Path Mapping Troubleshooting¶

This guide covers path mapping issues between qBittorrent, Arr instances (Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr), and qBitrr, focusing on Docker volume mapping and file accessibility.

Overview¶

Path mapping is one of the most common sources of confusion and errors in qBitrr deployments. When qBittorrent, Arr instances, and qBitrr run in separate containers (or a mix of containers and host installs), they each see the file system differently.

Critical Concept

All containers must see the same physical files at the same path.

If qBittorrent saves a file to /downloads/Movie.mkv (inside its container), but Radarr expects to find it at /data/media/Movie.mkv (inside its container), imports will fail even though both paths point to the same physical file on your host.

Path Mapping Basics¶

The Problem¶

Consider this common misconfiguration:

# ❌ WRONG: Inconsistent paths across containers
services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/downloads

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/completed

What happens:

Radarr tells qBittorrent: "Download this movie to /data/torrents/Movie (2024)/"
qBittorrent doesn't recognize /data/torrents (it only knows about /downloads)
Download fails or gets saved to wrong location
qBitrr can't find the file at /completed when it tries to verify
Import never happens

The Solution¶

# ✅ CORRECT: Consistent paths across all containers
services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents

  sonarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents

Key principle: Use the same container path (/data/torrents) across all services.

Docker Volume Mapping¶

Volume Syntax¶

volumes:
  - <host_path>:<container_path>:<options>

host_path: Physical directory on your server
container_path: Path inside the container
options: ro (read-only), rw (read-write, default)

Common Patterns¶

Single Root Mount (Recommended)¶

# Map entire storage tree to all containers
services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  sonarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

Benefits:

✅ Simplest to configure
✅ No path translation needed
✅ Easy to troubleshoot
✅ Atomic moves work (instant imports)

Directory structure:

/mnt/storage/           (host)
├── torrents/           → /data/torrents (all containers)
├── movies/             → /data/movies
├── tv/                 → /data/tv
└── music/              → /data/music

Multiple Mount Points (Advanced)¶

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents
      - /mnt/storage/movies:/data/movies
      - /mnt/storage/tv:/data/tv

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents
      - /mnt/storage/movies:/data/movies

  sonarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents
      - /mnt/storage/tv:/data/tv

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents

When to use:

Different physical disks for torrents vs. media
NFS/network mounts with different mount points
Quota/permission requirements per directory

Arr Configuration¶

Download Client Settings¶

In Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr, configure qBittorrent download client:

Settings → Download Clients → Add → qBittorrent

Host: qbittorrent
Port: 8080
Username: admin
Password: ********
Category: radarr-movies

Important: Remote Path Mappings

If you must use different paths (not recommended), configure remote path mappings:

Settings → Download Clients → Remote Path Mappings

Host: qbittorrent
Remote Path: /downloads/
Local Path: /data/torrents/

This tells Radarr: "When qBittorrent says /downloads/Movie.mkv, I can find it at /data/torrents/Movie.mkv"

Avoid Remote Path Mappings

Remote path mappings add complexity and are prone to errors. Use consistent paths instead.

Root Folders¶

Settings → Media Management → Root Folders

Radarr example:

/data/movies

Sonarr example:

/data/tv

Lidarr example:

/data/music

These paths must exist inside the container and be writable.

qBitrr Configuration¶

CompletedDownloadFolder¶

In config.toml, set the path where qBittorrent saves completed downloads as seen by qBitrr's container:

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

How qBitrr uses this:

Monitors this folder for new files
Triggers FFprobe verification on files in this path
Sends scan commands to Arr instances with paths relative to this folder

Category-Specific Paths¶

qBittorrent can save different categories to different paths:

qBittorrent WebUI → Options → Downloads → Saving Management

Default Save Path: /data/torrents

Category Paths:
  radarr-movies    → /data/torrents/movies
  sonarr-tv        → /data/torrents/tv
  lidarr-music     → /data/torrents/music

Matching qBitrr config:

[Radarr-Movies]
Category = "radarr-movies"

[Sonarr-TV]
Category = "sonarr-tv"

[Lidarr-Music]
Category = "lidarr-music"

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

qBitrr automatically detects category-specific save paths from qBittorrent's API.

Common Path Mapping Scenarios¶

Scenario 1: All Containers on Same Host¶

Setup:

qBittorrent, Radarr, Sonarr, qBitrr all in Docker on one server
Downloads saved to /mnt/storage/torrents
Media library at /mnt/storage/media

docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.8"

services:
  qbittorrent:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/qbittorrent:latest
    container_name: qbittorrent
    volumes:
      - ./qbittorrent/config:/config
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Single root mount
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

  radarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/radarr:latest
    container_name: radarr
    volumes:
      - ./radarr/config:/config
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Same path
    ports:
      - "7878:7878"

  sonarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/sonarr:latest
    container_name: sonarr
    volumes:
      - ./sonarr/config:/config
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Same path
    ports:
      - "8989:8989"

  qbitrr:
    image: feramance/qbitrr:latest
    container_name: qbitrr
    volumes:
      - ./qbitrr/config:/config
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Same path
    ports:
      - "6969:6969"

config.toml:

[qBit]
Host = "qbittorrent"
Port = 8080

[Radarr-Movies]
URI = "http://radarr:7878"
Category = "radarr-movies"

[Sonarr-TV]
URI = "http://sonarr:8989"
Category = "sonarr-tv"

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

Directory structure:

/mnt/storage/               (host)
├── torrents/               → /data/torrents (all containers)
│   ├── movies/
│   └── tv/
├── media/                  → /data/media
│   ├── Movies/
│   └── TV Shows/

Scenario 2: Mixed Docker + Native Install¶

Setup:

qBittorrent and Arr instances in Docker
qBitrr runs natively (systemd, not Docker)
Downloads at /mnt/storage/torrents

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

config.toml (native qBitrr):

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/mnt/storage/torrents"  # Host path

Why this works: Native qBitrr sees the host file system directly, while containers see /data → /mnt/storage mapping.

Path perspective:

Service	Sees Path	Physical Path
qBittorrent (Docker)	`/data/torrents/Movie.mkv`	`/mnt/storage/torrents/Movie.mkv`
Radarr (Docker)	`/data/torrents/Movie.mkv`	`/mnt/storage/torrents/Movie.mkv`
qBitrr (Native)	`/mnt/storage/torrents/Movie.mkv`	`/mnt/storage/torrents/Movie.mkv`

Scenario 3: Remote Path Mapping (Not Recommended)¶

Setup:

qBittorrent saves to /downloads
Radarr expects /data/torrents
qBitrr sees /completed

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/downloads  # Different path

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/data/torrents  # Different path

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage/torrents:/completed  # Different path

Radarr Remote Path Mapping:

Host: qbittorrent
Remote Path: /downloads/
Local Path: /data/torrents/

config.toml:

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/completed"

Why this is problematic:

❌ Complex to configure
❌ Hard to debug
❌ Path translation errors common
❌ No atomic moves (copies instead of instant renames)
❌ qBitrr may not see files at expected paths

Solution: Standardize paths

Change all containers to use /data/torrents and remove remote path mappings.

Diagnosing Path Issues¶

Symptoms of Path Mismatch¶

Import Failures

[Radarr] No files found eligible for import

Path Not Found Errors

[qBitrr] FileNotFoundError: /data/torrents/Movie.mkv

Instant Import Not Triggering

[qBitrr] Torrent completed but no import triggered

Copy Instead of Move

[Radarr] Importing (Copy): /data/torrents/Movie.mkv → /data/movies/Movie.mkv

(Should be "Importing (Hardlink)" or "Importing (Move)")

Diagnostic Commands¶

Check Container Mounts¶

# Inspect qBittorrent container
docker inspect qbittorrent | grep -A 10 Mounts

# Inspect Radarr container
docker inspect radarr | grep -A 10 Mounts

# Inspect qBitrr container
docker inspect qbitrr | grep -A 10 Mounts

Look for inconsistent Destination paths.

Verify File Visibility¶

# From host: Create test file
touch /mnt/storage/torrents/test.txt

# Check qBittorrent sees it
docker exec qbittorrent ls -lh /data/torrents/test.txt

# Check Radarr sees it
docker exec radarr ls -lh /data/torrents/test.txt

# Check qBitrr sees it
docker exec qbitrr ls -lh /data/torrents/test.txt

# Cleanup
rm /mnt/storage/torrents/test.txt

All three should succeed if paths are correct.

Check qBittorrent Save Path¶

# Query qBittorrent API for save path
docker exec qbittorrent cat /config/qBittorrent/qBittorrent.conf | grep "Downloads\\\SavePath"

Compare to your volume mapping.

Check Radarr Root Folder¶

# Query Radarr API
curl -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" http://localhost:7878/api/v3/rootfolder

Verify root folder path matches container mount.

Fixing Path Mismatches¶

Step 1: Document Current Setup¶

Create a table of current paths:

Service	Host Path	Container Path
qBittorrent	`/mnt/storage/torrents`	`/downloads`
Radarr	`/mnt/storage/torrents`	`/data/torrents`
qBitrr	`/mnt/storage/torrents`	`/completed`

Step 2: Choose Target Path¶

Pick a consistent container path for all services. Common choices:

/data (single root)
/data/torrents (specific to torrents)
/downloads (legacy, less flexible)

Recommended: /data (single root mount)

Step 3: Update docker-compose.yml¶

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Changed from /downloads

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # No change needed

  sonarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Changed from /completed

Step 4: Update qBittorrent Settings¶

WebUI → Options → Downloads

Default Save Path: /data/torrents
Temp Save Path: /data/torrents/incomplete

Category paths:

radarr-movies → /data/torrents/movies
sonarr-tv     → /data/torrents/tv

Step 5: Update Radarr Root Folder¶

Settings → Media Management → Root Folders

Old: /data/torrents/movies
New: /data/movies

Remove Remote Path Mappings:

Settings → Download Clients → Remote Path Mappings → Delete all entries

Step 6: Update config.toml¶

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

Step 7: Restart All Services¶

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Step 8: Verify¶

# Test file visibility
touch /mnt/storage/torrents/test.txt

docker exec qbittorrent ls /data/torrents/test.txt
docker exec radarr ls /data/torrents/test.txt
docker exec qbitrr ls /data/torrents/test.txt

rm /mnt/storage/torrents/test.txt

All commands should succeed.

Testing Path Accessibility¶

Manual Test Workflow¶

Add a test movie in Radarr
Use a small, public domain movie
Monitor download in qBittorrent

Check qBittorrent save path

docker exec qbittorrent ls -lh /data/torrents/

Check qBitrr sees the download

docker exec qbitrr ls -lh /data/torrents/

Monitor qBitrr logs
```
docker logs -f qbitrr
```

Expected output:

[Radarr-Movies] Torrent completed: Movie (2024)
[Radarr-Movies] Triggering DownloadedMoviesScan: /data/torrents/Movie (2024)
[Radarr-Movies] Import successful: Movie (2024)

Check Radarr import
Activity → Queue → Should show "Completed"
Movies → Should show "Downloaded"

Automated Test Script¶

#!/bin/bash
# test-paths.sh

HOST_PATH="/mnt/storage/torrents"
CONTAINER_PATH="/data/torrents"
TEST_FILE="qbitrr-path-test-$(date +%s).txt"

echo "Creating test file at $HOST_PATH/$TEST_FILE"
touch "$HOST_PATH/$TEST_FILE"

echo "Testing qBittorrent..."
docker exec qbittorrent ls -lh "$CONTAINER_PATH/$TEST_FILE" || echo "❌ qBittorrent FAIL"

echo "Testing Radarr..."
docker exec radarr ls -lh "$CONTAINER_PATH/$TEST_FILE" || echo "❌ Radarr FAIL"

echo "Testing Sonarr..."
docker exec sonarr ls -lh "$CONTAINER_PATH/$TEST_FILE" || echo "❌ Sonarr FAIL"

echo "Testing qBitrr..."
docker exec qbitrr ls -lh "$CONTAINER_PATH/$TEST_FILE" || echo "❌ qBitrr FAIL"

echo "Cleaning up..."
rm "$HOST_PATH/$TEST_FILE"

echo "✅ All tests passed!"

chmod +x test-paths.sh
./test-paths.sh

Advanced Topics¶

Atomic Moves vs. Copies¶

Atomic Move (Instant):

File is renamed, not copied
Happens in milliseconds
Requires source and destination on same file system
qBitrr triggers instant import

Copy (Slow):

File is duplicated byte-by-byte
Takes time proportional to file size
Works across different file systems
qBitrr may not detect completion

How to ensure atomic moves:

Use consistent paths across all containers
Ensure downloads and media library are on same mount point
Avoid remote path mappings

Example:

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data  # Both torrents and media on /mnt/storage

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

Radarr Settings:

Root Folder: /data/movies
Download Folder: /data/torrents

Both /data/torrents and /data/movies map to /mnt/storage, so Radarr can do instant moves.

Network Storage (NFS, SMB)¶

Challenge: NFS/SMB mounts may not support atomic moves or hardlinks.

Solution:

Use Docker volumes for NFS:

volumes:
  nfs_data:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: nfs
      o: addr=192.168.1.100,rw,nfsvers=4
      device: ":/mnt/storage"

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - nfs_data:/data

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - nfs_data:/data

Test atomic moves:

# Inside container
docker exec qbittorrent sh -c 'touch /data/test1.txt && mv /data/test1.txt /data/test2.txt && ls /data/test2.txt'

If this succeeds instantly, atomic moves work.

Fallback to copies:

If atomic moves fail, Radarr will copy. qBitrr will still work but imports will be slower.

Permissions Issues¶

Symptom: "Permission denied" errors when accessing files

Diagnosis:

# Check file ownership
docker exec qbitrr ls -lh /data/torrents/

# Check process user
docker exec qbitrr id
docker exec radarr id

Solution: Match UID/GID

services:
  qbittorrent:
    user: "1000:1000"  # Match your host user

  radarr:
    user: "1000:1000"

  sonarr:
    user: "1000:1000"

  qbitrr:
    user: "1000:1000"

Fix existing files:

# On host
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /mnt/storage/torrents
sudo chmod -R 755 /mnt/storage/torrents

SELinux Context Issues (Linux)¶

Symptom: Permission denied despite correct ownership

Diagnosis:

ls -Z /mnt/storage/torrents

Solution: Add SELinux label to volume:

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data:z  # :z for private, :Z for shared

Or disable SELinux (not recommended):

sudo setenforce 0

Real-World Examples¶

Example 1: TRaSH Guides Setup¶

Based on TRaSH Guides recommendations:

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  sonarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storage:/data

Directory structure:

/mnt/storage/
├── torrents/
│   ├── movies/           # qBittorrent category: radarr-movies
│   ├── tv/               # qBittorrent category: sonarr-tv
│   └── music/            # qBittorrent category: lidarr-music
└── media/
    ├── Movies/           # Radarr root folder
    ├── TV Shows/         # Sonarr root folder
    └── Music/            # Lidarr root folder

config.toml:

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

[Radarr-Movies]
Category = "radarr-movies"

[Sonarr-TV]
Category = "sonarr-tv"

[Lidarr-Music]
Category = "lidarr-music"

Example 2: Separate Disks for Torrents and Media¶

Setup:

SSD for active torrents: /mnt/ssd/torrents
HDD for media library: /mnt/hdd/media

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  qbittorrent:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/ssd/torrents:/data/torrents
      - /mnt/hdd/media:/data/media

  radarr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/ssd/torrents:/data/torrents
      - /mnt/hdd/media:/data/media

  qbitrr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/ssd/torrents:/data/torrents
      - /mnt/hdd/media:/data/media  # May not need, but good for verification

config.toml:

[Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

Note: Radarr will copy files from /data/torrents to /data/media because they're on different file systems (no atomic moves possible).

Quick Reference¶

Path Mapping Checklist¶

All containers use same container path for torrents
qBittorrent save path matches container mount
Radarr/Sonarr root folders exist inside container
No remote path mappings configured (unless absolutely necessary)
Test file visible from all containers
Atomic moves work (same file system)
Permissions correct (all containers run as same UID/GID)
CompletedDownloadFolder in config.toml matches container path

Common Fixes¶

# Fix 1: Standardize all containers to /data
# In docker-compose.yml:
volumes:
  - /mnt/storage:/data

# Fix 2: Update qBittorrent save path
# WebUI → Options → Downloads → Default Save Path → /data/torrents

# Fix 3: Update Radarr root folder
# Settings → Media Management → Root Folders → /data/movies

# Fix 4: Update config.toml
# [Settings]
CompletedDownloadFolder = "/data/torrents"

# Fix 5: Restart all services
docker-compose down && docker-compose up -d

Docker Troubleshooting - Docker-specific issues
Common Issues - General troubleshooting
qBittorrent Configuration - qBit setup guide
Arr Configuration - Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr setup

External Resources¶

TRaSH Guides - Hardlinks - Comprehensive hardlink guide
TRaSH Guides - Docker Guide - Recommended folder structure
Radarr - Remote Path Mappings - Official Radarr docs

Path Mapping Troubleshooting¶

Overview¶

Path Mapping Basics¶

The Problem¶

The Solution¶

Docker Volume Mapping¶

Volume Syntax¶

Common Patterns¶

Single Root Mount (Recommended)¶

Multiple Mount Points (Advanced)¶

Arr Configuration¶

Download Client Settings¶

Root Folders¶

qBitrr Configuration¶

CompletedDownloadFolder¶

Category-Specific Paths¶

Common Path Mapping Scenarios¶

Scenario 1: All Containers on Same Host¶

Scenario 2: Mixed Docker + Native Install¶

Scenario 3: Remote Path Mapping (Not Recommended)¶

Diagnosing Path Issues¶

Symptoms of Path Mismatch¶

Diagnostic Commands¶

Check Container Mounts¶

Verify File Visibility¶

Check qBittorrent Save Path¶

Check Radarr Root Folder¶

Fixing Path Mismatches¶

Step 1: Document Current Setup¶

Step 2: Choose Target Path¶

Step 3: Update docker-compose.yml¶

Step 4: Update qBittorrent Settings¶

Step 5: Update Radarr Root Folder¶

Step 6: Update config.toml¶

Step 7: Restart All Services¶

Step 8: Verify¶

Testing Path Accessibility¶

Manual Test Workflow¶

Automated Test Script¶

Advanced Topics¶

Atomic Moves vs. Copies¶

Network Storage (NFS, SMB)¶

Permissions Issues¶

SELinux Context Issues (Linux)¶

Real-World Examples¶

Example 1: TRaSH Guides Setup¶

Example 2: Separate Disks for Torrents and Media¶

Quick Reference¶

Path Mapping Checklist¶

Common Fixes¶

Related Documentation¶

External Resources¶