Sonarr version: 4.0.16.2944-ls303 by linuxserver.io
Mono version (if Sonarr is not running on Windows): linuxserver docker package versions
OS: Docker on Debian 13
Debug logs: Hastebin
Description of issue:
I’m not sure exactly when this started as i only just recently noticed the issue but Sonarr has started to send numerous copies of the same episode to the download client. In my case this is NZBget. Not only is it sending multiple instances of the episode to the download client, they are being sent without the categorization set in Sonarr. The issue occurs for both automatic and manual searches. Trace logs show where 4 copies of the same episode with only one of them categorized correctly as “sonarr”.
it’s not a given that Sonarr will apply the category at all. Sometimes when grabbing releases, none will be categorized resulting in Sonarr ignoring them and not importing anything once the download is complete.
In the logged example, the show is using the “any” quality profile but I’ve swapped this around with no change in behavior. Using a profile with a specific quality that does not allow upgrades results in the same thing. It seems like Sonarr is just sending any/all matching releases over to NZBget.
Initially i thought the issue was Prowlarr but I configured the indexer directly in Sonarr with no change in behavior.
I’m running two instances of Radarr as well using the same Prowlarr instance, same indexer, and same downloader where the issue does not occur. I’ve been running Sonarr for years as almost a ‘set and forget’ with no issues at all until I noticed this duplicate issue.
I’ve done all i can think in terms of troubleshooting with no success. Pulling my hair out over this one so really appreciate any help.
Your logs only show one NZB sent to NZBget.
2026-02-16 07:01:22.8|Info|Nzbget|Adding report [Impractical.Jokers.S12E11.720p.WEB.H.264-JFF] to the queue.
2026-02-16 07:01:22.8|Trace|HttpClient|Req: [POST] http://pve-ct-nzbget.home.local:6789/jsonrpc: append("Impractical.Jokers.S12E11.720p.WEB.H.264-JFF.nzb", [blob 113840 bytes], "sonarr", 0, false, false, "", 0, "all", [...])
2026-02-16 07:01:22.8|Trace|ConfigService|Using default config value for 'proxyenabled' defaultValue:'False'
2026-02-16 07:01:25.1|Trace|HttpClient|Res: HTTP/1.1 [POST] http://pve-ct-nzbget.home.local:6789/jsonrpc: 200.OK (58 bytes) (2257 ms)
2026-02-16 07:01:25.1|Trace|HttpClient|Response content (58 bytes): {
"version" : "1.1",
"id" : "42160111",
"result" : 37668
}
2026-02-16 07:01:25.1|Info|DownloadService|Report sent to nzbget. Indexer NZBgeek (Prowlarr). Impractical.Jokers.S12E11.720p.WEB.H.264-JFF
Which is correctly sending the category by the looks of it.
I checked for other requests and there are only a few requests to NZBget which look to be related to fetching the queue to track downloads (queue, listgroups and history).
Are you sure these are actually being added by Sonarr and not some other tool?
I don’t think it’s a different tool since it happens for the specific show/episode at the exact time i trigger an automated search. For good measure, I shut down all other tools that talk to NZBget, configured the indexer directly in Sonarr, and tried again with a different show/episode.
Hastebin
This time see 2 releases sent to NZBget for the show/episode I searched with only one categorized. If it helps parse the logs, here’s the name of each:
Un-Categorized:
Last.Week.Tonight.with.John.Oliver.S13E01.720p.HEVC.x265-MeGusta
Categorizied:
Last.Week.Tonight.with.John.Oliver.S13E01.February.15.2026.ICE.720p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb
According to NZBget, these were both added at the exact same second (21:12:12) which this lines up exactly with the logs from Sonarr. Nothing else is talking to NZBget and i’m not sure how else it would know about these NZBs other than the Sonarr search that just ran.
Do the logs on nzbget side show anything about where the request came from? Sonarr’s logs don’t show an additional request (only things for the first, uncategorized one are regarding parsing it).