diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 29b8ca7..8797d76 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -35,12 +35,14 @@ The `mbid-poller` container needs to communicate with your Lidarr instance.
 
 1.  **Rename the Example:** Rename the provided `docker-compose.yaml.example` to `docker-compose.yaml`.
 2.  **Network Setup:** Ensure the `lidarr` and `mbid-poller` services are on the **same Docker network** (e.g., `example_network`). If you use a different setup (like host network), update `LIDARR_BASE` accordingly.
-3.  **Lidarr Base URL:** Verify the `LIDARR_BASE` environment variable in the `mbid-poller` service points to your Lidarr instance.
+3.  **Lidarr Base URL:** The script uses the Lidarr API to automatically add the polled artists. You must set the following environment variables in the mbid-poller service:
 
-    ```yaml
-    # Example for the default setup:
-    - LIDARR_BASE=http://lidarr:8686 
-    ```
+| Environment Variable | Description | Source in Lidarr |
+| LIDARR_BASE | The internal URL of your Lidarr instance. | N/A (Docker network alias) |
+| LIDARR_API_KEY | Your Lidarr API key. | Settings > General > API Key |
+| LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER | The path for your music root folder as seen by Lidarr. | Settings > Media Management > Root Folders |
+| LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID | The numerical ID for the desired Quality Profile. (Default is 1) | Settings > Profiles > Quality Profiles (Inspect element to find ID) |
+| LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID | The numerical ID for the desired Metadata Profile. (Default is 1) | Settings > Profiles > Metadata Profiles (Inspect element to find ID) |
 
 ### 3. Choose the MBID Input Source
 
@@ -60,15 +62,19 @@ In your `docker-compose.yaml`, **only one** of these should be uncommented and s
 2.  In `docker-compose.yaml`, **comment out** `MBID_API_URL` and **uncomment** `MBID_JSON_FILE`:
 
     ```yaml
-    # ... mbid-poller environment section
-    environment:
-      # ...
-      - LIDARR_BASE=http://lidarr:8686
-      # - MBID_API_URL= 
-      - MBID_JSON_FILE=/config/ids.json
-      # - MBID_URL=... 
-    volumes:
-      - ./ids.json:/config/ids.json:ro # Maps your local file into the container
+	# ... mbid-poller environment section
+	environment:
+	  # ...
+	  - LIDARR_BASE=http://lidarr:8686
+	  - LIDARR_API_KEY=your_lidarr_api_key_here
+	  - LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER=/music # Example
+	  - LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID=1 # Example
+	  - LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID=1 # Example
+	  # - MBID_API_URL= 
+	  - MBID_JSON_FILE=/config/ids.json
+	  # - MBID_URL=... 
+	volumes:
+	  - ./ids.json:/config/ids.json:ro # Maps your local file into the container
     ```
 
 ### 4. Build and Run
@@ -87,4 +93,8 @@ With your files and `docker-compose.yaml` configured, you can build and run the
     docker compose up mbid-poller
     ```
 
-The script will fetch the IDs, then loop through them, pinging the external MusicBrainz API until a successful response is received. It then outputs a Lidarr search URL for you to manually or automatically trigger the import in Lidarr.
\ No newline at end of file
+The script will fetch the IDs, then loop through them. For each ID, it will:
+
+1. Ping the external MusicBrainz API until a successful response is received.
+2. Use the Lidarr API to automatically add the artist and set it to monitored.
+3. Output a confirmation or error message before moving to the next artist.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml.example b/docker-compose.yaml.example
index 63fb159..9f88012 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml.example
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml.example
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ services:
     environment:
       # Common: The URL for your Lidarr instance
       - LIDARR_BASE=http://lidarr:8686
+	  - LIDARR_API_KEY=your_lidarr_api_key_here 									# Get this from Lidarr Settings > General > API Key
+      - LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER=/music               									# Your music root folder path in Lidarr
+      - LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID=1             									# ID of quality profile (check Lidarr Settings > Profiles > Quality Profiles)
+      - LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID=1
       - MBID_API_URL=                                                               # OPTION 1: API URL (Current default, highest priority)
       - MBID_JSON_FILE=/config/ids.json                                             # OPTION 2: JSON File (To use, comment out MBID_API_URL and uncomment this lines)
       - MBID_URL=https://musicbrainz.org/work/69755ab1-409e-3ad7-902f-3a839042799c  # OPTION 3: Single ID/URL (To use, comment out the API URL and the JSON File lines)
diff --git a/poller.pl b/poller.pl
index 62d4cf3..9ee2d76 100644
--- a/poller.pl
+++ b/poller.pl
@@ -8,16 +8,26 @@ use open qw(:std :encoding(UTF-8));
 
 use Data::Dumper qw(Dumper);
 use Getopt::Std;
+use HTTP::Request;
 use IO::Handle;
-use JSON::Tiny qw(decode_json);
+use JSON::Tiny qw(decode_json encode_json);
 use LWP::UserAgent;
 use Time::Duration;
 use URI::Escape;
 
 # --- Environment Variables ---
 use constant LIDARR_BASE => $ENV{LIDARR_BASE} || 'http://localhost:8686';
+use constant LIDARR_API_KEY => $ENV{LIDARR_API_KEY} || die "FATAL: LIDARR_API_KEY environment variable is required\n";
+use constant LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER => $ENV{LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER} || '/music';
+use constant LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID => $ENV{LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID} || 1;
+use constant LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID => $ENV{LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID} || 1;
 
-getopts('f');
+# ANSI escape sequences
+sub ERASE_EOL   { return "\033[K";     }
+sub CURSOR_BACK { return "\033[${_[0]}D"; }
+sub STATUS      { return $_[0] . ERASE_EOL . CURSOR_BACK(length($_[0])) }
+
+getopts('bfhv');
 
 my $fresh_result  = defined $::opt_f ? $::opt_f : 0; # vs STALE
 
@@ -27,6 +37,17 @@ my $ua    = new LWP::UserAgent; # Initialize LWP::UserAgent
 my $json_content;
 
 # --- Input Logic: Prioritized Checks ---
+print STDERR "=== MBID Poller Starting ===\n";
+print STDERR "Environment variables:\n";
+print STDERR "  LIDARR_BASE: " . (LIDARR_BASE) . "\n";
+print STDERR "  LIDARR_API_KEY: " . (LIDARR_API_KEY ? "***SET***" : "NOT SET") . "\n";
+print STDERR "  LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER: " . (LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER) . "\n";
+print STDERR "  LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID: " . (LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID) . "\n";
+print STDERR "  LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID: " . (LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID) . "\n";
+print STDERR "  MBID_API_URL: " . ($ENV{MBID_API_URL} || 'NOT SET') . "\n";
+print STDERR "  MBID_JSON_FILE: " . ($ENV{MBID_JSON_FILE} || 'NOT SET') . "\n";
+print STDERR "  MBID_URL: " . ($ENV{MBID_URL} || 'NOT SET') . "\n";
+print STDERR "\n";
 
 # 1. Check for API URL (Highest Priority)
 if (my $api_url = $ENV{MBID_API_URL}) {
@@ -36,25 +57,32 @@ if (my $api_url = $ENV{MBID_API_URL}) {
         die "FATAL: Failed to fetch data from API: " . $res->status_line . "\n";
     }
     $json_content = $res->content;
+    print STDERR "Successfully fetched " . length($json_content) . " bytes from API\n";
 }
 # 2. Check for JSON File (Second Priority)
 elsif (my $json_file = $ENV{MBID_JSON_FILE}) {
     print STDERR "Loading IDs from JSON file: $json_file\n";
-    open my $fh, '<:encoding(UTF-8)', $json_file or die "Could not open $json_file: $!";
-    $json_content = do { local $/; <$fh> };
-    close $fh;
+    if (-f $json_file) {
+        open my $fh, '<:encoding(UTF-8)', $json_file or die "Could not open $json_file: $!";
+        $json_content = do { local $/; <$fh> };
+        close $fh;
+        print STDERR "Successfully loaded " . length($json_content) . " bytes from file\n";
+    } else {
+        die "FATAL: JSON file $json_file does not exist\n";
+    }
 }
 # 3. Check for a single URL/ID (Lowest Priority)
 elsif (my $single_url = $ENV{MBID_URL}) {
+    print STDERR "Using single URL/ID: $single_url\n";
     push @ids_to_process, $single_url;
 } 
 else {
     die "FATAL: Must set MBID_API_URL, MBID_JSON_FILE, OR MBID_URL.\n";
 }
 
-
 # --- JSON Parsing Logic (Applies to API URL and JSON File) ---
 if ($json_content) {
+    print STDERR "Parsing JSON content...\n";
     my $data;
     eval {
         $data = decode_json($json_content);
@@ -65,9 +93,11 @@ if ($json_content) {
 
     # Extract the 'foreignId' from each object in the array
     if (ref $data eq 'ARRAY') {
+        print STDERR "Found JSON array with " . scalar(@$data) . " items\n";
         foreach my $item (@$data) {
             if (ref $item eq 'HASH' && exists $item->{foreignId}) {
                 push @ids_to_process, $item->{foreignId};
+                print STDERR "  - Added ID: $item->{foreignId}\n";
             } else {
                 warn "Skipping malformed item in input (missing 'foreignId').\n";
             }
@@ -77,102 +107,149 @@ if ($json_content) {
     }
 }
 
+print STDERR "\nTotal IDs to process: " . scalar(@ids_to_process) . "\n";
+if (scalar(@ids_to_process) == 0) {
+    print STDERR "WARNING: No IDs found to process!\n";
+    exit 0;
+}
 
-# --- Main Processing Loop ---
+# --- Main Processing Loop (CORRECTED TO CALL ADD FUNCTION) ---
+print STDERR "\n=== Starting Main Processing ===\n";
 foreach my $id (@ids_to_process) {
     chomp $id;
     print "\n--- Processing: $id ---\n";
+    print STDERR "Processing ID: $id\n";
 
     my $type = 'artist'; # Assuming 'foreignId' provides an artist MBID
 
-    my $json = ping_api($type, $id);
+    # 1. Ping API to get artist data
+    my $artist_data = ping_api($type, $id);
 
+    # 2. Validate data (e.g., check for albums)
+    my @warnings = validate($type, $artist_data);
+    if (@warnings) {
+        warn "Skipping artist $id (" . ($artist_data->{artistname} || 'Unknown Artist') . ") due to warnings: " . join(', ', @warnings) . "\n";
+        next; # Skip to the next ID if validation fails
+    }
+
+    # 3. Add artist to Lidarr (This is the critical step you wanted)
+    add_artist_to_lidarr($artist_data);
+
+    # Print the link for reference
     print "- add-to-lidarr: " .
         LIDARR_BASE . "/add/search?term=" . uri_escape("lidarr:$id") . "\n";
 }
+# --- End of Main Processing Loop ---
 
-## subroutines
+print STDERR "\n=== Processing Complete ===\n";
+
+# --- Subroutines ---
 
 sub ping_api {
-  my ($type, $id) = @_;
-  my $ua    = new LWP::UserAgent;
-  my $start = time();
-  my $loops = 0;
-  my $api   = "https://api.lidarr.audio/api/v0.4/$type/$id";
-  my $json;
+    my ($type, $id) = @_;
+    my $ua    = new LWP::UserAgent;
+    $ua->timeout(30); # Set reasonable timeout per request
+    my $start = time();
+    my $loops = 0;
+    my $api   = "https://api.lidarr.audio/api/v0.4/$type/$id";
+    my $json;
 
-  print STDERR "Pinging $api\n";
-  
-  while (1) {
-    $loops++;
-    print STDERR "- attempt $loops...\n";
-    my $res = $ua->get($api);
-    my $status = $res->code;
+    print STDERR "Pinging $api\n";
     
-    if ($res->is_success) {
-      eval {
-	$json = decode_json($res->content);
-      };
-      if ($@) {
-	chomp $@;
-	warn "Retrying: JSON decode failed: $@\n";
-      } elsif ($fresh_result and $res->header('cf-cache-status') eq 'STALE') {
-	$status .= ' STALE';
-    warn "Retrying: Response is STALE ($status)\n";
-      } else {
-        # *** VALIDATION CHECK ***
-        my @validation_warnings = validate($type, $json);
-        if (@validation_warnings) {
-            warn "Retrying: Validation failed: " . join(', ', @validation_warnings) . "\n";
+    while (1) {
+        $loops++;
+        print STDERR STATUS("- attempt $loops");
+        my $res = $ua->get($api);
+        my $status = $res->code;
+        
+        if ($res->is_success) {
+            eval {
+                $json = decode_json($res->content);
+            };
+            if ($@) {
+                chomp $@;
+                warn "Retrying: $@\n";
+            } elsif ($fresh_result and defined $res->header('cf-cache-status') and $res->header('cf-cache-status') eq 'STALE') {
+                $status .= ' STALE';
+                print STDERR STATUS("- attempt $loops: $status (cache warming...)");
+            } else {
+                print STDERR ERASE_EOL;
+                last; # Got fresh data, exit retry loop
+            }
         } else {
-            # Success: HTTP 2xx, JSON parsed, and content passed validation
-            last;
+            print STDERR STATUS("- attempt $loops: $status - " . $res->status_line);
         }
-      }
-    } else {
-        # Log failure if not success and retry
-        warn "Retrying: HTTP failed with status $status\n";
+        
+        sleep 5;
     }
-    sleep 5;
-  }
 
-  my $elapsed = time() - $start;
-  print "- ready ($loops attempts, " . duration($elapsed) . ")\n"
-    if $loops > 1;
-  if ($type eq 'artist') {
-    print "- artist: " . $json->{artistname} . "\n";
-  } else {
-    print "- album: " . $json->{title} . "\n";
-  }
+    my $elapsed = time() - $start;
+    print "- ready ($loops attempts, " . duration($elapsed) . ")\n"
+        if $loops > 1;
+    if ($type eq 'artist') {
+        print "- artist: " . ($json->{artistname} || 'UNKNOWN') . "\n";
+    } else {
+        print "- album: " . ($json->{title} || 'UNKNOWN') . "\n";
+    }
 
-  return $json;
+    return $json;
 }
 
 sub validate {
-  my ($type, $json) = @_;
-  my @warnings;
-  if ($type eq 'artist') {
-    # make sure there are albums
-    unless (exists $json->{Albums} and scalar @{$json->{Albums}}) {
-      push(@warnings, 'no albums');
+    my ($type, $json) = @_;
+    my @warnings;
+    if ($type eq 'artist') {
+        # make sure there are albums
+        unless (exists $json->{Albums} and scalar @{$json->{Albums}}) {
+            push(@warnings, 'no albums');
+        }
     }
-  }
-  else {
-    # detect Unknown Artist problem
-    unless (exists $json->{artists} and scalar @{$json->{artists}} and
-	    exists $json->{artists}[0]{artistname} and
-	    $json->{artists}[0]{artistname} !~ m%^Unknown Artist \(%) {
-      push(@warnings, 'no artist');
-    }
-    unless (exists $json->{Releases} and scalar @{$json->{Releases}}) {
-      push(@warnings, 'no releases');
-    }
-    else {
-      unless (exists $json->{Releases}[0]{Tracks} and
-	      scalar @{$json->{Releases}[0]{Tracks}}) {
-	push(@warnings, 'no tracks');
-      }
-    }
-  }
+    
     return @warnings;
+}
+
+sub add_artist_to_lidarr {
+    my ($artist_data) = @_;
+    
+    print STDERR "Adding artist to Lidarr: " . $artist_data->{artistname} . "\n";
+    
+    my $ua = new LWP::UserAgent;
+    $ua->timeout(30);
+    
+    # Prepare the payload for Lidarr API
+    my $payload = {
+        'foreignArtistId' => $artist_data->{foreignArtistId},
+        'artistName' => $artist_data->{artistname},
+        'monitored' => JSON::Tiny::true,
+        'monitorNewItems' => 'all',
+        'qualityProfileId' => LIDARR_QUALITY_PROFILE_ID + 0,  # Ensure it's a number
+        'metadataProfileId' => LIDARR_METADATA_PROFILE_ID + 0,  # Ensure it's a number
+        'path' => LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER . '/' . $artist_data->{artistname},
+        'rootFolderPath' => LIDARR_ROOT_FOLDER,
+        'addOptions' => {
+            'monitor' => 'all',
+            'searchForMissingAlbums' => JSON::Tiny::false
+        }
+    };
+    
+    # Convert to JSON
+    my $json_payload = JSON::Tiny::encode_json($payload);
+    
+    # Make the API request
+    my $lidarr_api_url = LIDARR_BASE . '/api/v1/artist';
+    my $req = HTTP::Request->new(POST => $lidarr_api_url);
+    $req->header('Content-Type' => 'application/json');
+    $req->header('X-Api-Key' => LIDARR_API_KEY);
+    $req->content($json_payload);
+    
+    my $res = $ua->request($req);
+    
+    if ($res->is_success) {
+        print "- added to Lidarr successfully\n";
+    } elsif ($res->code == 400) {
+        # Artist might already exist
+        print "- artist already exists in Lidarr or validation failed\n";
+    } else {
+        die "Lidarr API request failed: " . $res->status_line . " - " . $res->content . "\n";
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file