The mod runs a Python 3 HTTP server (no extra dependencies) that maps URL paths to beet subcommands. Any beet command can be invoked — there is no hardcoded command list.

⚠️ Security Warning: The HTTP API has no authentication or authorization. Any client that can reach the server can execute arbitrary beet commands. It is your responsibility to ensure the API is not exposed to untrusted networks — use firewall rules, Docker network isolation, or a reverse proxy with authentication to restrict access.

Installation

Configure your selected Docker container with the port, volume, and environment settings from the original container documentation here linuxserver/beets
Add the DOCKER_MODS environment variable to your compose.yml file or docker run command, as follows:
- DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:beets-httpshell

Map the HTTP API port so it is accessible from outside the container. The default port is 5555 (configurable via HTTPSHELL_PORT). Add 5555:5555 to your port mappings:

Example Docker Compose YAML Configuration

---
services:
  beets:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/beets:latest
    container_name: beets
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Europe/London
      - DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:beets-httpshell
      - HTTPSHELL_PORT=5555
    volumes:
      - /path/to/config:/config
      - /path/to/music:/music
      - /path/to/downloads:/downloads
    ports:
      - 8337:8337
      - 5555:5555
    restart: unless-stopped

Example Docker Run Command

docker run -d \
  --name=beets \
  -e PUID=1000 \
  -e PGID=1000 \
  -e TZ=Europe/London \
  -e DOCKER_MODS=linuxserver/mods:beets-httpshell \
  -e HTTPSHELL_PORT=5555 \
  -p 8337:8337 \
  -p 5555:5555 \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/music:/music \
  -v /path/to/downloads:/downloads \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  lscr.io/linuxserver/beets:latest

Start the container.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`BEET_CMD`	`/lsiopy/bin/beet`	Path to the `beet` binary
`BEET_CONFIG`	`/config/config.yaml`	Path to the beets config file
`HTTPSHELL_PORT`	`5555`	Port the HTTP server listens on
`HTTPSHELL_BLOCKING_TIMEOUT`	`30`	Seconds to wait for the lock in `block` mode before the job is queued

API Usage

Execute a command

POST /<command>
Content-Type: application/json

["arg1", "arg2", ...]

The URL path is the beet subcommand. The optional ?mode= query parameter controls execution mode (parallel, queue, or block — defaults to parallel). The JSON body is an array of string arguments. An empty body or [] means no arguments.

Response (200 OK):

{
  "command": "stats",
  "args": [],
  "exit_code": 0,
  "stdout": "Tracks: 1234\nTotal time: 3.2 days\n...",
  "stderr": ""
}

Examples

# Get library stats (default parallel mode)
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/stats

# List all tracks by an artist
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/list \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '["artist:Radiohead"]'

# Import music in parallel (returns result when done, runs in parallel with other requests)
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/import \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '["--quiet", "--incremental", "/downloads/music"]'

# Queue an import (returns 202 immediately, runs in background)
curl -X POST 'http://localhost:5555/import?mode=queue' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '["--quiet", "/downloads/music"]'

# Update the library
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/update

# Get beets configuration
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/config

# Remove tracks matching a query (force, delete files)
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/remove \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '["artist:test", "-d", "-f"]'

# Move items to a new directory
curl -X POST http://localhost:5555/move \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '["artist:Radiohead", "-d", "/music/favorites"]'

Execution Modes

The execution mode is controlled per-request via the ?mode= query parameter. If omitted, defaults to parallel.

`parallel` (default)

Each request runs its command immediately in its own thread. Multiple commands execute in parallel. The response is returned when the command finishes.

Request 1 ──▶ [runs command] ──▶ 200 response
Request 2 ──▶ [runs command] ──▶ 200 response  (runs in parallel)

`block`

Each request waits for a global lock. If the lock is acquired within HTTPSHELL_BLOCKING_TIMEOUT seconds, the command runs and the result is returned (200). If the timeout expires, the job is queued and a 202 is returned instead. This ensures commands run one at a time.

Request 1 ──▶ [acquires lock, runs command] ──▶ 200 response
Request 2 ──▶ [waits for lock... acquired]  ──▶ 200 response
Request 3 ──▶ [waits for lock... timeout]   ──▶ 202 (queued)

`queue`

Every request returns 202 Accepted immediately. Commands are placed in a FIFO queue and executed one at a time by a background worker. Useful for commands that shouldn't overlap (e.g., import).

Request 1 ──▶ 202 (queued, position 1)
Request 2 ──▶ 202 (queued, position 2)
                    [worker runs command 1, then command 2]

202 Response:

{
  "status": "queued",
  "command": "import",
  "args": ["/downloads/album"],
  "queue_size": 1
}

Lidarr Integration Example

Use remote beets HTTP server in Lidarr's external content management script to automatically import downloads. In Lidarr, go to Settings → Media Management → Importing → + and add a Import Script Path with the path to the script below.

Create the script at a path accessible to Lidarr (e.g., /config/scripts/beets-import.sh):

#!/usr/bin/env bash

if [ -z "$lidarr_sourcepath" ]; then
    echo "Error: lidarr_sourcepath environment variable not set"
    exit 1
fi

curl -X POST --fail-with-body \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "[\"-q\",\"$lidarr_sourcepath\"]" \
    'http://beets:5555/import?mode=block'

if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "Import request failed"
    exit 1
fi

Note: The script uses ?mode=block so Lidarr waits for the import to complete before proceeding. Without it, the default parallel mode would also work but allows concurrent imports and import changes may not be detected by Lidarr sync. Adjust the hostname (beets) and port (5555) to match your setup.

Mod Structure

root/
├── usr/local/bin/
│   └── beets-httpshell.py              # HTTP server script
└── etc/s6-overlay/s6-rc.d/
    ├── svc-mod-beets-httpshell/        # longrun service (HTTP server)
    └── user/contents.d/
        └── svc-mod-beets-httpshell

README.md

beets-httpshell