NOTE Debian users: sabnzbdplus is readily available in squeeze and newer (in contrib); if you're looking to update your Debian install to the latest release please refer to this forum thread.

PPA Setup

JCFP maintains an unofficial repository with the latest version of SABnzbd¹. Whenever an even newer version of the program is released, you will be automatically notified the same as with any other package update.

There are two channels on offer: regular or nobetas. The former includes most alpha/beta/rc releases, while the latter is a less risky option that only ever gets final releases. In order to satisfy all dependencies, both Ubuntu's universe and multiverse repositories must be enabled on your system.

Quick Install Guide for Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 and higher

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jcfp/nobetas
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install sabnzbdplus

Full Install Guide

First, some preparation to make sure your system can handle extra repositories:

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common

Then, make sure multiverse and universe are enabled:

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo add-apt-repository universe

Now add the repository. Choose either the nobetas channel, to receive only final stable releases:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jcfp/nobetas

Or if you wish to receive alpha/beta/rc releases, go for the regular option:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jcfp/ppa

Tell apt to update so it learns of the new packages and proceed to install the program and its dependencies:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install sabnzbdplus

How To Start

To start the program, find the SABnzbd item in the Networking section of your desktop menu, or from the command line just execute:

sabnzbdplus

You should run SABnzbd as a normal user: the program does not need root access or any other special permissions.

How To Run as a Service

If you want the program to be started as a service (i.e., in the background on system boot), edit (as root) the text file /etc/default/sabnzbdplus and set the required USER= and the optional settings to your liking. If your system uses systemd, which has been the default since Ubuntu 15.04, run sudo systemctl daemon-reload after modifying the settings.

Once configured correctly, the service can be started and stopped with the usual commands:

sudo service sabnzbdplus start

and

sudo service sabnzbdplus stop

Although for obvious reasons no browser is auto-started when running the program like this, the web interface is still available at the usual location of http://localhost:8080/sabnzbd/ (or whatever other host and port you configured).

The Fine Print

1. Remember that this package is not created and therefore not supported by the SABnzbd team! But do feel free to ask questions on the forum, which is frequently vistited by JCFP.
2. For always up-to-date information about supported Ubuntu versions, read the package forum post.
3. This is an unofficial package from an unofficial repository. Don't file bugs about packages installed from this repository in Ubuntu's bug tracker, instead complain in a forum topic.
4. The sabnzbdplus package is also available from the official Ubuntu repositories (jaunty/9.04 and newer, in multiverse) as well as from Debian (debian 6.0/squeeze and newer, in contrib). In case the PPA and the official repositories both have the same release the design of the package will cause the official repositories to take precedence.

If you are interested in packaging, want to grab the source package, or just check out the build logs, visit the launchpad ppa page of the repository.