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Spotweb Integration

Spotweb is a Dutch Usenet indexer that consumes spots and headers from Usenet and exposes them as a Newznab-compatible feed. Because SQLite cannot scale to the millions of headers typically found in Dutch Usenet spots, this stack ships with a dedicated MariaDB container specifically for Spotweb.

Ansible has already provisioned the necessary containers and networking, and it has automatically removed the dummy database settings file to ensure a clean start. You only need to complete the following manual UI-side steps to finalize the setup.

Step 1 — Run the Spotweb installer

  1. Open http://<host-ip>:8085/install.php in your web browser.
  2. Click through the initial installer screens.
  3. On the Database settings screen, you MUST enter the values that match your .env configuration:
    • DB Type: MySQL
    • DB Host: spotweb-db
    • DB Name: spotweb (or the value of SPOTWEB_DB_NAME)
    • DB User: spotweb (or the value of SPOTWEB_DB_USER)
    • DB Password: The value of SPOTWEB_DB_PASSWORD from your .env file.

!!! warning "Important: DB Hostname" The DB Host must be set to the Docker DNS name spotweb-db, NOT localhost or an IP address. This is because both the Spotweb and MariaDB containers share the acquisition_net Docker network.

Step 2 — Enter Usenet Provider details

  1. Once the installer finishes or once logged into Spotweb, navigate to Settings -> Server Settings.
  2. Enter your Usenet provider details:
    • Hostname: Your provider's NNTP address (e.g., news.provider.com).
    • Port: Usually 563 (for SSL) or 119.
    • SSL: Check this if using an SSL port.
    • Username: Your Usenet account username.
    • Password: Your Usenet account password.
  3. Connections: It is recommended to set this between 8–20 connections, depending on your provider plan.

Step 3 — Retrieve the Spotweb API key

  1. Click on the user avatar / profile icon in the top right corner of the Spotweb UI.
  2. Navigate to User Profile (or My Profile).
  3. Locate the API Key field and copy its value. You will need this for Prowlarr.

Step 4 — Add Spotweb to Prowlarr

  1. Open Prowlarr and navigate to Indexers -> Add Indexer.
  2. Search for and select the Spotweb (Newznab generic) entry.
  3. Configure the indexer with the following settings:
    • Base URL: http://spotweb:80 (Use the internal Docker DNS name; do NOT use the public URL or host IP).
    • API Key: The value you copied in Step 3.
  4. Click Test to verify the connection.
  5. Click Save.

Prowlarr will now automatically sync the Spotweb indexer to your connected applications like Radarr and Sonarr.

Troubleshooting

  • /install.php returns a blank page or "already installed": Confirm that Ansible successfully removed dbsettings.inc.php. You can check the container volume for this file.
  • Spotweb cannot reach the Database: Verify that both the spotweb and spotweb-db containers are running and attached to the acquisition_net network. Double-check that the credentials in .env match those entered in the installer.
  • Prowlarr test fails: Ensure that the Base URL in Prowlarr uses the container name spotweb rather than localhost or the host IP, as they communicate over the internal Docker network.