Search Providers

Configure Newznab, Torznab, Usenet retention, and provider search priority.

Search providers tell Comicarr where to look for releases. Comicarr supports Newznab (Usenet indexers) and Torznab (torrent indexers via Jackett, Prowlarr, or native Torznab APIs).

Newznab Providers

Newznab is the standard API for Usenet indexers such as NZBgeek, DrunkenSlug, and NZBFinder.

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
NEWZNABstringPrimary Newznab provider in the format name, host, apikey, categories, enabled.
EXTRA_NEWZNABSstringAdditional Newznab providers. Comma-separated entries using the same format as NEWZNAB.

Newznab Entry Format

Each provider is defined as a comma-separated string:

ProviderName, https://indexer.example.com, YOUR_API_KEY, 7030, 1
PositionValueDescription
1NameDisplay name for the provider.
2HostFull URL to the Newznab API endpoint.
3API KeyYour API key for the indexer.
4CategoriesNewznab category IDs (e.g. 7030 for comics).
5Enabled1 = enabled, 0 = disabled.

Torznab Providers

Torznab provides a Newznab-compatible API for torrent indexers. Prowlarr and Jackett both expose Torznab endpoints.

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
ENABLE_TORZNABboolFalseEnable Torznab provider support.
EXTRA_TORZNABSstringTorznab providers. Comma-separated entries.
TORZNAB_NAMEstringDisplay name for the primary Torznab provider.
TORZNAB_HOSTstringTorznab API URL.
TORZNAB_APIKEYstringAPI key for the Torznab endpoint.
TORZNAB_CATEGORYstringCategory IDs to search (e.g. 8010 for comics in Jackett).
TORZNAB_VERIFYboolTrueVerify TLS certificates.

Usenet Retention

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
USENET_RETENTIONint3500Maximum age in days for Usenet articles. Results older than this are filtered out. Most major providers retain 3500+ days.

Provider Priority

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
PROVIDER_ORDERstringComma-separated list of provider names in search priority order. Providers listed first are queried first.

Search Tiers

Comicarr uses a tiered search strategy to reduce unnecessary API calls.

SettingTypeDefaultDescription
SEARCH_TIER_CUTOFFint14Number of days after release before Comicarr escalates to lower-priority providers.

Tier 1 -- Recent releases

For issues released within the last SEARCH_TIER_CUTOFF days, Comicarr searches only the highest-priority providers in PROVIDER_ORDER. This keeps API usage low for new releases that are widely available.

Tier 2 -- Older releases

Once an issue is older than SEARCH_TIER_CUTOFF days without a match, Comicarr expands the search to all configured providers. This gives the best chance of finding back issues.

Set SEARCH_TIER_CUTOFF to 0 to always search all providers. This increases API usage but ensures the widest coverage from day one.

On this page