NzbDav is a WebDAV server that allows you to mount and browse NZB documents as a virtual file system without downloading the underlying payload upfront.
It's designed to integrate with other media management tools, like Sonarr and Radarr, by providing a SABnzbd-compatible API that those applications already understand.
NzbDav does not provide media. It simply exposes the catalog exposed by your Usenet provider so that legitimate backups or time-shifted recordings can stream into Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, or similar players. You must ensure that every source you connect is authorized in your jurisdiction and complies with our Acceptable Use Policy.
NzbDAV will be available from your dashboard (https://<username>.elfhosted.com>), or directly, at https://<username>-nzbdav.elfhosted.com
Info
This service integrates with Usenet providers. ElfHosted provides hosting infrastructure only. Users are responsible for their use of this service in compliance with applicable laws and third-party terms of service.
How do I use it?
Stremio
Using NzbDAV with Stremio is a simple process, and will work with the out-of-the-box defaults as long as you configure it with sources you have the rights to access. Here's a video guide:
Aars
Building a large streaming library with Aars requires a few extra toggles compared to AIOStreams + Stremio. Here's a demo for Plex, followed by a summary of what you need to set (these are pre-configured on fresh NzbDAV installs)
In Radarr/Sonarr..
Configure a "SABNZBD" downloader in Radarr/Sonarr, pointing to http://nzbdav:3000, using categories which match their names (Radarr=radarr, Radarr4k=radarr4k, etc).
Paste in the SABNZBD API key from NzbDAV, and test.
Optionally, you may want to add "ElfZyclops" as a generic NewsNab indexer in Prowlarr, with the URL http://elfhosted-internal.zyclops, and the API key set to a comma-separated list of your provider hostnames (i.e. news.provider.com,reader.provider2.com).
ElfZyclops is an internal NZB cache built from all internal NzbDAV activity (see below)
In NzbDAV..
Usenet
Configure your own Usenet provider that authorizes your usage, Connections Per Stream can be adjusted, start with 8 and increase to suit your requirements.
It doesn't matter what you set here, because WebDAV auth is disabled in our environment (since it's never exposed externally)
Radarr/Sonarr
Add all your Aars, using the API keys found in each Aar under Settings -> General. Refer to this guide to confirm the hostnames and ports per-arr.
Automatic queue management - tune these to your preferences, depending on whether you want lots of manual intervention / twiddling, or set-and-forget.
Repairs
Enable Background Repairs: Optional (but you need Library Directory below to enable it)
Library Directory: /storage/symlinks
Shared cache
Every NZB file ingested by an ElfHosted NzbDAV instance also anonymously submits that NZB reference (not the media itself) to an internal-only NewsNab-compatible cache, "ElfZyclops", which is then usable exclusively by ElfHosted Stremio/Aarr users.
This improves search speed and reduces duplicate API calls to external indexers. You are solely responsible for ensuring that all content you access through NzbDAV and ElfZyclops is legally obtained and authorized for your use in your jurisdiction.
Here's how to use ElfZyclops:
Stremio (ElfZyclops)
Add a NewsNab indexer in AIOStreams, with the URL http://elfhosted-internal.zyclops, with no API key.
Prowlarr
Add a NewsNab indexer in Prowlarr, with the URL http://elfhosted-internal.zyclops, with no API key, and sync the indexer to your Radarr/Sonarr instances.
Opting out
If you'd prefer not to contribute your NZBs to the shared cache, you can opt out of having your NzbDAV submit NZBs to this cache, as described below.
Quick-paste into NzbDAV's environment variables using ElfBot to opt out
SHARE_NZB_WITH_CACHE=false
External access (exposing)
To make NzbDav's SabNZBD API work with 3rd-party apps, you'll need to "expose" its API, so that it can be accessed without ElfHosted SSO.
Refresh your SabNZBD API token in NzbDAV
Get this product from the store, to bypass SSO for the API endpoints
Note that exposing NzbDAV doesn't make the content or the admin UI publicly available - it's simply about exposing the SabNZBD API endpoints so that they're accessible from external tools.
ElfHosted provides NzbDAV as a hosted application — we do not supply content, accounts, or third-party credentials. You are responsible for ensuring that your use of this app complies with applicable laws and our Acceptable Use Policy. If you have questions about what is or isn't permitted, please reach out — we're happy to help.
What users say..
We're rocking some excellent TrustPilot Reviews, and here's what some of our usersfriends say..
I am new here, but today I learned realized that Elfhosted is one of the best free and open source software communities I've seen, and FOSS communities have been at the center of my life since the 90s (Perl, PHP, Symfony, Drupal, Ethereum, etc.). Great open software built by great people who care = great community, and that is something special.
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I self host and share a fully automated ‘arr stack with Plex. Been doing so for around 4 years. Also recently got into real debrid and hosting a Comet and Annatar for Stremio. The amount of time and head banging I’ve put into it is in the hundreds to thousands of hours. From setting it up to keeping it running smoothly. Let’s not forget the cost of my server and how much it cost to keep it running.
Anyway I wanted to see what ElfHosted was about to compare. Yeah I had the whole thing setup in just a few hours. It also passes the headache of maintaining it to ElfHosted. Will I keep it no because nerdy things and maintaining my server are my hobby and quirky passion project. Will I recommend it to my friends who don’t have the money up front to buy a server, the knowledge to maintain it or desire.
Just my server alone was $2k. Power cost to keep it on yearly is $250ish, annual memberships to RD, Usenet and indexers are around $100. Then whatever a value my free time at. Which is currently at minimum my hourly pay at work or more. Yeah so take the monthly cost of all that and compare to ElfHosted Ultimate Stream package at $39 monthly, add RD to the cost and get nearly all your time back is incredibly cheap.
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As a happy Elfhosted customer—who also self hosts MANY things across about 10 severs (dedicated, VPSes, and VMs running on Synology), I wouldn’t switch to self hosting the services I get from Elfhosted. They just work with very little effort configuring things, and the support the owner and his team provides is second to none. Plus I love being part of a fledgling—but quickly growing—enterprise.
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I’ve been using this service for a while now, and honestly, it’s a game-changer compared to anything else I’ve tried for managing my media library. The support is fantastic—super quick, and if the staff aren’t around (which rarely happens), the community steps up right away. I can’t imagine going back to any other platform.
Before this, I had my own setup with a NUC, NAS, and tools like Sonarr and Radarr. It worked pretty well for a while, and my internet speed was high enough to stream without any buffering. But in the end, it wasn’t worth the time or headache of managing all the storage and keeping everything running smoothly.
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Best possible options for anyone looking for the do-it-all option along with the best customer service ive experienced in this space so far. Id rate it a 6 if I could but its limited to 5/5...
(responding to a Reddit thread re the cost of ElfHosted vs mainstream streaming / self-hosting):
I didn't know that the goal of this project was to compete with large companies running/renting entire DCs. I was under the impression that the goal of this project was to manage the updating of almost selfhosted applications on a shared platform with other users. Basically, be my sysadmin for me.
That being said, paying for services is the 'easy button'. There is a real world cost incurred for the time saved. Time is money. Time is the most valuable currency that exists. Once time is spent, it's forever lost, one cannot retrieve it again (yet). In my mind, there are 3 options for use of time with respect to: mainstream, selfhosting, elfhosted.
mainstream - my time is valuable and I don't want curated content and I don't care what content that I have the ability to consume. I only like what's popular.
elfhosted - my time is valuable, I want my own curated content without being forced to browse past the same damn entry 500 times just to find out that I can't watch the movie I want because it's not available in my current location or was removed last week from mainstream providers.
selfhost - I care about costs and I have nothing but time to waste or I want to learn about the backend of the systems involved. I'll pay for my own VPS/homelab, electricity, manage the OS, manage app updates, figure out how to make the apps talk nice to each other, create my own beautiful frontend.
I know how much my time is worth, does that reddit poster know how much their time is worth? Without knowing what you are worth, you can't make effective capital expenditures with respect to the time it will take to recoup the capital.
I know I don't need elfhosted at all for my use case. I choose to stay with elfhosted because it's my 'easy button'. It's an efficient capital expense for the amount of time it saves me managing my own hardware, apps and saves me electricity costs. I'm also in a situation where I don't have upload bandwidth from my home to serve HD content to myself remotely. If I lived back in a city, I would still be here. My time is worth $$/hr.
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@tjelite (Discord)
"What an amazing support system these guys have Chris and Layzee i think it was! Both are very patient with me even though I am a newbie at all this. Very thorough and explained everything step by step with me
I couldn’t ask for anything better than the service I have received by these guys! Happy happy client❤️"
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