How to set up Prowlarr without Docker

Connects your download automation to torrent and Usenet sites. Set it up once and the rest use it. Cresdock runs it on a server you own, from a catalogue, with no Docker and no reverse proxy to configure.

What Cresdock does for you with Prowlarr

Its configuration is written before the container ever starts — including the web address it lives at, so Prowlarr generates correct links from the first page load instead of half-working behind a prefix.
Reached through your panel login. There is no second password to invent for Prowlarr and no port to open on your firewall.
Seeded with its own API key and web address the moment it's installed, authenticated through your panel login — no separate Prowlarr password.
Adding your own indexers happens in Prowlarr's own UI, because they're your accounts with those sites. Passing that list on is not: Prowlarr keeps Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr's search sites in step for you, and anything you pick straight out of Prowlarr's own search goes to your download client.
Install FlareSolverr and Prowlarr starts using it for the sites that put a check in front of every visitor, without being asked.
Mylar and ruTorrent aren't on that list — those two stay yours to connect by hand.

Why run Prowlarr yourself

The whole point of these tools is that they run unattended. On a desktop that gets shut down, they simply miss things.

What kind of server Prowlarr needs

These are small, patient programs. They spend most of their time asleep and wake up to check for something new, so 1 GB of memory covers several of them at once. What they need is to be running when you aren't watching.

Cresdock itself is undemanding — it runs on a small rented server, an old desktop or a mini PC, on Ubuntu or Debian. Everything it installs shares that machine, so the honest question is not "will this app run" but "how much am I going to put on here in total".

Where to run Prowlarr

Prowlarr runs wherever Cresdock runs, and the choice is about the machine, not the app:

At home, on hardware you already own. A mini PC, an old desktop or a NAS that can run Debian. Cresdock works behind a home router with no port forwarding and no domain, so Prowlarr is reachable on your own network first and from outside only if you choose.
On a rented server. A small VPS is enough for most apps and is the usual answer when Prowlarr should be reachable from anywhere. The setup guide covers the specs and the one-command install.
Through a provider that runs Cresdock. Hosting companies deploy Cresdock workspaces for their customers, so Prowlarr can come with a server you rent rather than one you set up — ask your provider, or see how providers offer it.

Installing Prowlarr

Put Cresdock on a server
One line on any Ubuntu or Debian machine — a rented VPS, a spare PC, a home server. It sets itself up.
Pick Prowlarr from the catalogue
Click Install. The panel pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets a certificate and starts it.
Open it from your dashboard
Its address and any login details are on its card. Start, stop, update, roll back or remove it from the same place, any time.

What's left for you to do

Cresdock does not pretend to do the parts that are genuinely yours to decide. After it's running:

Open Prowlarr and add your indexers/trackers. Sonarr and Radarr will use them automatically

What this replaces

Doing it by hand means writing something like this, then keeping it working:

services:
  prowlarr:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/prowlarr:2.5.2.5491-ls155
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9696:9696"
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
    volumes:
      - ./prowlarr/config:/config

And that is the easy half. Still to do:

Install a reverse proxy and write a server block for it
Get a TLS certificate and set up automatic renewal
Create the folders above with the right ownership, or it will not start
Repeat all of it for the next app, and again on every server rebuild

On Cresdock, Prowlarr is one click and none of the above exists.

Common questions

Do I need to know Docker to run Prowlarr?

No. Cresdock installs Prowlarr in one click from its catalogue: it pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets an HTTPS certificate and starts it. Prowlarr's configuration is written before it first starts, so it opens already set up.

What happens to my Prowlarr data when it updates?

Cresdock updates the Prowlarr image and leaves its stored data in place. Prowlarr keeps its own files in its own folder, which survives an update, a rebuild and a reinstall — and Cresdock never writes into it.

Can I run Prowlarr at home instead of on a VPS?

Yes. Cresdock runs on a mini PC, an old desktop or anything that boots Debian, behind a normal home router with no port forwarding, and Prowlarr is reachable on your own network first. A rented server is only needed when Prowlarr must be reachable from anywhere without a VPN.

Can I remove Prowlarr later?

Yes. Cresdock removes Prowlarr in one click, and asks whether to keep its configuration for a future reinstall. Nothing else you have installed is affected.

Looking for what Prowlarr itself can do? That lives in its own documentation — this page is only about running it.

Pairs well with: Radarr · Recyclarr · qBittorrent · how Prowlarr connects to your other apps

Before you start: where to rent a server · what it needs to run · Cresdock vs QuickBox · the seedbox panel in full · sell workspaces to your customers