searches
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 60  # 1 hour

# Good - Reasonable retry interval
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080  # 7 days

# Too long - Delays upgrades unnecessarily
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 525600  # 1 year

5. Monitor Profile Switches¶

Check logs for profile switching:

tail -f ~/logs/Lidarr-Music.log | grep -i "profile"

Example log output:

2025-11-27 10:00:00 - INFO - Switching profile for "Album Name": Lossless (FLAC) → Any (MP3-320)
2025-11-27 10:05:00 - INFO - Download complete for "Album Name"
2025-11-27 10:05:05 - INFO - Switching profile for "Album Name": Any (MP3-320) → Lossless (FLAC)

6. Test Profile Names¶

Verify exact profile names:

# Query Arr API for profile names
curl -H "X-Api-Key: your-key" http://localhost:8686/api/v1/qualityprofile

# Response shows exact names
[
  {"id": 1, "name": "Lossless (FLAC)"},
  {"id": 2, "name": "Any (MP3-320)"}
]

Troubleshooting¶

Profile Switches Not Working¶

Symptom: Profiles don't change

Solutions:

Verify exact profile names:

# Check Arr API
curl -H "X-Api-Key: key" http://localhost:8686/api/v1/qualityprofile

Check mapping syntax:

# Correct
QualityProfileMappings = {"Main" = "Temp"}

# Wrong
QualityProfileMappings = {Main = Temp}  # Missing quotes

Enable debug logging:
```
[Settings]
ConsoleLevel = "DEBUG"
```

Review logs:

grep -i "profile\|switch" ~/logs/Lidarr-Music.log

Profiles Don't Reset¶

Symptom: Temp profiles stay permanently

Solutions:

Check KeepTempProfile:

KeepTempProfile = false  # Must be false

Verify timeout set:

TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080  # Not 0

Force reset:
```
ForceResetTempProfiles = true
```
Restart qBitrr

API Errors¶

Symptom: "Failed to switch profile" in logs

Solutions:

Increase retries:

ProfileSwitchRetryAttempts = 5  # Up from 3

Check Arr API connectivity:

curl -H "X-Api-Key: key" http://localhost:8686/api/v1/qualityprofile

Verify Arr logs:
Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr → System → Logs
Look for API errors

Downloads But No Upgrade¶

Symptom: Temp profile downloads but never upgrades

Solutions:

Verify profile reset:
Check logs for "Switching profile back to..."
Ensure KeepTempProfile = false
Enable upgrade search:
```
DoUpgradeSearch = true
```
Check quality cutoff:
In Arr quality profile
Cutoff must be higher than current quality
Verify "Upgrade Until Cutoff" enabled:
Arr → Quality Profile
Must have upgrade checkbox enabled

Profile Strategy Guide¶

For Radarr (Movies)¶

Strategy: Prefer 4K/1080p but accept SD temporarily

QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Ultra-HD" = "HD-1080p",
  "HD-1080p" = "SD"
}
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 43200  # 30 days

For Sonarr (TV Shows)¶

Strategy: Get episodes fast, upgrade to WEB-DL later

QualityProfileMappings = {
  "WEB-DL 1080p" = "HDTV-1080p"
}
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 1440  # 1 day (for new episodes)

For Lidarr (Music)¶

Strategy: Essential - Many albums lack lossless

QualityProfileMappings = {
  "Lossless (FLAC)" = "Any (MP3-320)",
  "FLAC 24bit" = "Lossless (FLAC)"
}
TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes = 10080  # 7 days

Highly recommended for Lidarr due to limited lossless availability.

Quality Profiles¶

Overview¶

How Quality Profiles Work in Arr¶

Quality Profile Structure¶

Example Quality Profiles¶

Radarr Quality Profiles¶

Sonarr Quality Profiles¶

Lidarr Quality Profiles¶

qBitrr Temporary Quality Profiles¶

The Problem¶

Configuration¶

UseTempForMissing¶

QualityProfileMappings¶

KeepTempProfile¶

ForceResetTempProfiles¶

TempProfileResetTimeoutMinutes¶

ProfileSwitchRetryAttempts¶

Temporary Profile Workflows¶

Workflow 1: Lidarr - Get Music Now, Upgrade Later¶

Workflow 2: Radarr - 4K Then 1080p Fallback¶

Workflow 3: Sonarr - New Episodes vs Back Catalog¶

Best Practices¶

1. Create Appropriate Profiles in Arr First¶

2. Use Descriptive Profile Names¶

3. Start Without Temp Profiles¶

4. Set Realistic Timeout¶

5. Monitor Profile Switches¶

6. Test Profile Names¶

Troubleshooting¶

Profile Switches Not Working¶

Profiles Don't Reset¶

API Errors¶

Downloads But No Upgrade¶

Profile Strategy Guide¶

For Radarr (Movies)¶

For Sonarr (TV Shows)¶

For Lidarr (Music)¶

See Also¶