Decomplicating my setup
Hi. I am currently pirating on a dedicated server (Debian 12) running i2p, jellyfin, qBittorrent-nox, and a vpn. I tried mullvad for a bit but need to get air VPN set up now. My current setup to actually get content to jellyfin is this:
- Try to find it on i2p, if there skip to step 4
- SSH into server and turn on vpn + qBittorrent
- Torrent Linux ISOs
- SSH again and copy the file into jellyfin (really space inefficient, would love a solution to this in particular without shitloads of symlinks.)
- Rename files to work with jellyfin
- Login to jellyfin and refresh libraries
- If Linux ISO not on i2p, cross seed
Obviously this sucks. I know *arr would help, but I don’t know how to set up a VPN to not interfere with jellyfin connections to outside of LAN.
How would you go about automating this? Do you think I am a complete idiot going about it all wrong? (I know I do) Have any of you found a solution to vpns interfering with jellyfin?
I have Plex, Radarr, Prowlarr, and Qbittorrent all installed on the same dedicated server. I'm using a SOCKS5 proxy instead of a VPN, it works great because I set up Qbittorrent to use the proxy and I just leave it running 24/7. I also have Tailscale installed for remote access, setup for that is dead simple.
Here's my workflow if I'm away from home:
That's it. If I'm already at home, step 1 is not necessary.
Prowlarr and Radarr find the movie on my registered indexers, at the desired quality, and send the torrent to Qbittorrent. Then when the download is finished they automatically rename the files and move them to my Plex library (and they could do the same with Jellyfin). Roughly 10 minutes after I finish step 3 (more or less depending on seeds), the movie magically appears in my Plex library. I don't have to turn a VPN on or off.
You guys turned piracy into an automated factory game (Factorio). Well done.
It gets even more automated/complex when you add in something like overseerr which pairs up with sonarr and radarr to read your library and allows your users to search for a title and request it if it's not in your library. With the click of an approve button the automation will have their desired title on plex in a matter of minutes.
It's definitely not necessary, but damn it's convenient and easy now that it's set up. And my setup is relatively simple. Sonarr is for TV, Bazaar automates subtitles, there's Lidarr for music, and Readarr for books.... The list of 'arrs is long.
Can you elaborate on using a socks proxy? I assumed you would get an isp letter if you used one because people always recommended vpns.
Edit: also I don’t want to use tailscale or plex because proprietary. I’m not sure if it’s with mentioning because it looks like plex and plain router port forwarding will work for me.
Headscale is a self hosted version of tailscale, if you'd like to keep it as an option
I remember that there is a FOSS option, I just don’t see the need for it. My main issues are not being able to run my clear web torrents all the time and having duplicate files. I think I just need to spend a five hours typing simple but slightly too complicated to automate commands in the terminal to fix this.
Everyones process is a little different but that sounds unnecessarily complicated. See my other comment about the arrs through docker. You could probably do it all in a single compose file.
Tailscale isn't necessary, it's just what I use for remote access. And you can use Jellyfin/Emby/Kodi with Radarr too, it's not specific to Plex.
SOCKS5 proxy keeps the letters away (I live in NYC). I've read that it's because ISP's don't bother actually monitoring torrent traffic. They only act when a copyright holder reports your IP for piracy. So if you hide your IP then they can't see you.
A proxy is not encrypted, to be clear. But it turns out encryption isn't actually necessary if you just want your ISP to stop bugging you. If laws change and torrenting becomes more dangerous, I'll probably switch to a proper VPN. But a proxy is faster and easier.
Not OP, but this is good info. I’m going to be doing something like this over the course of the next few days, and these are good details. Thank you.
NP. I used this guide: https://youtu.be/LD8-Qr3B2-o?si=xneR6WNoEb5ND6xm
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://youtu.be/LD8-Qr3B2-o?si=xneR6WNoEb5ND6xm
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
The arrs would be your best bet to reduce your input. If i'm not mistaken you can run them all through docker including a version of qbittorrentb that's bound to a vpn and the only way it access the internet is through that vpn. Or you could split tunnel your vpn and bind your qbittorrent to it and bipass your jellyfin instance.
I too have a similar debian setup with web UI running qbt, whilst also connected to a VPN. Would love to know how to connect to it outside of the local connection.
I have heard legends of a qbt + vpn docker image, but I haven’t found it.