Home Media Server Guide

Note: In its current state, this guide was largely written by Claude Code but drawing from a mountain of messy notes, config files and outputs from my own server installation. I am in the process of manual review of each section - I have read everything through once and broadly it is correct, but I will update this note once full verification has been completed.

A comprehensive, beginner-friendly guide for building a home media server with automated content management, secure remote access, and VPN-protected downloads.

What You'll Build

This guide walks you through setting up a complete home media server with:

• Plex Media Server - Stream your media library to any device
• Sonarr & Radarr - Automatically download and organize TV shows and movies
• Prowlarr - Centralized indexer management
• qBittorrent + NordVPN - VPN-protected torrent downloads
• Caddy - Secure HTTPS reverse proxy with automatic SSL certificates
• Jellyseerr - Let friends and family request content (optional)
• Bazarr - Automatic subtitle downloads (optional)

Architecture Overview

flowchart TB
    subgraph Internet
        WAN[Internet]
    end

    subgraph Router
        R[Router<br/>Port Forward: 32400<br/>Optional: 80, 443]
    end

    subgraph Server["Your Server"]
        subgraph Optional["Optional: Domain Access"]
            Caddy[Caddy<br/>Reverse Proxy + Auto-SSL]
        end

        subgraph Core["Core Services"]
            Plex[Plex<br/>:32400]
            Jellyseerr[Jellyseerr<br/>:5055]
            Sonarr[Sonarr<br/>:8989]
            Radarr[Radarr<br/>:7878]
            Prowlarr[Prowlarr<br/>:9696]
        end

        subgraph Download["Download Stack"]
            qBit[qBittorrent<br/>:8080]
            Nordlynx[Nordlynx<br/>VPN Tunnel]
        end
    end

    subgraph VPN["VPN Endpoint"]
        VPNEP[NordVPN Server]
    end

    WAN --> R
    R -->|":32400"| Plex
    R -->|":443 optional"| Caddy
    Caddy --> Jellyseerr
    Caddy --> Sonarr
    Caddy --> Radarr

    Sonarr --> qBit
    Radarr --> qBit
    Prowlarr --> Sonarr
    Prowlarr --> Radarr

    qBit --> Nordlynx
    Nordlynx --> VPNEP

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Storage Layout

flowchart LR
    subgraph SSD["SSD (Fast)"]
        DL["~/downloads/<br/>complete/<br/>incomplete/"]
        CFG["~/mediaserver/<br/>config/"]
    end

    subgraph HDD["HDD (Large)"]
        MEDIA["/data/media/<br/>movies/<br/>tv/"]
    end

    DL -->|"Import & organize"| MEDIA

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Prerequisites

Before starting, you'll need:

• Hardware: A dedicated computer (Intel CPU recommended for hardware transcoding)
• The latest Ubuntu Server LTS: Fresh installation
• NordVPN subscription: For VPN-protected downloads
• Basic Linux knowledge: Comfortable with terminal commands

Optional: A domain name if you want pretty URLs like https://media.example.com instead of accessing services by IP address. See Part 3 for details.

See Hardware and Planning for detailed requirements.

Guide Chapters

Part 1: Foundation

#	Chapter	Description
0	Introduction	What you're building and skill requirements
1	Hardware and Planning	Hardware requirements and planning checklist
2	Install Ubuntu	Ubuntu Server LTS installation
3	Install Docker	Docker Engine from official repository
4	SSH Security	Secure remote access with fail2ban
5	Storage Setup	Media and download directory structure

Part 2: Core Services

#	Chapter	Description
6	Install Plex	Plex Media Server with hardware transcoding
7	Docker Compose Stack	Deploy all containerized services
8	Configure qBittorrent	Torrent client setup behind VPN
9	Configure Prowlarr	Indexer management
10	Configure Sonarr	TV show automation
11	Configure Radarr	Movie automation
12	Configure Bazarr	Automatic subtitles (optional)
13	Configure Jellyseerr	Request management (optional)

Part 3: Remote Access (Optional)

Note: Chapters 14-17 are optional. Plex has built-in remote access that works without a domain name or reverse proxy. These chapters are for users who want pretty URLs (https://media.example.com) instead of IP addresses, or who want to expose other services (Jellyseerr, Sonarr, Radarr) externally with HTTPS.

#	Chapter	Description
14	Domain and DNS	Purchase domain and configure DNS (optional)
15	Router Configuration	Port forwarding and static IP
16	Caddy Reverse Proxy	HTTPS with automatic SSL (optional)
17	DDNS Updater	Keep DNS updated with dynamic IP (optional)
18	Plex Remote Access	Enable streaming from anywhere

Part 4: Security and Extras

#	Chapter	Description
19	VPN Kill-Switch	Host-level VPN enforcement (optional)
20	Verification Checklist	Complete system verification
21	Maintenance	Updates, backups, and troubleshooting

Appendices

Appendix	Description
A: NordVPN WireGuard Key	How to get your WireGuard private key
B: Indexer Guide	Understanding indexers and trackers
C: Troubleshooting	Common problems and solutions
D: Service Ports	Port reference table
E: File Paths	Directory structure reference
F: Plex Pass Features	Premium subscription features
G: Sharing with Others	Considerations for sharing your server

Quick Reference

Service URLs (Local Network)

Service	URL	Purpose
Plex	http://server-ip:32400/web	Media streaming
Sonarr	http://server-ip:8989	TV automation
Radarr	http://server-ip:7878	Movie automation
Prowlarr	http://server-ip:9696	Indexer management
Bazarr	http://server-ip:6767	Subtitles
Jellyseerr	http://server-ip:5055	Requests
qBittorrent	http://localhost:8080	Downloads (localhost only)

Key Directories

Path	Purpose
/data/media/movies	Movie library
/data/media/tv	TV show library
~/downloads/complete	Finished downloads
~/downloads/incomplete	In-progress downloads
~/mediaserver/config	Service configurations

Configuration Files

Ready-to-use configuration templates are in the configs/ directory:

• docker-compose.yml - Full service stack
• example.env - Environment variables template
• Caddyfile.example - Reverse proxy configuration
• ddns-config.json.example - DDNS updater configuration

Getting Help

• Check the Troubleshooting Appendix for common issues
• Each service has extensive documentation on their official websites
• The r/selfhosted community is helpful for general questions

Original Documentation

The documentation/ directory contains the original rebuild documentation for restoring from backups. The PLAN.md file documents the architectural decisions made during the original server rebuild.

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Ready to start? Begin with Chapter 0: Introduction