[FEATURE] Approvals Flow

[jenniekims]

Feature Description

Add a new “Overseerr” export in Pulsarr so that whenever Pulsarr picks up an item from my Plex watchlist or any of my friends’ watchlists it automatically sends that item into an existing Overseerr instance as a request.

Use Case

I (like many others) already have a larger media pipeline wired together: notifications, approvals, post-processing, etc. It’s not that I prefer Overseerr, it’s just the glue that holds everything else in my flow. Right now Pulsarr does a fantastic job watching Plex, but I still have to manually re-enter each show or movie into Overseerr to kick off the downstream steps. Automating that hand-off would save me (and others I hope) hours!

Proposed Solution

1. Overseerr Export Settings
   In Pulsarr’s settings, add an “Overseerr” section where you enter the Overseerr base URL and API key.
2. Real-time or Batched Push
   On each new watchlist item (mine or friends) POST a request to Overseerr’s API, including metadata IDs, media type, and mapped quality profile.
   Optionally offer a batch-mode that pushes every X minutes rather than per item.
3. Deduplication
   Before sending, check if the request already exists in Overseerr and skip duplicates.
4. Logs & Feedback
   Surface success/failure messages in Pulsarr’s UI or logs so admins can verify what was forwarded and troubleshoot any issues.

Alternatives Considered

Manual Entry: Tedious and error prone, requiring retyping dozens of series.
Standalone Script: A separate bridge script works but sits outside Pulsarr’s UI and can be fragile to maintain.

Additional Context

This would be an optional feature, Pulsarr’s core watchlist → Sonarr/Radarr functionality remains untouched. It simply streamlines the hand-off into my existing Overseerr based workflow, keeping the whole ecosystem moving without extra clicks.

Thank you so much for all your dedication and hard work, Pulsarr is amazing ♡

[jamcalli]

Hi @jenniekims

Thanks for submitting this feature request.

I would just like to ask some clarifying questions before I start to mull it over.

At which point in the content lifecycle would this need to be sent?

You said that the arrs functionality with Pulsarr remains unchanged.

Do you need just the request being user agnostic? This happens Immediately upon receiving the new item.

Do you need Which user made the request? This happens at a different step in Pulsarr's workflow, approximately 1 minute after the initial request is submitted.

Do you need the Content Available Status? This happens the second the content is imported within the arrs via Pulsarr's auto configured webhooks inside the arrs.

Cheers

[jenniekims]

Hey hey <3

I think Pulsarr would just need to fire immediately when it picks up a new watchlist item (right at the “new item” webhook). No need to wait for import or availability, just that initial event.

For user mapping, Overseerr always registers requests under the API key owner, there’s no field in the POST to send a Plex ID.
Pulsarr can grab the Plex user’s ID from the watchlist event, and on your end you can do a separate lookup to fetch the internal user ID and map the request back to the correct person (if you'd like, totally optional, just QOL).

For content availability status, I don't think it's needed. I think only forwarding initial request would be optimal in this case. Overseerr and Plex have their own "Content is now Available" notifications if users have them enabled.

These are just my thoughts, but you probably know better since you’ve built such an amazing app with great integrations already. 😺

[jamcalli]

Simple enough.

Pulsarr already has it's own method of mapping all watchlist items back to the correct Plex users using a GraphQL call and the admins token.

I'll add it to the docket.

[jamcalli]

Just hashing this out.

Pulsarr automatically routes to multiple instances, or can target specific instances via it's content router.

Would you require the requests to target each instance inside overseerr?

Do you need the requests to mimic the content router's decisions?

Aka, if an Item was sent to 3 instances (4k, Default, and Anime) would you require 3 separate Overseerr requests, targeting each set of specific settings?

[jamcalli]

Another question, perhaps you could enlighten me.

In what ways does Overseerr facilitate your workflow in a way that Pulsarr does not?

[jenniekims]

Actually, with the recent updates and the constant pace of improvements, Pulsarr could probably cover everything Overseerr does and more at this rate. The integration request is starting to feel increasingly redundant. Perhaps the next focus could be on request limits, specifically limiting the number of new watchlist items per user per month distributed to Sonarr/Radarr. Keep up the impressive work and thank you for considering my initial suggestion <3

[jamcalli]

I've been avoiding requests entirely, as I am trying to facilitate a blanket approach.

You can disable specific users, and set up specific content router rules to mitigate large bulk downloads.

For example:

Router Rule 1: IF Season > 2 -> rolling pilot to Sonarr4k
Router Rule 2: IF Season > 2 -> rolling pilot to SonarrHD
Router Rule 3: IF Season > 2 -> rolling pilot to SonarrREMUX

Large shows would then be grabbed, but only the pilot, which would then auto expand and contract as users progress.

Perhaps you could make a more targeted argument as to why approvals is still a needed feature?

[jamcalli]

I will be implementing approvals.

There is too much interest in this feature.

I do need to hash out a flow though and would appreciate your input.

Also, if anyone else reads this and is interested, please join the discussion!

[tillkruss]

I maintain Ruddarr and would love an API endpoint so I can list all requests, including the requester's user data, as well as an endpoint to approve/dismiss requests.

[jamcalli]

All the api endpoints will be there for sure, like all the other endpoints are already.

You can see what's currently available at pulsarrhost:3003/api/docs to view the scalar and make requests.

[Amcro]

I would love to see integration with Overseerr/Jellyseerr because i use Overseerr to control my users with request limits.
Now that i think about it, i don't know how Pulsarr would handle sending requests to Overseerr when all requests are used up.
I guess Overseeerr would deny new requests from that user so Pulsarr should periodically send requests back to Overseerr again.

[jamcalli]

I will implement a similar flow within Pulsarr itself.

Pulsarrs content management and lifecycle features are too dissimilar to those within Overseerr Jellyseerr to make pushing requests feasible, as was outlined above.

I'm collecting input from everyone on features they wish to see as part of this implementation.

[jamcalli]

Hey everyone! I've been working on the approval and quota features we discussed, and wanted to give you a status update on where things stand.

What I'm building:

• User request limits - Daily, weekly, or monthly caps per user (like 5 movies/week, 10 shows/month)
• Storage quotas - Per-user limits based on actual disk usage (like 50GB/month or 500GB total per user)
• Approval queue - When users hit limits or certain content triggers approval rules, requests pause for admin review instead of auto-going to the *arrs
• Content router integration - Router rules can now terminate with "requires approval" instead of routing to instances. Any router rule can now require approval
• Admin interface - Approve/reject requests individually or in batches, with notes and full audit trail. The original routing decision from the content router is stored with each request, and admins can override any of the routing parameters before approval
• Quota bypasses - Trust certain users to skip limits, or have specific router rules bypass quotas entirely

@tillkruss - Full API endpoints at /v1/approval/* for listing requests with user data, approve/reject actions, stats, etc. Should have everything you'd need for Ruddarr integration. Admins will also be able to review and interact with approval requests directly in the web app or via the discord bot.

@Amcro - This approach handles request limits natively without needing Overseerr in the chain. When users hit their quota, requests just sit in the approval queue until either their limit resets or an admin manually approves them.

@jenniekims - This basically gives you the request management and approval workflow you were looking for, just built into Pulsarr rather than requiring the Overseerr handoff.

About 75% done and still working through some details. The whole thing will be optional - if you don't configure any approval rules or quotas, everything works exactly like before.

Any other features or edge cases I should consider while I'm building this out?

[gilean32]

I had an idea for a feature that is kind of different, but may fit into an approval queue type system, so throwing it out here (though understand that's it could be considered a separate feature): approval for deletions. Whether it's deleting un-watch-listed things, deleting past/watched TV seasons, or reverting rolling TV shows. Sometimes I may want to keep something, or know that a user is away and can't watch it but will return, or whatever the case may be.

[jamcalli]

I think this seems like a useful feature. It will have to be a separate feature, though. This pr is already way too big. Let me roll out the approvals beta, and then we can look at this sometime after.

[jamcalli]

I have released a first pass at the approvals system.

If anyone wishes to test it, that would be greatly appreciated!

docker pull lakker/pulsarr:0.3.20-beta.0

I had to back burner the storage quota.

Also, don't mind the layout. I have a layout update coming, but I wanted to roll this as is for now to get it tested.

You can find the user quota settings within the users table. You can blanket-require approvals for specific users or use monthly, daily, or rolling time frame quotas. You can trigger specific content router rules to trigger approvals, too (ie. All series with seasons > 2 require approvals). All approvals are found within a tab on that page as well. You can configure the proposed routing as part of accepting the approval. I haven't had time to update the docs, but it should be self-explanatory (I hope).

The api endpoints are all within the scalar, so you can find them at pulsarr:3003/api/docs.

If you use the discord bot, you can handle all the approvals using that as a remote control.

The notification preferences are found within the approvals setting accordion.

Cheers!

[kvalle22]

@jamcalli is it possible to set 'Approval' on by default for everyone?

[jamcalli]

It's possible. Select all users in the users table and the bulk edit button will appear. Then you can toggle require approvals on for all users.

[kvalle22]

Thank youu!! it worked, what are the steps for setting this ON by default for new users?

[jamcalli]

That's what I was getting at. I haven't added default for new users' settings for approvals or quotas.

[kvalle22]

Ohh alright thank you anyway it's working great so far

[jamcalli]

Be sure to report any bugs you may find!

[jamcalli]

docker pull lakker/pulsarr:0.3.20-beta.1

A new beta has been dropped which brings some improvements to the approvals flow.

Also includes the ui overhaul.

[jamcalli]

This is now live.

Please report any bugs and feel free to provide suggestions / feedback.

[jamcalli]

@tillkruss

Hey, I just wanted to circle back and check if you managed to i corporate Pulsarr into Rudarr? This came up in the discord, and I remember you asking about it here.

If not, is it on the road map?

[tillkruss]

I'd love to integrate it tbh but I don't have time right now. Maybe early next year. Unless someone wants to build it, it's straightforward, simple single view.

[jamcalli]

Cool, I'll take a look if / when i get some time! 😅