Recyclarr Plan

Last updated: 2026-06-13

Purpose

Recyclarr is no longer the active policy layer for Sonarr and Radarr. It is now

documentation/reference only unless the user explicitly asks to reactivate it.

The current VHNIC source of truth is direct Sonarr/Radarr API helpers that keep

new grabs storage-conscious without allowing a separate tool to surprise-change

global quality definitions or profile scoring.

The current VHNIC goal is not to chase huge remuxes or unlimited quality sizes.

TDarr is already being used to normalize video to HEVC, so any future Recyclarr

experiment must not treat x265/HEVC as unwanted.

Current Authority

Authoritative active preference helpers:

• synology/docker/Set-SonarrPreferX265NonAnime.ps1
• synology/docker/Set-RadarrPreferX265.ps1
• synology/docker/Set-ArrWeb1080CutoffNoBluray.ps1
• tools/synology/arr-vhnic-storage-conscious-quality-caps.sh

Read-only drift checker:

• synology/docker/Test-ArrPreferenceAlignment.ps1

Policy summary:

• Sonarr non-Anime profiles prefer VHNIC - Prefer x265 HEVC at score 500.
• Sonarr Anime remains separately controlled and should not be modified by the

broad non-Anime helper.

• Sonarr 1080 and Reality cut off at WEB 1080p and disable

Bluray-1080p.

• Radarr profiles prefer VHNIC - Prefer x265 HEVC at score 500.
• Radarr HD - 720p/1080p cuts off at WEB 1080p and disables

lower-than-1080p movie qualities, Bluray-1080p, remux, and 2160p qualities.

• Storage-conscious 720p/1080p quality caps are maintained by the direct API

helper, not Recyclarr quality-definition sync.

Current State

• Recyclarr is intentionally not running as part of normal operations.
• Historical Recyclarr appdata remains:
• Container: recyclarr
• Image: ghcr.io/recyclarr/recyclarr:latest
• Appdata: /volume1/docker/recyclarr
• Restart policy when present: restart: "no"
• Recyclarr was removed from the active media-project because its intentionally

stopped state made DSM Container Manager report the project as unhealthy.

• The standalone Recyclarr compose file still points at an old Volume 2 path:
• synology/docker/projects/recyclarr-compose/compose.yaml
• Treat this as stale and non-authoritative until it is either archived or

rebuilt for a deliberate future Recyclarr experiment.

Guardrails

• Do not schedule Recyclarr.
• Do not run recyclarr sync unless the user explicitly asks for it.
• Do not include Recyclarr quality_definition blocks without a separate

preview, review, and approval.

• Do not use canned guide templates that penalize x265/HEVC.
• Always run preview/audit first and keep direct Arr helpers as the default

source of truth.

Previous Risk Found

The earlier canned Recyclarr templates were not a good fit as-is:

• They included global quality_definition sync.
• Quality definitions are global per app, so applying them could change file-size behavior across profiles.
• The canned HD/WEB templates penalized x265 (HD) at -10000.
• That conflicts with the current VHNIC strategy, where TDarr is intentionally converting media toward HEVC/x265.

2026-05-25 Sonarr Apply

Added helper:

• tools/synology/recyclarr-live-profile-snapshot.sh
• tools/synology/recyclarr-vhnic-current-profiles-preview.sh
• tools/synology/recyclarr-sonarr-postcheck.sh

What the preview helper does:

• Reads Sonarr/Radarr API keys inside the containers.
• Writes /volume1/docker/recyclarr/configs/vhnic-current-profiles.yml as the Recyclarr container user.
• Runs recyclarr sync --preview --config /config/configs/vhnic-current-profiles.yml.
• Saves preview output under /volume1/docker/recyclarr/previews.
• Does not apply changes by itself.

Latest preview before apply:

• /volume1/docker/recyclarr/previews/vhnic-current-profiles-preview-20260525-142720.txt

Preview result:

• No quality-definition changes.
• No x265 custom format mentioned.
• No new quality profiles.
• Proposed custom format creation and score assignment only.
• Added Language: Not English at -10000 for non-Anime Sonarr profiles.

Applied Sonarr only:

• Sonarr:
• 1080
• Reality

Post-check result:

• 1080 includes expected Recyclarr scores:
• Language: Not English|-10000
• BR-DISK|-10000
• LQ|-10000
• AV1|-10000
• WEB Tier 01|1700
• WEB Tier 02|1650
• WEB Tier 03|1600
• WEB Scene|1600
• Repack/Proper|5
• Reality includes the same expected scores.
• Anime - Dubbed 1080p has the watched Recyclarr custom formats at 0, so the Anime profile was not actively changed by this Recyclarr rollout.

Deferred:

• Radarr:
• HD - 720p/1080p
• Defer until movie TDarr/transcode work is quieter and the movie scoring impact can be reviewed separately.

Intentionally excluded:

• Anime - Dubbed 1080p
• Standard
• Any quality-definition sync
• Any canned guide-backed quality profile creation

2026-05-27 Storage-Conscious Policy

The user requested that Recyclarr/Sonarr/Radarr prefer smaller file sizes for:

• TV
• Kids TV
• Movies
• Kids Movies
• Reality

Implemented as two controlled helpers:

• tools/synology/recyclarr-vhnic-storage-conscious.sh
• Recyclarr-managed custom-format scoring.
• Targets existing Sonarr profiles 1080 and Reality.
• Targets existing Radarr profile HD - 720p/1080p.
• Does not create new profiles.
• Does not delete old custom formats.
• Does not penalize x265/HEVC.
• Does not include Recyclarr quality_definition blocks.
• tools/synology/arr-vhnic-storage-conscious-quality-caps.sh
• Direct Sonarr/Radarr API helper for quality size caps.
• Used separately because Recyclarr quality-definition omissions inherit guide

defaults, which preview showed would have touched unrelated 2160p/remux

values.

• Updates only the intended 720p/1080p quality definitions.

Why the split matters:

• Recyclarr is good for repeatable custom-format scoring.
• Sonarr/Radarr quality definitions are global per app, not per library/profile.
• Using Recyclarr for partial quality definitions can still cause unintended

guide-default changes for omitted qualities.

• The direct API helper avoids changing 2160p/remux definitions.

Applied quality caps:

Sonarr:

Radarr:

Post-apply verification:

• arr-vhnic-storage-conscious-quality-caps.sh preview returned

total_changes=0.

• recyclarr-vhnic-storage-conscious.sh preview returned no pending custom

format or quality profile changes.

• The Recyclarr preview after correction did not include a Quality Definition

section.

Important caveat:

• These quality-size caps are global to the Sonarr and Radarr instances. They

are intended for TV/Kids TV/Reality and Movies/Kids Movies. Anime custom-format

scoring remains untouched, but Anime can still be influenced by global Sonarr

size definitions if it uses the same quality categories.

2026-05-27 Sonarr x265 Preference

The user requested that non-Anime Sonarr grabs prefer x265/HEVC because it is

usually smaller than H.264 at similar perceived quality.

Implemented helper:

• synology/docker/Set-SonarrPreferX265NonAnime.ps1

What it does:

• Reads Sonarr's API key from the running sonarr container.
• Creates or updates one Sonarr custom format:
• VHNIC - Prefer x265 HEVC
• Regex: \b(?:x265|h[ ._-]?265|hevc)\b
• Scores that custom format at 500 on non-Anime quality profiles.
• Skips any profile whose name contains Anime.
• Does not change quality definitions, size caps, monitored state, series

metadata, media files, or Anime scoring.

Applied profile scores:

Reason for the moderate score:

• 500 is enough to prefer HEVC/x265 over similar releases in the same general

quality tier.

• It does not overpower hard rejects such as non-English, low-quality releases,

extras, AV1, or other -10000 guardrails.

• If the future goal becomes "prefer x265 even over stronger WEB-tier release

group scores," rerun the helper with a higher -Score after review.

Commands:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-SonarrPreferX265NonAnime.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-SonarrPreferX265NonAnime.ps1 -Apply

2026-05-27 Radarr x265 Preference

The same smaller-file strategy was applied to Radarr for Movies and Kids

Movies.

Implemented helper:

• synology/docker/Set-RadarrPreferX265.ps1

What it does:

• Reads Radarr's API key from the running radarr container.
• Creates or updates one Radarr custom format:
• VHNIC - Prefer x265 HEVC
• Regex: \b(?:x265|h[ ._-]?265|hevc)\b
• Scores that custom format at 500 on all Radarr quality profiles.
• Does not change quality definitions, size caps, movie metadata, monitored

state, downloads, media files, or root folders.

Applied profile scores:

Commands:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-RadarrPreferX265.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-RadarrPreferX265.ps1 -Apply

2026-05-27 WEB 1080p Cutoff / Bluray Avoidance

The user confirmed that WEB 1080p is acceptable and that Bluray releases are

larger than desired for the current storage strategy.

Implemented helper:

• synology/docker/Set-ArrWeb1080CutoffNoBluray.ps1

Applied changes:

Intentionally not changed:

• Sonarr Anime - Dubbed 1080p
• Radarr Standard
• Quality size caps
• Custom-format scores
• Existing media files

Resulting policy:

• New non-Anime TV and main movie grabs should stop at WEB 1080p.
• Reality TV follows the same WEB 1080p stop point.
• x265/HEVC remains preferred via the VHNIC - Prefer x265 HEVC custom format.
• Bluray 1080p should no longer be grabbed by the main Sonarr/Radarr profiles

that were updated here.

Post-change audit:

• synology/docker/arr-preference-audit/20260604-104115/SUMMARY.md
• Result: 33 pass, 0 warn, 0 fail.

Commands:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-ArrWeb1080CutoffNoBluray.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-ArrWeb1080CutoffNoBluray.ps1 -Apply

2026-06-03 Radarr Main Profile 1080p-Only Tightening

The user decided movies should align more closely with normal TV behavior:

new main-profile movie grabs should target 1080p rather than accepting 720p as

a fallback.

Implemented helper:

• synology/docker/Set-RadarrMainProfile1080Only.ps1

Applied profile:

• Radarr HD - 720p/1080p

Allowed after change:

• HDTV-1080p
• WEB 1080p
• WEBRip-1080p
• WEBDL-1080p

Disabled by the helper:

• SD/DVD/480p/720p qualities
• Bluray-1080p
• Remux-1080p
• 2160p qualities

Custom-format scores were left alone, including VHNIC - Prefer x265 HEVC at

score 500.

Post-change audit:

• synology/docker/arr-preference-audit/20260603-221118/SUMMARY.md
• Result: 31 pass, 0 warn, 0 fail.

Commands:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-RadarrMainProfile1080Only.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\synology\docker\Set-RadarrMainProfile1080Only.ps1 -Apply

Apply Command Used For Sonarr

ssh -i "C:\Users\ravic\.ssh\codex-synology\codex-maint-synology" codex-maint@10.0.0.119 "/usr/local/bin/docker run --rm --network synobridge --user 1027:65536 -v /volume1/docker/recyclarr:/config ghcr.io/recyclarr/recyclarr:latest sync sonarr --config /config/configs/vhnic-current-profiles.yml"

Next Steps

1. Keep Anime untouched unless there is a deliberate separate preview and review.

2. Run Test-ArrPreferenceAlignment.ps1 after meaningful Sonarr/Radarr profile

changes to verify the direct policy has not drifted.

3. Monitor new Sonarr/Radarr grabs to confirm they remain acceptable quality

while avoiding oversized files.

4. Keep Recyclarr stopped/reference-only unless the user deliberately reopens

the Recyclarr project.

5. Revisit Anime separately only if needed.

Anime Notes

Anime is deliberately not included in the first pass. The environment has custom dubbed-anime requirements and Sonarr searches have previously returned Japanese/subbed releases unless the profile and custom formats are carefully tuned.

Anime should get its own preview and review cycle focused on:

• English dub preference.
• Avoiding sub-only releases.
• Handling dual-audio releases without accidentally rejecting good files.
• Avoiding size inflation.

Quality	Min	Preferred	Max
HDTV-720p	0	35	51.3
WEBDL-720p	6.7	40	60
WEBRip-720p	3	40	60
Bluray-720p	0	45	51.1
HDTV-1080p	0	55	95
WEBDL-1080p	0	65	105
WEBRip-1080p	4	55	95
Bluray-1080p	0	70	110
Quality	Min	Preferred	Max
HDTV-720p	0	13	18.6
WEBDL-720p	0	24	29.8
WEBRip-720p	0	24	36
Bluray-720p	0	24	29.9
HDTV-1080p	0	32	44.2
WEBDL-1080p	0	32	44.2
WEBRip-1080p	0	45	70
Bluray-1080p	0	35	44
Profile	Score
1080	500
Standard	500
Any	500
Reality	500
Anime - Dubbed 1080p	0 / skipped
Profile	Score
HD - 720p/1080p	500
Standard	500
App	Profile	Cutoff	Bluray-1080p
Sonarr	1080	Already WEB 1080p	Disabled
Sonarr	Reality	Changed from Bluray-1080p to WEB 1080p on 2026-06-04	Disabled
Radarr	HD - 720p/1080p	Changed from Bluray-1080p to WEB 1080p	Disabled