Set up Seerr or Jellyseerr for family requests

Connect a media server and Sonarr or Radarr, choose safe default permissions, set request limits, and verify the household flow in Kochab.

Seerr gives household members one place to request movies and series while you keep control of approval, quality, and library destinations. Kochab uses the shared Overseerr-compatible API, so this guide also applies when your service is named Jellyseerr or Overseerr.

Keep the Seerr web UI available while you configure users and services.

1. Connect the media server

In Seerr, open Settings -> Media Server and connect Jellyfin, Emby, or Plex. The internal address must be reachable from the Seerr host or container. Inside a bridged container, localhost resolves to Seerr, so the media server needs its container name or LAN address.

Select only the libraries whose availability Seerr should track, then run a manual library scan after the first setup. This prevents family members from requesting something that is already available but has not yet appeared in Seerr.

If you set an external media-server URL, use an address household members can reach. It is used for links out of Seerr and can differ from the internal address used for server calls.

2. Connect Sonarr and Radarr

  1. Open Settings -> Services in Seerr.
  2. Add Sonarr and enter its host, port, API key, and URL base if it has one.
  3. Select a default quality profile and root folder. Requests fail if those required defaults are missing.
  4. Mark one Sonarr connection as the default.
  5. Repeat for Radarr and mark one Radarr connection as the default.
  6. Enable scanning so Seerr can reconcile request and availability state.
  7. Decide whether Enable Automatic Search should start a search as soon as a request is approved. Leave it off if approval should add the title without an immediate search.

Only mark a service as a 4K server when you run separate standard and 4K Sonarr or Radarr instances. A single instance can use a per-request quality profile instead.

3. Choose how family members sign in

Under Settings -> Users, decide whether to allow media-server sign-in, local sign-in, or both. Media-server sign-in avoids another household password, but Enable New Media Server Sign-In can let any eligible media-server user create a Seerr account on first sign-in.

Review Default Permissions before enabling new-user sign-in. Defaults apply to new users, not existing ones. Start with the smallest set your household needs:

  • Request movies and series, without administrative permissions.
  • No user management, service management, or settings access.
  • No automatic approval unless you intend that user’s requests to bypass review.

Edit trusted adults individually if they need approval or management permissions. Do not grant Manage Users just to avoid request limits; that permission is broader and exempts the user from those limits.

4. Set request limits

Set global movie and series request limits under Settings -> Users. These become the default for users without an override. Pick a period and count that fit your storage and review habits, then give individual overrides only where needed.

Limits cap how often someone can request; permissions decide whether the request needs your approval. The two are independent, so a rate-limited user can still be auto-approved.

5. Test the family flow

Use a non-admin family account for the test:

  1. Sign in and request one movie and one series.
  2. Confirm that each request is pending if the account does not have auto-approval.
  3. Approve the requests as an administrator.
  4. Confirm the movie reaches Radarr and the series reaches Sonarr with the expected profile and root folder.
  5. Confirm Seerr updates the status after the title is available.

6. Add Seerr to Kochab

Follow Connect Seerr and use the API key from Settings -> General. Then open Requests in Kochab:

  • Pending shows requests waiting for review.
  • All shows requests across every configured Seerr connection.
  • Issues shows open issues reported against titles.
  • The add action opens Search & request.

Kochab can approve or decline pending requests and exposes edit, retry, or delete actions when the request state supports them. Kochab does not create users, change permissions, or edit request limits. Do that in Seerr’s web UI.

Common failures

  • Requests fail immediately: verify that one Sonarr and one Radarr service are marked as defaults and that each has a quality profile and root folder selected.
  • Available titles still look requestable: select the correct media-server libraries, run a manual scan, and enable scanning on the Sonarr and Radarr service entries.
  • A new user has too much access: change that user’s permissions directly, then correct Default Permissions for future users.
  • A family member cannot sign in: confirm the chosen sign-in method is enabled and that the media-server account is linked or eligible for new-user sign-in.
  • Kochab has no Requests data: confirm Seerr is added as a Kochab service. Jellyfin, Emby, or Plex connections alone provide library and playback data, not the Seerr request queue.

Official docs