# Downgrade instead of delete

Deleting is not the only way to reclaim space. For items managed by Radarr or
Sonarr, Media Purge can have the *arr **replace the file with a smaller
release** — a 40 GB 4K remux becomes a few-GB 1080p encode, the movie stays in
your library, and you typically recover 70–85% of the space with zero impact
on anyone who might still watch it.

## How it actually works

Radarr and Sonarr **never replace a file they already have** — even a quality
that the profile disallows still "meets cutoff" in their eyes, so switching
the profile alone does nothing. Media Purge therefore runs the swap as a
staged, reversible operation:

1. The *arr entry is switched to the smaller quality profile you chose (and
   re-monitored), remembering the previous profile.
2. The original files are **parked in Media Purge's recycle bin** — the same
   restorable holding area used for deletions, kept for your retention
   window.
3. The *arr rescans the entry, notices the file is gone, and a search is
   triggered. It grabs the best release the new profile allows and imports
   it through its normal flow.
4. The next Media Purge scan sees the smaller file, marks the recommendation
   **Downgraded**, and credits the *net* size difference to the
   reclaimed-storage counter. (Purging the parked original later credits
   nothing extra — no double counting.)

If anything goes wrong — no release on your indexers, wrong profile, second
thoughts — **restore the original from the Recycle Bin page**: the files move
back and the *arr entry is switched back to its previous profile
automatically. A stalled attempt can also be retried by hitting Downgrade
again while the item shows as Downgrading.

## Setup

1. Configure Radarr and/or Sonarr under **Settings → Integrations** as usual
   (URL + API key, integration enabled).
2. In the same card, pick a **"Downgrade" quality profile** — use **Load
   profiles** to pull the list from the *arr.
3. A new compress button appears on open recommendations for that media
   type. It only shows for the types whose *arr has a profile picked.

**Pick a profile that only allows the qualities you want to end up with**
(e.g. the stock `HD-1080p`). After the original is parked, the *arr grabs the
best release the profile allows — if the profile still allows 4K, you'll get
another 4K file.

## Caveats

- The *arr must be able to match the item (TMDB id for movies, TVDB id for
  shows) and the entry must exist in the *arr.
- There is a gap between parking the original and the replacement finishing
  its download — during it the item is unplayable. Restoring from the recycle
  bin closes the gap at any time.
- Replacement availability depends on your indexers. Until a smaller file is
  imported and scanned, the recommendation simply stays in **Downgrading**.
- If the original file is hardlinked to a seeding torrent, parking it breaks
  the hardlink — no space is freed until the seed copy is removed too.
- For shows, the profile applies series-wide and all episode files are
  parked, so expect a burst of grabs on a big series.
- If you restore after the *arr already imported a replacement, you'll have
  both versions on disk; the duplicate-versions rule will flag it on the next
  scan.

Dry-run mode is honored: with dry-run on, the click only logs what would
happen — no file is moved and the *arr is not touched.