Issuarr

Issuarr is an automated comic book collection manager. Tell it which series you follow and it watches for new and missing issues, downloads them, files and renames them, tags them with metadata, and keeps track of what your collection has and lacks.

It works with cbr and cbz files and gets its series and issue information from ComicVine. It downloads from Usenet, torrents or direct-download sites. You run it on your own computer or server and use it from a web browser.

Issuarr is the actively developed successor to Mylar3, so existing Mylar3 users can switch with their settings and database intact (how). It fits into a self-hosted *arr setup next to Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, SABnzbd and qBittorrent, and its files work in comic readers and servers such as Komga, Kavita and ComicRack.

How it works

1. Build a watchlist. Search for a series by name and add it, or point Issuarr at the comics you already have and it imports them.
2. Issuarr learns the series. It pulls every issue, annual and release date from ComicVine and checks which issues you already own.
3. It finds what's missing. Missing and newly released issues are marked Wanted and searched for on a schedule and through RSS feeds.
4. It downloads them. Results go to your Usenet or torrent client, or are downloaded directly.
5. It files them. Finished downloads are unpacked, matched to the right series and issue, renamed, moved into your library and tagged with ComicInfo metadata.

New issues of the series you follow arrive the same way, week after week.

Features

Your library

• Watchlist of series with per-issue status, cover art, publication details and progress at a glance.
• Import an existing collection. Issuarr scans your folders, reads existing ComicInfo tags and filenames, and matches files to ComicVine series. A status panel shows progress live, and large imports can be stopped and resumed, even across restarts.
• Configurable folder and file naming, for example Marvel/Uncanny X-Men (1963)/Uncanny X-Men 141 (1981).cbz.
• Annuals tracked inside their series or as series of their own.
• Duplicate handling: choose whether the larger file, the cbz or the cbr wins when two copies of an issue turn up.
• Handles libraries with thousands of series.

Finding and downloading

• Usenet: any number of Newznab indexers, sent to SABnzbd, NZBGet or a blackhole folder.
• Torrents: Torznab indexers, sent to qBittorrent, Transmission, Deluge, rTorrent or uTorrent.
• Direct download from GetComics. Issuarr picks the right file even from posts with many links. You can order or switch off download hosts (GetComics' own server, Mega, Mediafire, Pixeldrain and others). Cloudflare is cleared with FlareSolverr, and mirror links can be handed to JDownloader 2.
• Scheduled searches and RSS. Recent releases are searched actively; older wanted issues are caught as they appear in RSS feeds.
• Calendar (weekly pull list). See every comic released this week, and look weeks ahead or months back. Weeks are numbered the way TalkHard numbers its pull lists. Upcoming issues of your series are wanted automatically.
• Failed download handling: a failed download is marked Failed and, with auto-retry on, searched for again.
• One download queue for every source. SABnzbd, NZBGet, qBittorrent, Transmission, Deluge, rTorrent, uTorrent, GetComics and JDownloader 2 downloads show in one list with live progress, speed and time left, and direct downloads can be aborted, removed or restarted.

Filing and post-processing

• Folder monitor picks up anything that lands in your downloads folder. Your download client can also call Issuarr when a download finishes.
• Unpacks zip and rar downloads, including multi-issue packs. Every issue in a pack is matched against your whole watchlist, not only the issue you searched for.
• Issues nothing on your watchlist wants are moved to a review folder or deleted, your choice. Issuarr can also add their series automatically.
• Never silently replaces an issue you own: upgrades follow your duplicate rules.
• Manual post-processing for a folder of files you drop in yourself.

Metadata

• Writes ComicInfo.xml into each file using a built-in copy of ComicTagger. Readers such as Komga, Kavita and ComicRack use it to show titles, credits, story arcs and more.
• Fill mode (default) writes every field ComicVine has but never overwrites a value already in the file, so your hand-made corrections stay put. Skip and overwrite modes are available too.
• Optional conversion of cbr to cbz during tagging.
• series.json files for third-party apps.

WebP conversion (optional)

• Converts the pages of new or existing comics to WebP to save space while keeping the pages looking the same.
• It only converts pages that benefit. Pages that are low quality, CMYK, unreadable, or that would grow are left as they are. Files that don't shrink by at least 10% are left untouched.
• Can run on import, for issues from a chosen year onward.
• Bulk converter with filters, a preview, confirmation steps and an optional folder that keeps your originals.
• Uses every CPU core.

Knowing your collection: the Ledger

• Missing issues: every gap in every series, in one list.
• Collected editions: which trade paperbacks and omnibuses would fill your gaps, and which trades you own whose single issues you also have.
• Trade management: act on a trade, its missing singles or its duplicate singles, with an undo list when files are moved.

Reading lists and story arcs

• Track story arcs across many series and keep them in reading order, optionally in their own folder.
• Import CBL reading lists to add a whole event to your wanted list.
• A reading list, with optional syncing to a tablet.

Integrations

• OPDS catalogue for reading apps on phones and tablets.
• Notifications on snatches and downloads via Discord, Slack, Mattermost, Telegram, Pushover, Pushbullet, Prowl, Boxcar, Gotify or email.
• Web API for scripts and other apps (see docs/API.md).
• Login protection and HTTPS for the web interface.

Requirements

• A free ComicVine API key, from comicvine.gamespot.com/api. Issuarr can't look up series without one.
• Docker, or Python 3 with unrar installed (needed to read cbr files).
• At least one place to download from: a Newznab indexer plus SABnzbd or NZBGet, a Torznab indexer plus a torrent client, or GetComics direct download.
• Optional: FlareSolverr (for GetComics) and JDownloader 2 (for mirror links).

Installation

Issuarr keeps its data in /config/mylar, the same folder Mylar3 uses, so Mylar3 installs can switch without moving anything.

Coming from Mylar3? Your settings and database carry over. Follow Moving from Mylar3 to Issuarr.

Docker (recommended)

docker run -d --name issuarr \
  -e PUID=1000 -e PGID=1000 -e TZ=Etc/UTC \
  -p 8090:8090 \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/comics:/comics \
  -v /path/to/downloads:/downloads \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/issuarr/issuarr:latest

Or with Docker Compose:

services:
  issuarr:
    image: ghcr.io/issuarr/issuarr:latest
    container_name: issuarr
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
    volumes:
      - /path/to/config:/config
      - /path/to/comics:/comics
      - /path/to/downloads:/downloads
    ports:
      - 8090:8090
    restart: unless-stopped

Setting	What it is
PUID / PGID	User and group that own your files (run id on the host to find them)
TZ	Your time zone, e.g. America/Edmonton
UMASK	Optional file permission mask
/config	Settings, database and cover cache (data lives in /config/mylar)
/comics	Your comic library
/downloads	Where your download clients put finished downloads

Image tags. latest is the current release, built from the main branch. dev is built from the dev branch every time a change lands there, so it gets fixes and features first but is less tested. Switch between them by changing the tag; your settings and database stay the same.

The image follows the linuxserver.io conventions and is a drop-in replacement for linuxserver/mylar3. To switch an existing Mylar3 container, change its image and keep your volumes at the same container paths; see the migration guide.

Issuarr's database works best on a local disk. If /config is on a network share or Unraid's /mnt/user, see "Database is locked".

Unraid

Install Issuarr from the Apps tab (Community Applications), or add its template by hand. See Installing Issuarr on Unraid for both methods, which paths to choose, and how to switch an existing Mylar3 container.

From source

git clone https://github.com/issuarr/issuarr.git issuarr
cd issuarr
python3 -m venv venv && . venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 Mylar.py

Useful options: -p <port> to change the port, --datadir <dir> and --config <file> to keep data elsewhere, -d to run in the background, and --nolaunch to skip opening a browser. python3 Mylar.py --help lists them all.

Getting started

Open http://<your-server>:8090. Every page is in the sidebar on the left, and Ctrl K jumps to any series or page by name.

1. Settings > General: enter your ComicVine API key and set the Comic folder to your library (/comics in Docker).
2. Settings > Download clients: connect your Usenet or torrent client.
3. Settings > Search providers: add your Newznab or Torznab indexers, or turn on Download directly from sites for GetComics. If you use direct downloads, set its Download folder there too, and see Using JDownloader 2 if you want JDownloader 2 to handle mirror links.
4. Settings > Files & post-processing: turn on Post-process downloads and Watch a folder for new comics, and point it at the folder where finished downloads land. Turn on Write metadata into files if you want ComicInfo written to your files.
5. Settings > Notifications & advanced: check the Series folder name and File name formats.
6. Add comics. Use Add series in the sidebar to search for a series and add it, or Tools > Import & scan to import the comics you already have.

Issuarr marks the missing issues of new series Wanted and starts searching. Watch progress on the Wanted page, Downloads > Queue, and Tasks > Jobs.

Key concepts

Issue status. Every issue has one:

Status	Meaning
Wanted	Missing; Issuarr will search for it
Snatched	Found and sent to a downloader
Downloaded	In your library
Skipped	Missing, but not searched for
Archived	You own it but keep it outside Issuarr's folder
Ignored	Never search for it
Failed	The download failed; with failed-download handling and auto-retry on, it is searched for again

Series status. A series is Active (checked for new issues) or Paused (left alone). It is shown as Continuing or Ended depending on recent releases.

Search tiers. Wanted issues added in the last 14 days are searched on every scheduled search. Older wanted issues are left to RSS so indexers aren't hammered. You can force a search for any issue at any time.

Naming. Folders and files are built from tokens such as $Series, $Year, $Issue, $Annual, $Publisher, $VolumeN and $Type. The defaults are $Series ($Year) for folders and $Series $Annual $Issue ($Year) for files.

Your metadata comes first. With the default fill mode, Issuarr adds tags your files are missing and never overwrites ones that are already there.

Documentation

• Moving from Mylar3 to Issuarr: switching an existing install, where pages moved, and changing library paths.
• Installing on Unraid: the Unraid template, paths and switching from Mylar3.
• Using JDownloader 2 for direct-download mirror links.
• Troubleshooting: database locking, tagging failures, moved libraries.
• docs/API.md for the web API.

This README and the docs folder are Issuarr's documentation, also published as the website at issuarr.github.io/issuarr. Mylar's old documentation website is no longer run by the Mylar team, so don't rely on it or follow its links.

Getting help

• Troubleshooting covers the common problems.
• Issues: bug reports and feature requests.
• Tasks > Logs shows the log. About shows version details and health checks, and its Care package button bundles logs and settings, with passwords and keys removed, to attach to a bug report.

History and credits

Issuarr is the spiritual successor to Mylar. evilhero created Mylar and wrote most of it. It was rewritten for Python 3 as mylar3/mylar3, and the community carried it on as MylarComics/mylar3. Both have now wound down: mylar3/mylar3 is no longer developed, and MylarComics/mylar3 is maintenance-only while its team works on a separate project.

Issuarr continues from that codebase and keeps adding to it. It is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the Mylar3 or MylarComics teams, so please bring Issuarr questions here rather than to them.

Thank you to: - evilhero, for creating Mylar. - Everyone who contributed to mylar3/mylar3 and MylarComics/mylar3, with code, by helping others, or by donating. - ComicTagger, ComicVine, and linuxserver.io for the container base.

The Backstory

A couple of years ago, a multi-drive failure caused by bad HDD power splitters (lesson learned: don't use power splitters) left me with around 4,000 corrupted files out of 33,000. Paralyzed by the scale of it, I put off fixing it for a long time.

Recently, I teamed up with Claude to clean up the mess, get Mylar3 running, and backfill the missing issues. In the process, I fixed a few bugs and submitted some PRs. When I finally tracked down the right Discord, I found out active development on Mylar3 had effectively wrapped up as the devs moved on to new projects.

That left me with a choice: fork Mylar3 or find something else. I looked into a newer project on the scene, but it was missing several key features I relied on. Wanting to collaborate and avoid duplicating effort, I reached out to the dev and offered to help port over missing features from Mylar.

My offer was promptly—and surprisingly rudely—rejected.

So, here is Issuarr: an AI-assisted rewrite, redesign, and expansion of Mylar.

License

GNU General Public License v3, the same as Mylar. See LICENSE.