[Support] Will-Luck - iplayer-arr

iplayer-arr

Official support thread for iplayer-arr, a BBC iPlayer download manager that plugs into Sonarr as both a Newznab indexer and a SABnzbd-compatible download client. It calls the BBC iBL API directly and remuxes HLS streams to MP4 with ffmpeg. No separate Newznab indexer required, no Perl/get_iplayer dependency.

What it does

• Newznab indexer for Sonarr: BBC iPlayer shows up as a normal indexer Sonarr can search

• SABnzbd-compatible download client: Sonarr sends grabs to iplayer-arr, which downloads and remuxes the stream to MP4

• Automatic episode numbering: maps BBC iBL series / episodes to TVDB so Sonarr imports cleanly, including long-runners with no series prefix (Casualty, One Piece 1999) and year-suffixed brands (Doctor Who (2005))

• Optional built-in WireGuard VPN (PIA or generic WireGuard config) for use outside the UK

• Web UI with a dashboard, download history, manual search, and an Episode Overrides page for shows with tricky numbering
  

Install

Template: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Will-Luck/unraid-templates/main/templates/iplayer-arr.xml

The template is pending review for the Community Applications feed. Until it lands there, you can install manually:

1. In Unraid, go to Docker → Add Container

2. Paste the template URL above into the Template field at the top and press Tab

3. Set paths, port, and (optionally) VPN env vars

4. Apply

Default web UI port: 62001 (changed from 8191 in v1.1.1 to avoid clashing with FlareSolverr). Appdata: /mnt/user/appdata/iplayer-arr. Downloads: /mnt/user/downloads/iplayer (point Sonarr's import path at the same directory).

UK IP requirement

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK. If you are outside the UK, you need one of:

• Unraid already running behind a UK VPN or proxy, OR

• The built-in WireGuard VPN enabled in the template (set VPN_ENABLED=true plus VPN_PROVIDER and credentials in the advanced section)

The template already includes the Docker flags the built-in VPN needs (--cap-add=NET_ADMIN and the src_valid_mark sysctl), so you don't need to add anything manually. Full VPN setup guide: https://github.com/Will-Luck/iplayer-arr/wiki/VPN-Configuration

UK TV Licence required

You must hold a valid UK TV Licence to legally access BBC iPlayer content via iplayer-arr. iplayer-arr does not verify this and assumes you are compliant. Full legal terms: https://github.com/Will-Luck/iplayer-arr/blob/main/DISCLAIMER.md

Current version

v1.5.15 (released 2026-07-01):

- Adaptive stall throttle: when several downloads stall together (BBC CDN throttling a season grab, or concurrent ffmpeg remuxes starving each other), iplayer-arr now pauses new pickups, steps download concurrency down and back up automatically, and stops a synchronised stall burst from exhausting retry budgets, so season grabs no longer silently drop episodes

- Geo check overhaul: a DNS failure now reads "DNS error - set VPN_NAMESERVERS" instead of "Blocked", and a non-UK VPN exit is correctly reported as geo-blocked instead of "UK OK"

- Completed downloads are no longer killed during ffmpeg's faststart finalisation on slow storage (NFS, WSL2-mounted paths)

Recent before that:

- v1.5.14 (2026-06-15): fixed a SABnzbd history overflow that made Sonarr report "Download clients are unavailable due to failures" whenever a grab failed before it started

- v1.5.13 (2026-06-11): manual downloads from the web GUI now save with Sonarr-parseable release titles, honouring show overrides and date-based naming

Full changelog: https://github.com/Will-Luck/iplayer-arr/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

Links

• Project: https://github.com/Will-Luck/iplayer-arr

• Wiki (installation, configuration, Sonarr integration, troubleshooting): https://github.com/Will-Luck/iplayer-arr/wiki

• Docker image: ghcr.io/will-luck/iplayer-arr:latest

• Bug reports and feature requests: https://github.com/Will-Luck/iplayer-arr/issues
  

Getting help

For install trouble, configuration questions, or VPN setup help, reply in this thread. For confirmed bugs or feature requests, please open a GitHub issue so it can be tracked and referenced in releases.

Edited July 18Jul 18 by Will_Luck
Current version info updates