artisttrackarr

ArtistTrackarr with Tailscale Sidecar Configuration

This Docker Compose configuration sets up ArtistTrackarr with Tailscale as a sidecar container, keeping the application securely reachable over your Tailnet without exposing it directly to the public internet.

ArtistTrackarr

ArtistTrackarr is a self-hosted household dashboard that monitors MusicBrainz and, optionally, Spotify for newly announced and released albums and EPs. It can send announcement and release-day notifications through Email, Discord, Telegram, ntfy, Gotify, generic webhooks, and other services supported by Shoutrrr.

Pairing ArtistTrackarr with Tailscale provides private access to its web interface from authorized Tailnet devices without requiring public port forwarding or a publicly accessible reverse proxy.

Configuration Overview

In this setup, the tailscale-artist-trackarr service runs Tailscale and manages secure networking for ArtistTrackarr. The artist-trackarr service uses the Tailscale container's network stack through Docker's network_mode: service:tailscale-artist-trackarr configuration.

ArtistTrackarr listens on port 8080. Because both containers share the same network namespace, Tailscale Serve can forward traffic directly to http://127.0.0.1:8080.

This keeps ArtistTrackarr Tailnet-only unless you intentionally publish its port on the Docker host.

Good to Know

• Container permissions: The ArtistTrackarr image runs as UID and GID 10001. When using a bind-mounted host directory for /data, create it before starting the stack and make it writable by UID and GID 10001:

  mkdir -p ./artist-trackarr-data
  sudo chown -R 10001:10001 ./artist-trackarr-data

  Incorrect ownership can prevent ArtistTrackarr from creating or opening its SQLite database.

• Volumes: ArtistTrackarr stores its SQLite database, cached Cover Art Archive artwork, and other persistent application data in /data. The upstream deployment uses the legacy-named artist-tracker-data Docker volume for compatibility with existing installations.

• Required application configuration: Before starting ArtistTrackarr, define the following values:

  • SETUP_TOKEN
  • APP_ENCRYPTION_KEY
  • SESSION_SECRET
  • MUSICBRAINZ_CONTACT
  • PUBLIC_URL

  SETUP_TOKEN, APP_ENCRYPTION_KEY, and SESSION_SECRET should each contain a random value of at least 32 characters. MUSICBRAINZ_CONTACT must contain a real email address or project URL because it is included in the MusicBrainz API User-Agent.

• Public URL: Set PUBLIC_URL to the HTTPS address through which users will access ArtistTrackarr over Tailscale, for example:

  PUBLIC_URL=https://artist-trackarr.example-tailnet.ts.net

• Polling interval: The default POLL_INTERVAL is 6h. Values below one hour are rejected by the application.

• Spotify integration: Spotify integration is optional. Configure SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID, SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET, and an appropriate two-letter SPOTIFY_MARKET, such as NL, to enable Spotify-first artist discovery and an additional release-observation feed.

• Reverse-proxy handling: Tailscale Serve acts as the HTTPS reverse proxy in this deployment. Set TRUST_PROXY=true only when ArtistTrackarr should trust forwarded client-address headers from the proxy.

• Backups: Stop ArtistTrackarr before backing up its persistent /data directory or Docker volume to ensure a consistent SQLite backup. Database migrations run automatically when the application is upgraded.

• Official links:

  • ArtistTrackarr repository
  • Shoutrrr documentation
  • MusicBrainz
  • Spotify Developer Dashboard