What is Prowlarr Mcp

Prowlarr MCP is a server that provides tools to interact with a Prowlarr instance using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It is built with FastMCP and allows users to manage indexers, applications, perform searches, check system status, and more, all based on the Prowlarr API v1.

Use cases

Use cases for Prowlarr MCP include automating the management of indexers, performing searches for media releases, checking the status of the Prowlarr system, and updating indexer configurations as needed.

How to use

To use Prowlarr MCP, configure the server with the appropriate environment variables for the Prowlarr API URL and Key, as well as MCP server settings. Users can then utilize the provided tools to list indexers, search for releases, get system status, and manage applications.

Key features

Key features of Prowlarr MCP include comprehensive coverage of Prowlarr functionalities, user-friendly summaries of complex outputs, reliance on environment variables for configuration, and support for Server-Sent Events (SSE) for remote accessibility.

Where to use

Prowlarr MCP can be used in various domains where automation and management of media indexers are required, such as home media servers, automated download systems, and media management applications.

Prowlarr MCP Server

This server provides a set of tools to interact with a Prowlarr instance using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It is built with FastMCP and allows for managing indexers, applications, performing searches, checking system status, and more, all based on the Prowlarr API v1.

Design Rationale

The tools were chosen to expose core Prowlarr functionalities that are useful for automation, status checking, and manual interaction via an MCP-compatible client. The selection is based on the Prowlarr v1 OpenAPI specification (prowlarr-api.json) and common use cases for managing indexers and their associated applications.

Key considerations:

• Comprehensive Coverage: Aim to cover major Prowlarr entities like Indexers, Applications, System Status, History, and Search.
• User-Friendliness: Provide human-readable summaries for complex outputs while retaining full JSON data for programmatic use.
• Configuration: Rely on environment variables for Prowlarr API URL and Key, as well as MCP server settings (transport, host, port, logging) for security and flexibility.
• Transport: Defaults to SSE (Server-Sent Events) for remote accessibility and concurrent connections.

Implemented Tools

1. list_indexers(): Retrieves a list of all configured indexers.
2. get_indexer_details(id: int): Retrieves detailed information for a specific indexer.
3. search_releases(query: str, indexerIds: Optional[List[int]], categories: Optional[List[int]], type: Optional[str], limit: Optional[int], offset: Optional[int]): Searches for releases across indexers.
4. test_indexer(id: int): Tests a specific indexer’s connectivity and search capability.
5. update_indexer(id: int, indexer_config: Dict[str, Any]): Updates an existing indexer’s configuration.
6. list_applications(): Retrieves a list of applications synced with Prowlarr.
7. get_system_status(): Retrieves Prowlarr system status and information.
8. get_indexer_categories(): Retrieves the list of default indexer categories.
9. get_history(page: Optional[int], pageSize: Optional[int], sortKey: Optional[str], sortDirection: Optional[str], eventType: Optional[List[int]], successful: Optional[bool], downloadId: Optional[str], indexerIds: Optional[List[int]]): Retrieves Prowlarr’s history records.
10. test_all_indexers(): Triggers a test for all configured indexers and summarizes the results.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ (Python 3.10+ recommended for yarr-mcp project)
• An operational Prowlarr instance (v1 API compatible).
• uv (recommended for package management within the yarr-mcp project).

Installation

1. Clone the yarr-mcp repository (if you haven’t already):

   git clone https://github.com/jmagar/yarr-mcp.git
   cd yarr-mcp
   

2. Install dependencies:
   Dependencies (fastmcp, httpx, python-dotenv, etc.) are managed by the main yarr-mcp project’s pyproject.toml.
   Ensure you have activated the main project’s virtual environment (e.g., using uv venv):

   # From the yarr-mcp project root
   source .venv/bin/activate 
   # or on Windows (Git Bash/WSL)
   # source .venv/Scripts/activate
   

3. Set up environment variables:
   Create or update a .env file in the yarr-mcp project root, or specifically in the src/prowlarr-mcp/ directory (server-specific will override project root).
   Refer to src/prowlarr-mcp/.env.example for all available options. Key variables:

   PROWLARR_URL=http://your-prowlarr-host:9696
   PROWLARR_API_KEY=your_prowlarr_api_key_here
   
   PROWLARR_MCP_TRANSPORT=sse
   PROWLARR_MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
   PROWLARR_MCP_PORT=6973
   PROWLARR_MCP_LOG_LEVEL=INFO
   PROWLARR_MCP_LOG_FILE=prowlarr_mcp.log 
   

   Replace with your actual Prowlarr instance URL and API key. The API key can be found in Prowlarr under Settings > General.

Running the Server

Ensure your project’s virtual environment is activated.

From the yarr-mcp project root, run:

python src/prowlarr-mcp/prowlarr-mcp-server.py

The server will start, by default using SSE transport on the host and port specified by PROWLARR_MCP_HOST and PROWLARR_MCP_PORT (defaults to 0.0.0.0:6973). You should see log messages indicating the server has started and the SSE endpoint, e.g.:
INFO - ProwlarrMCPServer - Prowlarr MCP SSE endpoint will be available at http://0.0.0.0:6973/mcp

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop Configuration (for SSE)

If the server is running with SSE transport (the default), you can create an MCP_CLIENT_CONFIG JSON file to instruct Claude Desktop (or similar clients) how to connect. For example:

Place this file (e.g., mcp_config.json) in a location your MCP client can access and configure the client to use it (often via an MCP_CLIENT_CONFIG environment variable pointing to this file’s path).

STDIO Transport Alternative

If you need to use STDIO transport, set PROWLARR_MCP_TRANSPORT=stdio in your .env file. The MCP_CLIENT_CONFIG command would then be:
["python", "/path/to/yarr-mcp/src/prowlarr-mcp/prowlarr-mcp-server.py"] (using the absolute path to the script).

Usage Examples

(Assuming the server is running and connected to your MCP client)

1. List all configured indexers:

   @ProwlarrMCP list_indexers
   

   Expected Summary: “Found X indexers. First few: Name1 (ID: Y, Enabled: True), …”

2. Get details for a specific indexer (e.g., ID 10):

   @ProwlarrMCP get_indexer_details id=10
   

   Expected Summary: “Details for Indexer ‘IndexerName’ (ID: 10) retrieved.”

3. Search for releases related to “ubuntu” in PC/ISO categories:
   (Category IDs can be found using get_indexer_categories and examining Prowlarr UI/API)

   @ProwlarrMCP search_releases query="ubuntu" categories=\[4020]
   

   Expected Summary: “Found X releases for query ‘ubuntu’. First few results: …”

Troubleshooting

1. 401 Unauthorized Errors:

   • Verify PROWLARR_URL and PROWLARR_API_KEY environment variables are correctly set.
   • Ensure your Prowlarr instance is network-accessible and API access is enabled.

2. Connection issues (SSE):

   • Ensure the prowlarr-mcp-server.py script is running and listening on the correct host/port (default 0.0.0.0:6973/mcp).
   • Check firewalls or network configurations.
   • Verify the URL in the client configuration matches.

3. Tool execution failures / Type errors with parameters:

   • Check server logs (src/prowlarr-mcp/prowlarr_mcp.log as configured by PROWLARR_MCP_LOG_FILE, and console output) for detailed error messages.

4. test_indexer reports 400 Bad Request:

   • This often means Prowlarr itself found a validation issue with that indexer’s configuration. Check Prowlarr UI.

FastMCP Implementation Notes

• The server uses a global logger instance for application logging, configured for both console and rotating file output (path and level configurable via PROWLARR_MCP_LOG_FILE and PROWLARR_MCP_LOG_LEVEL).
• An asynchronous HTTP client (httpx) is used for all API calls to Prowlarr.
• Error handling in _prowlarr_api_request attempts to catch HTTP status errors and other request exceptions.
• Tools are defined using the @mcp.tool() decorator from FastMCP.
• The server defaults to SSE transport on the path /mcp. This can be changed to stdio via the PROWLARR_MCP_TRANSPORT environment variable.
• The server name registered with FastMCP is Prowlarr MCP Server.
• Refer to prowlarr-api.json for the OpenAPI specification of the Prowlarr API v1 this server interacts with. # prowlarr-mcp