How to Manually Install Radarr on Ubuntu 24.04

This guide explains how to manually install and configure Radarr on Ubuntu 24.04.

The instructions in this article are based on the supplied Radarr Ansible Playbook. The Ansible playbook automatically installs the latest Linux x64 version of Radarr, creates a dedicated system user, creates the required directories, configures a systemd service, and starts Radarr on port 7878.

1. What Is Radarr?

Radarr is an application used to manage and organize movies. It can monitor movie releases and work with download clients and media-management systems.

In this installation, Radarr runs as a background Linux service using systemd.

The web interface is available on:

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:7878

For example:

http://192.168.1.100:7878

Your server IP address will be different.

2. Configuration Used by the Ansible Playbook

3. Check Your Ubuntu Version

First, verify that your server is running Ubuntu 24.04.

Run:

lsb_release -a

You can also run:

cat /etc/os-release

The operating system should report Ubuntu 24.04.

4. Update the Ubuntu Package List

The first installation task in the Ansible playbook updates the APT package cache.

Run:

sudo apt update

Wait until the command finishes.

5. Install the Required Packages

The Ansible playbook installs the following packages:

• curl
• wget
• mediainfo
• sqlite3
• ca-certificates
• tar

Install them manually with:

sudo apt install -y curl wget mediainfo sqlite3 ca-certificates tar

6. Create the Radarr Group

The playbook creates a dedicated Linux group called radarr.

Create the group manually:

sudo groupadd radarr

If the group already exists, you may receive a message saying that the group already exists. If so, you can continue to the next step.

7. Create the Radarr System User

The playbook creates a system user called radarr.

The user:

• Belongs to the radarr group.
• Is a system account.
• Does not have a home directory.
• Uses /usr/sbin/nologin as its shell.

Create the user:

sudo useradd \
--system \
--gid radarr \
--no-create-home \
--shell /usr/sbin/nologin \
radarr

8. Create the Radarr Configuration Directory

The playbook stores Radarr's application data in:

/var/lib/radarr

Create the directory:

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/radarr

Change ownership to the Radarr user and group:

sudo chown radarr:radarr /var/lib/radarr

Set the directory permissions:

sudo chmod 0755 /var/lib/radarr

9. Get the Latest Radarr Release

Unlike a fixed version installation, the supplied Ansible playbook does not specify a particular Radarr version.

Instead, it contacts the official Radarr GitHub API and asks for the latest release.

You can view the latest Radarr release information with:

curl -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
https://api.github.com/repos/Radarr/Radarr/releases/latest

The output contains information about the latest release and its downloadable files.

10. Find the Linux x64 Download

The playbook searches the latest release for an asset matching:

linux-core-x64.tar.gz

To see the available release assets, run:

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/Radarr/Radarr/releases/latest \
| grep "browser_download_url"

Look through the output for the Linux x64 archive ending in:

linux-core-x64.tar.gz

Copy the complete download URL.

11. Download Radarr

The Ansible playbook downloads the selected archive to:

/tmp/radarr.tar.gz

Replace RADARR_DOWNLOAD_URL below with the URL you found in the previous step.

sudo wget -O /tmp/radarr.tar.gz "RADARR_DOWNLOAD_URL"

Example format:

sudo wget -O /tmp/radarr.tar.gz "https://github.com/Radarr/Radarr/releases/download/RELEASE/linux-core-x64.tar.gz"

The exact URL will depend on the current latest Radarr release.

12. Check the Downloaded Archive

Check that the archive exists:

ls -lh /tmp/radarr.tar.gz

You should see the downloaded archive.

You can also check the file type:

file /tmp/radarr.tar.gz

13. Remove an Existing Radarr Installation

The supplied playbook removes the existing installation directory before installing the new release.

The directory is:

/opt/Radarr

Remove it with:

sudo rm -rf /opt/Radarr

14. Create the Radarr Installation Directory

Create the installation directory:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/Radarr

Change ownership:

sudo chown radarr:radarr /opt/Radarr

Set permissions:

sudo chmod 0755 /opt/Radarr

15. Extract Radarr

The playbook extracts the downloaded archive into /opt.

Run:

sudo tar -xzf /tmp/radarr.tar.gz -C /opt

After extraction, check the directory:

ls -la /opt/Radarr

You should see the Radarr application files.

16. Set Radarr Ownership

The playbook changes ownership of the entire Radarr installation to the radarr user and group.

Run:

sudo chown -R radarr:radarr /opt/Radarr

Verify:

ls -ld /opt/Radarr

17. Check the Radarr Executable

The systemd service in the Ansible playbook starts:

/opt/Radarr/Radarr

Check that the executable exists:

ls -l /opt/Radarr/Radarr

18. Create the Radarr systemd Service

The Ansible playbook creates a systemd service named:

radarr.service

Create the service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/radarr.service

Paste the following:

[Unit]
Description=Radarr Daemon
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=radarr
Group=radarr
Type=simple
ExecStart=/opt/Radarr/Radarr -nobrowser -data=/var/lib/radarr
TimeoutStopSec=20
KillMode=process
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the file:

• Press Ctrl + O
• Press Enter
• Press Ctrl + X

19. Reload systemd

Ubuntu needs to reload systemd so that it detects the new Radarr service.

Run:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

20. Enable Radarr at Startup

The playbook enables Radarr so that it automatically starts when Ubuntu boots.

Run:

sudo systemctl enable radarr

21. Start Radarr

Start the Radarr service:

sudo systemctl start radarr

22. Check the Radarr Service

Check whether Radarr is running:

sudo systemctl status radarr

Look for:

Active: active (running)

Press q to exit the status screen.

23. Check Whether Radarr Is Active

Run:

systemctl is-active radarr

The expected result is:

active

24. Check Whether Radarr Is Enabled

Verify that Radarr will start automatically after a reboot:

systemctl is-enabled radarr

The expected result is:

enabled

25. Check Port 7878

The supplied Ansible playbook waits for Radarr to become available on port 7878.

You can manually check the port with:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7878

If Radarr is running correctly, you should see a listening socket containing port 7878.

26. Check All Listening Ports

You can also display all TCP listening ports:

sudo ss -ltnp

Look for port 7878.

27. Find the Ubuntu Server IP Address

To open Radarr from another computer, you need the IP address of the Ubuntu server.

Run:

hostname -I

Example:

192.168.1.100

Your server will have a different IP address.

28. Open Radarr in a Web Browser

Once the service is running, open a browser on a computer that can reach the Ubuntu server.

Enter:

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:7878

For example:

http://192.168.1.100:7878

29. Allow Port 7878 Through UFW

If Ubuntu's UFW firewall is enabled, you may need to allow TCP port 7878.

First check the firewall:

sudo ufw status

If UFW is active and you need Radarr to be accessible from another machine, allow port 7878:

sudo ufw allow 7878/tcp

Check the firewall again:

sudo ufw status

30. Check Radarr Logs

If Radarr does not start, systemd logs are useful for finding the problem.

Display the latest Radarr log entries:

sudo journalctl -u radarr --no-pager -n 50

To watch the logs live:

sudo journalctl -u radarr -f

Press Ctrl + C to stop watching the logs.

31. Check the Radarr Installation Files

Check the installation directory:

ls -la /opt/Radarr

Check the configuration directory:

ls -la /var/lib/radarr

32. Check Radarr Ownership

The Ansible playbook makes the radarr user and group the owners of the installation.

Check the installation directory:

ls -ld /opt/Radarr

Check the configuration directory:

ls -ld /var/lib/radarr

The owner and group should show:

radarr radarr

33. Remove the Temporary Download

The Ansible playbook removes the downloaded archive after installation.

Remove it manually:

sudo rm -f /tmp/radarr.tar.gz

Verify that it has been removed:

ls -l /tmp/radarr.tar.gz

If the file does not exist, the cleanup was successful.

34. Troubleshooting

Problem: Radarr service is not running

Check the service:

sudo systemctl status radarr

Then check the logs:

sudo journalctl -u radarr --no-pager -n 100

Problem: Port 7878 is not listening

Check the port:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7878

If nothing is returned, check the Radarr service:

sudo systemctl status radarr

Then check the logs:

sudo journalctl -u radarr --no-pager -n 100

Problem: Radarr executable is missing

Check whether the Radarr executable exists:

ls -l /opt/Radarr/Radarr

If it is missing, check the contents of the directory:

ls -la /opt/Radarr

If the archive was extracted incorrectly, repeat the download and extraction steps.

Problem: Permission denied

Make sure the installation belongs to the Radarr user:

sudo chown -R radarr:radarr /opt/Radarr
sudo chown -R radarr:radarr /var/lib/radarr

Problem: Radarr works on the server but not from another computer

First check that Radarr is listening:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7878

Check the server IP:

hostname -I

Check UFW:

sudo ufw status

If required, allow port 7878:

sudo ufw allow 7878/tcp

35. Restart Radarr

If you make changes to the installation or service configuration, restart Radarr:

sudo systemctl restart radarr

Then check the status:

sudo systemctl status radarr

36. Complete Manual Installation Command Summary

Once you understand the individual steps above, the main installation commands are shown below for quick reference.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y curl wget mediainfo sqlite3 ca-certificates tar

sudo groupadd radarr

sudo useradd \
--system \
--gid radarr \
--no-create-home \
--shell /usr/sbin/nologin \
radarr

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/radarr

sudo chown radarr:radarr /var/lib/radarr

sudo chmod 0755 /var/lib/radarr

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/Radarr/Radarr/releases/latest \
| grep "browser_download_url"

sudo wget -O /tmp/radarr.tar.gz "RADARR_DOWNLOAD_URL"

sudo rm -rf /opt/Radarr

sudo mkdir -p /opt/Radarr

sudo chown radarr:radarr /opt/Radarr

sudo chmod 0755 /opt/Radarr

sudo tar -xzf /tmp/radarr.tar.gz -C /opt

sudo chown -R radarr:radarr /opt/Radarr

After these commands, create the systemd service shown in Step 18, then run the following:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl enable radarr

sudo systemctl start radarr

sudo systemctl status radarr

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7878

37. Final Verification Checklist

Radarr should be considered successfully installed when the following checks are successful:

38. Radarr Access Information

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:7878

39. Useful Radarr Commands

Start Radarr:

sudo systemctl start radarr

Stop Radarr:

sudo systemctl stop radarr

Restart Radarr:

sudo systemctl restart radarr

Check Radarr status:

sudo systemctl status radarr

View Radarr logs:

sudo journalctl -u radarr --no-pager -n 50

Follow Radarr logs live:

sudo journalctl -u radarr -f

Check port 7878:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7878

Source:
This knowledgebase article was created from the supplied Radarr Ansible Playbook. The article follows the playbook's configured user, group, installation directory, configuration directory, package requirements, latest-release download process, systemd service configuration, port 7878 verification and service startup procedure.