Overseerr on a Seedbox: Media Requests for Plex and Friends

What Overseerr Is

Overseerr is a request platform for Plex. Your friends and family browse it like a streaming catalogue, click "Request" on a movie or show, and it talks to Sonarr and Radarr to grab the title. They get a notification when it's ready.

It removes the "hey, can you add X" texts. The viewers feel like they're using a streaming service; the automation does the work.

Heads Up: Overseerr or Seerr?

Overseerr development has slowed considerably since mid-2024. The community fork is Seerr, which is actively maintained and packages new features (Jellyfin support, refreshed UI, more notification options) faster.

We ship both as one-click installs on Bytesized. If you're starting fresh, Seerr is the recommended pick. Overseerr is here for people who already run it and don't want to migrate.

The rest of this guide covers Overseerr specifically.

Why Run It on a Seedbox?

Overseerr only does its job if it's reachable from your viewers' phones. A Bytesized seedbox makes that easy:

• Public HTTPS URL, no port forwarding
• One-click install in the same panel as Plex, Sonarr, and Radarr
• Always on
• 10 Gbit, so the catalogue loads quickly even when half a dozen people are browsing
• EU servers in Luxembourg, France, and Netherlands

Installing Overseerr

Open the Bytesized Panel, find Overseerr in the app catalog, click install. The panel handles the container, the reverse proxy, and the URL.

Click "Open" next to it once installed. The setup wizard runs.

First-Run Setup

The wizard walks you through three connections:

1. Plex. Sign in with your Plex account, pick the server you want Overseerr to read from. Overseerr uses your Plex library to know what's already available.
2. Radarr. Add the URL (use the internal URL the panel shows next to Radarr) and the API key from Radarr's Settings > General.
3. Sonarr. Same as Radarr.

Once those are in, Overseerr starts pulling Plex's library and the catalogue. First sync takes a few minutes.

Inviting People

Two ways to bring people in:

• Plex login. Anyone you've shared your Plex library with can sign in to Overseerr with their Plex account. They land on the catalogue, can request, can see what they've requested before. This is the path most people use.
• Local accounts. Create accounts in Overseerr directly. Useful for people you haven't shared Plex with.

You can set per-user request limits and per-user request quality. The default permissions are fine for friends-and-family use.

How Requests Flow

A user clicks "Request" on a title. Overseerr checks if it's already in your Plex library. If not, it sends the request to Sonarr (TV) or Radarr (movies) with whatever quality profile you've set. Sonarr or Radarr finds it through your indexers, hands it to your torrent or Usenet client, and the file shows up in Plex once it's done.

The requester gets a "Now Available" notification when Plex sees the new file.

Notification Channels

Overseerr supports Discord, Telegram, Slack, Pushover, Webhook, and email. Discord and Telegram are the most common picks for friend groups. Set them up under Settings > Notifications.

For approval workflows where you want to vet requests before they go to Sonarr/Radarr, set the relevant users to "Auto-approve: off" and you'll get a Discord ping every time someone requests something.

Common Gotchas

Sonarr/Radarr can't be reached. Use the internal URL from the panel, not the public HTTPS one, when configuring the connection inside Overseerr. The internal URL is faster and isn't subject to rate limiting.

Wrong quality profile. Overseerr defaults to your first Sonarr/Radarr profile. If your default profile is "Any" and you want 1080p, change the default in Overseerr's Settings > Services.

Plex library not appearing. Hit "Sync Now" under Settings > Plex. If it still doesn't pull, double-check the Plex token is current.

Title shows as "Available" but Plex says no. Plex's library scan hasn't run yet. Force a scan in Plex; Overseerr will pick it up on the next sync.

FAQ

Is Overseerr free? Yes. Free and open source.

Should I use Overseerr or Seerr? For a fresh install, Seerr. For an existing Overseerr install you're happy with, stay where you are.

Does it work with Jellyfin or Emby? Overseerr is Plex-only. For Jellyfin or Emby, use Seerr.

Can my friends request without a Plex account? Yes. Create local Overseerr accounts for them.

Will it auto-approve everything? By default, it auto-approves for the admin only. You set per-user permissions; turn auto-approve on or off as you like.

Ready to Set It Up?

Browse Appbox plans, install Plex, Sonarr, Radarr, and Overseerr, and you're done in under five minutes.