Is your home video collection getting out of hand and taking up too much space on your hard drive? Do you have a recent GPU sitting idle most days? What you need is Tdarr. Tdarr is a distributed transcoding system. It can automate tasks such as converting media files to a more compatible format, removing unwanted subtitles and audio tracks, and renaming files to a consistent naming convention. Thanks to a custom component, which I will be showing off in this Home Assistant guide, you can now integrate Tdarr with Home Assistant.
As a Node.js application, Tdarr can be run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Not only that, but it can also operate on x86 and Arm processors. For ease of use, there is also a Docker image available. It uses a number of different open-source transcoding and remuxing engines, such as HandBrake and FFmpeg. The application consists of a server, to which nodes can be connected. The server is responsible for creating a queue of all media files that are waiting to be transcoded, while the nodes do the heavy lifting.
Why integrate Tdarr with Home Assistant
Combine Tdarr with Home Assistant for enhanced automation. Tdarr already automates tasks on its own, but with Home Assistant's multiple integrations, you can elevate your transcoding experience to a completely hands-off process. Integrating with your Plex Media Server, for instance, Home Assistant can stop the Tdarr node on the same system when someone starts streaming, freeing up resources. Another benefit of Tdarr integration with Home Assistant is the ability to manage node turn-on times, such as ramping up transcoding GPUs during periods of excess solar energy.
How to install the Tdarr integration in Home Assistant
As there currently is no official integration, following this guide will require you to install the Tdarr custom integration for Home Assistant. As is always the case when it comes to custom integration and third-party Home Assistant Dashboard cards, the only recommended way of adding them is by using the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS). If you haven't done so yet, you will need to set it up by following the guide on the website.
With HACS set up, you can enter it and search for tdarr, which should bring up the custom integration automatically. Install the integration and restart Home Assistant when prompted, to complete the task.
Adding a Tdarr server to Home Assistant
Before proceeding, I suggest making sure that you have at least one node connected to your Tdarr server, as the integration through an error before I had done so. Once you have verified that you indeed have a node started, you can add the IP and port of your Tdarr server. Once you hit the submit button, the configured server should automatically show up in your list of integrations. By default, the Tdarr server will be polled every minute, a number which you can adjust by configuring the integration once set up.
Tdarr sensors in Home Assistant
With the Tdarr integration with Home Assistant set up, you gain access to a number, including:
- The number of files currently in your libraries, including a total number of files across all libraries.
- The status of Tdarr nodes connected to your Tdarr server.
- The amount of space Tdarr has managed to free up.
- The number of remaining files and a tally of transcoded files.
Tdarr switches in Home Assistant
Finally, and most importantly, the Tdarr integration with Home Assistant gives you access to switches. These can be used to activate and deactivate induvidual nodes.
