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-= Automation / Optimization Overview =
+====== Media Automation Overview ======
+The core philosophy behind a modern self-hosted media ecosystem is **set it and forget it**. Once properly designed, the system should continuously monitor, acquire, process, optimize, and present media with **minimal human intervention**.\\
-An overview of the automation ecosystem, including downloaders, media processors, and orchestration tools.
+Automation tools are not optional enhancements — they are the **control plane** that makes large libraries manageable, scalable, and sustainable over time.
+This page introduces the automation concepts used throughout Trash Panda Guides and explains how the tools in this ecosystem **complement one another**. Individual configuration and tuning is covered in dedicated pages.
+===== Why Automation Matters =====
+Manual media management does not scale.
+Without automation, a growing library quickly becomes:
+  * Time-consuming to maintain
+  * Inconsistent in quality
+  * Fragile during upgrades or rebuilds
+  * Prone to human error
+Automation shifts responsibility from the operator to the system. Once configured:
+  * New content is discovered automatically
+  * Missing or upgraded releases are tracked continuously
+  * Media is processed consistently
+  * Libraries self-heal when files are replaced or improved
+The result is a media environment that behaves more like an appliance than a hobby project.
+===== Set It and Forget It: The End State =====
+In a properly designed automation stack:
+  * You express *intent* (what you want)
+  * The system handles *execution* (how it happens)
+Examples:
+  * Adding a movie triggers search, acquisition, import, and optimization
+  * Higher-quality releases automatically replace inferior ones
+  * Media is standardized without manual intervention
+  * Plex reflects changes without rescans or micromanagement
+This is not about piracy — it is about **self-management**.
+===== The Automation Ecosystem (High Level) =====
+Each tool in the stack has a **single, clearly defined responsibility**. Overlap is intentional but controlled.
+At a high level:
+  * Indexing tools discover content sources
+  * Management tools track desired media
+  * Download tools acquire content
+  * Post-processing tools normalize and optimize media
+  * Plex presents the final result
+No single tool does everything — and that is by design.
+===== How the Tools Work Together =====
+A typical automated flow looks like this:
+. You add a movie, show, or artist
+. Management tools monitor for availability
+. Indexers provide searchable sources
+. Download clients retrieve the content
+. Media is imported into the library
+. Optimization tools standardize files
+. Plex updates automatically
+Each step is handled by a tool specialized for that task.
+===== Tool Overview =====
+==== Prowlarr ====
+Prowlarr is the **indexer management layer** for the automation stack.
+Primary responsibilities:
+  * Centralized management of indexers
+  * Consistent configuration across Sonarr and Radarr
+  * Health monitoring of indexer availability
+Why it matters:
+Without Prowlarr, each application manages indexers independently, leading to duplicated effort, inconsistent results, and configuration drift.
+Prowlarr ensures that discovery is **uniform and reliable** across the ecosystem.
+==== Sonarr ====
+Sonarr manages **episodic television content**.
+Primary responsibilities:
+  * Track TV series and seasons
+  * Monitor for missing or upgraded episodes
+  * Enforce quality and format expectations
+  * Coordinate downloads and imports
+Why it matters:
+TV libraries change constantly. Sonarr ensures that episodes appear automatically, stay complete, and improve over time without manual checks.
+==== Radarr ====
+Radarr manages **movie libraries**.
+Primary responsibilities:
+  * Track wanted movies
+  * Search for available releases
+  * Enforce quality and format rules
+  * Replace inferior versions automatically
+Why it matters:
+Movies are static, but releases are not. Radarr ensures your movie library converges toward your desired quality over time.
+==== Jackett ====
+Jackett provides **indexer compatibility and translation**.
+Primary responsibilities:
+  * Bridge unsupported or custom indexers
+  * Normalize indexer APIs for automation tools
+  * Extend discovery beyond native support
+Why it matters:
+Not all indexers integrate cleanly. Jackett expands the ecosystem’s reach without forcing compromises elsewhere.
+==== qBittorrent ====
+qBittorrent is the **acquisition engine**.
+Primary responsibilities:
+  * Execute downloads requested by automation tools
+  * Manage torrent lifecycle
+  * Report status and completion
+Why it matters:
+Automation tools do not download media themselves. qBittorrent provides a stable, scriptable, automation-friendly backend for acquisition.
+==== Unmanic ====
+Unmanic is the **media normalization and optimization layer**.
+Primary responsibilities:
+  * Standardize codecs and containers
+  * Reduce storage footprint
+  * Enforce consistency across libraries
+  * Operate continuously in the background
+Why it matters:
+Media sourced from multiple origins is inherently inconsistent. Unmanic ensures your library remains efficient, predictable, and Plex-friendly over time.
+===== Complementary, Not Redundant =====
+These tools are intentionally specialized:
+  * Discovery is separate from management
+  * Management is separate from acquisition
+  * Acquisition is separate from optimization
+  * Playback is separate from all of the above
+This separation:
+  * Reduces failure domains
+  * Simplifies troubleshooting
+  * Allows components to be replaced independently
+  * Keeps the system understandable months or years later
+===== Automation as Infrastructure =====
+Treat automation tools like infrastructure, not applications.
+Once configured:
+  * They should require minimal attention
+  * Logs should be quiet
+  * Intervention should be rare and deliberate
+If you are constantly “fixing” automation, something upstream is misdesigned.
+===== Where This Page Fits =====
+This page exists to:
+  * Introduce automation concepts
+  * Explain *why* these tools exist
+  * Provide mental models for how they interact
+It intentionally avoids:
+  * Installation steps
+  * Configuration screenshots
+  * Tuning recommendations
+Each tool has a dedicated guide that builds on the concepts introduced here.
+===== Philosophy Recap =====
+Automation is not about convenience — it is about **resilience**.
+A properly automated media ecosystem:
+  * Survives operator absence
+  * Recovers from failures gracefully
+  * Improves itself over time
+  * Scales without added complexity
+When designed correctly, the system runs quietly in the background — exactly as intended.