Setup Walkthrough

Setup walkthrough

The first time an admin signs in, ARM opens a short walkthrough that covers everything a new install needs. It never duplicates Settings: each step uses the same controls you'll find there later, so whatever you set here is what Settings shows.

• Your progress is saved. Each step saves when you press Continue (drive changes save as you make them). Close the tab and ARM resumes at the first step you haven't finished.
• Only the first step is required. Every other step lets you continue even with a problem; it is then marked Needs attention.
• Finish later (top right) takes you to the dashboard and turns the walkthrough off for the whole server: it won't open again on any browser or at the next sign-in. The dashboard keeps a checklist of what's left. To pick setup back up, use Settings, System, Run setup again.

1. Secure your account

Set your own admin password. Until you do, every other part of ARM stays locked. To let people on your network view ARM without signing in (read-only), use Settings, Users later.

2. System check

ARM checks the folders and services it was installed with:

• Storage: the media library, raw rips and logs folders. A folder ARM can't write to comes with the exact command to run on the server, for example sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /home/me/arm/media. Run it, then press Check again.
• Ripper service: whether ARM can start a ripper for each drive. If not, drives can't be enrolled until it's fixed.
• Transcoder: whether encoding runs on this server, on a remote host, or not at all (a ripper-only install).

These values come from .env and docker-compose, so fixes happen on the server. Later: Settings, System.

3. Drives

ARM finds optical drives on its own and rescans every 30 seconds. Enroll a drive to start its ripper (a few seconds), or Ignore a drive ARM should leave alone. After enrolling you can give it a friendly name and say whether it reads 4K UHD discs.

No drive at all? ARM can rip ISO image files. Set ARM_HOST_ISO_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/your/isos in ~/arm/.armctl/.env and run armctl up; ARM mounts that folder read-only for you. Later: Settings, Drives.

4. MakeMKV

Use the free beta key (ARM fetches and renews it each month) or your purchased key. ARM can't test a key on its own: a drive's ripper checks it, and the status line updates when it has. Two options keep Blu-ray decryption data current. Later: Settings, Metadata and Settings, Ripping.

5. Find titles (optional)

Add a free TMDb or OMDb key so ARM can name your files, and press Test to check it. TVDB adds TV episode numbering. TVmaze, MusicBrainz and the ARM disc database need no key. Skip this and ARM names files from the disc label, and you confirm titles by hand. Later: Settings, Metadata.

6. Disc handling

What happens when you insert a disc:

• Fully automatic: ARM identifies, rips and files it.
• Review first: ARM identifies the disc, then waits (60 seconds by default) for you to check the title before ripping. No answer and it rips anyway.
• Manual: nothing starts until you press Start.

Below that, choose what happens to a disc ARM has already ripped: hold it for you (the default), eject it, or rip it again.

This is the default for every drive; a drive can have its own setting in Settings, Drives. Below it, a read-only table shows what each kind of disc gets. Later: Settings, Ripping and Settings, Sessions.

7. Transcoding (optional)

Shows where encoding runs and your graphics devices. Test encoders runs a short real encode on each device (10 to 60 seconds) and shows which formats work. With no graphics device ARM encodes on the CPU. Later: Settings, Transcoding.

8. Notifications (optional)

ARM always shows notifications in its own inbox. Pick a service (Discord, Telegram, ntfy, email and more), fill in its details and Send test. You'll hear about finished rips, rips that need you, and failures. Later: Notifications and Settings, Notifications.

9. Finish

A summary of every step with a link back to it, a live "insert a disc" check, and a Download certificate button so this device stops warning about ARM's certificate.

Afterwards

• The dashboard checklist lists anything skipped or needing attention. Dismiss it when you're done with it.
• Settings, System, Run setup again walks through the steps again with your current values filled in.