Best Self Hosted Alternatives to WinRAR

Unpackerr is a small single-binary application written in Go that runs as a daemon on download hosts or seedboxes. It watches configured download folders and polls Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr and Readarr to automatically extract archive files when downloads are marked complete.

Key Features

• Polls Starr apps (Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr, Readarr) and inspects download queues, extracting archives when items are Completed.
• Watch-folder mode to extract archives independently of Starr apps.
• Supports many archive formats and recursive extraction (rar, zip, 7z, tar, tgz, gz, bz2, iso, etc.), including multi-file and password-protected archives for RAR/7ZIP.
• Extracts to a temporary location then moves files back for Completed Download Handling; deletes extracted files after import.
• Runs on Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, Windows and in Docker; official multi-arch container images are published and CI builds are provided.
• Webhooks and pre/post-extract script hooks for notifications and custom automation; configurable poll intervals and logging.

Use Cases

• Automatically extract and prepare downloaded media for import by Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr/Readarr without manual intervention.
• Run on a seedbox or home server (container or native) to keep download folders auto-extracted and tidy.
• Integrate with notification or automation systems via webhooks and script hooks to trigger downstream tasks after extraction.

Limitations and Considerations

• Archive detection is based on file extension; incorrectly named files may not be recognized for extraction.
• Multi-file and password-protected archive support is limited to certain formats (RAR and 7ZIP), per current extractor capabilities.
• ISO extraction is supported but disabled by default and must be enabled explicitly if required.
• Files in Warning or Error states from download clients are not extracted; correct client status and filesystem permissions are required for reliable operation.
• When deployed in containers, path/volume mounts and user IDs must match other services (e.g., Sonarr/Radarr) so Unpackerr can locate and move files.

Unpackerr provides a focused, production-tested extractor for media automation workflows. It emphasizes a small footprint, configurable behavior, and integration hooks for notifications and custom scripts to fit into homelab and seedbox environments.