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Lidarr Configuration

Configure Lidarr integration to automatically add discovered artists to your music library.

Optional Configuration

Lidarr configuration is only needed if you plan to use the --lidarr flag or the import command.

What is Lidarr?

Lidarr is a music collection manager for automatic music downloads. It can monitor artists for new releases and automatically download them.

Prerequisites

  • Running Lidarr instance (version 1.0 or higher)
  • Network access to Lidarr from where you're running Artist Scraper

Get Your API Key

  1. Open your Lidarr web interface
  2. Go to Settings → General
  3. Scroll to the Security section
  4. Copy your API Key

Update config.json

Add your Lidarr configuration:

{
  "lidarr": {
    "url": "http://localhost:8686",
    "api_key": "your_lidarr_api_key_here"
  }
}

Configuration Options

  • url: The full URL to your Lidarr instance
    • Local: http://localhost:8686
    • Remote: http://192.168.1.100:8686
    • With reverse proxy: https://lidarr.yourdomain.com
  • api_key: Your Lidarr API key from Settings → General

Test Connection

Test that Artist Scraper can connect to Lidarr:

artistscraper scrape --lidarr --skip-musicbrainz --spotify-only

If successful, you'll see:

✓ Connected to Lidarr

How It Works

When you use the --lidarr flag:

  1. Artist Scraper fetches artists from Spotify/YouTube Music
  2. Looks up MusicBrainz IDs for each artist
  3. Connects to Lidarr
  4. For each artist with a MusicBrainz ID:
    • Checks if the artist already exists in Lidarr
    • If not, searches Lidarr's database
    • Adds new artists with default settings:
      • Monitored: Yes
      • Search for missing: No (to avoid mass downloads)
      • Root folder: Your default root folder
      • Quality profile: Your default quality profile
      • Metadata profile: Your default metadata profile

Using the Import Command

Instead of adding to Lidarr immediately during scrape, you can:

  1. First scrape and export to CSV: 

    artistscraper scrape

  2. Review the CSV file

  3. Import to Lidarr later: 

    artistscraper import artists.csv

  4. Or filter by play count: 

    artistscraper import artists.csv --min-plays 10

This gives you more control over which artists are added.

Lidarr Settings

Artist Scraper uses your Lidarr default settings:

  • Root Folder: First configured root folder
  • Quality Profile: First configured quality profile
  • Metadata Profile: First configured metadata profile

Make sure these are configured in Lidarr before importing.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to connect to Lidarr"

Causes:

  • Lidarr is not running
  • Wrong URL in config.json
  • Wrong API key
  • Network/firewall blocking connection

Solutions:

  1. Verify Lidarr is running and accessible in your browser
  2. Check the URL is correct (include http:// or https://)
  3. Verify the API key in Lidarr Settings → General
  4. Try accessing Lidarr from the same machine running Artist Scraper

"No root folders configured"

Cause: Lidarr doesn't have any root folders set up

Solution:

  1. In Lidarr, go to Settings → Media Management
  2. Add at least one root folder where music will be stored
  3. Try again

"Artist not found in Lidarr"

Cause: The artist's MusicBrainz ID is not in Lidarr's database

Solution:

  • This is normal for some artists
  • Lidarr's database is periodically updated
  • The artist may not be in MusicBrainz or Lidarr's metadata sources
  • Check --verbose output for details

Artists Added But Not Downloading

This is intentional. Artist Scraper sets search_for_missing=False to prevent:

  • Mass downloads of entire discographies
  • Exceeding download quotas
  • Network congestion

After adding artists, you can:

  1. Review added artists in Lidarr
  2. Manually search for specific albums
  3. Enable "Search on add" in Lidarr settings if you want automatic downloads

Next Steps

Now you're ready to use Artist Scraper: