SickBeard on a Seedbox: Legacy TV Automation

What SickBeard Is

SickBeard was the first widely-used TV show automation tool. You add a show, SickBeard searches your indexers, grabs new episodes, renames the files. The pattern Sonarr later refined started here.

The original SickBeard project is largely abandoned. The active descendants are Sonarr, Medusa, SickGear, and SickChill. Bytesized still ships SickBeard for users who started on it years ago and never wanted to migrate.

Should You Migrate?

Direct answer: yes, probably.

• Sonarr is the modern default. *arr-family conventions, cleaner UI, active development, integrates with Prowlarr.
• Medusa is the active SickBeard fork tree, also worth considering.
• SickBeard itself: stagnant. Indexer compatibility breaks over time as Newznab and tracker schemas evolve.

If you're starting fresh, install Sonarr. If you've been on SickBeard for ten years and your config is finely tuned, this guide gets you running on Bytesized.

Installing SickBeard

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

Click "Open" to land on the dashboard.

First-Run Setup

1. Add indexers. Settings > Search Settings. SickBeard supports Newznab and a few legacy torrent providers.
2. Connect a download client. SABnzbd, NZBGet, or one of the older torrent integrations.
3. Set the TV folder. Standard Bytesized layout is ~/files/tv.
4. Add shows. Search and add. SickBeard pulls metadata from TVDB.

Migrating to Sonarr or Medusa

If you decide to migrate after running SickBeard:

1. Note your show list and quality settings.
2. Install Sonarr or Medusa in the panel.
3. Add the same shows; both apps will pick up existing files in the TV folder and start tracking from there.
4. Once verified, retire SickBeard.

There's no automated migration tool, but the show lists are short enough to redo manually for most people.

Common Gotchas

Indexer broken. Newznab schema has evolved. Older SickBeard versions don't support newer indexer features. Update SickBeard if you can; if the build Bytesized ships is too old for your indexer, that's a sign to move to Sonarr or Medusa.

Web UI errors. Clear browser cache. SickBeard's UI was built when JavaScript expectations were different and modern browsers occasionally trip on it.

Renaming failures. SickBeard's renamer is less forgiving than Sonarr's. Standard Show Name - S01E01 - Episode Title.mkv works; deviations can fail.

Slow searches. SickBeard searches indexers serially, not in parallel. With many indexers configured, search runs are slow. Trim to the most reliable few.

FAQ

Is SickBeard free? Yes. Free and open source.

Should I use SickBeard, Sonarr, or Medusa? For a new install: Sonarr. For long-term users: SickBeard works for now, but plan to move at some point.

Will it work with Plex / Jellyfin / Emby? Yes. SickBeard drops renamed files into a folder; the media server reads the folder.

Are there any features SickBeard has that Sonarr doesn't? Largely no. Sonarr is the superset for almost every workflow.

Why does Bytesized still ship it? Long-tail customer requests. Some users have been on it for over a decade.

Ready to Set It Up?

Browse Appbox plans, install SickBeard from the panel. If you're new to TV automation, install Sonarr instead.