diff --git a/MULTITHREAD_README.md b/MULTITHREAD_README.md
index 5be263da0..a88da9fc1 100644
--- a/MULTITHREAD_README.md
+++ b/MULTITHREAD_README.md
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ Parallel import work is **not** limited by Lidarr’s download bandwidth or rate
 | | |
 | --- | --- |
 | **Name** | `LIDARR_MEDIA_IO_PARALLELISM` |
-| **Default** | `2` (used when the variable is unset, empty, or not a valid integer) |
-| **Allowed** | Integers **1**–**64**; values below **1** fall back to the default |
-| **Scope** | Process environment (read once at first use) |
+| **Default** | **Unset / empty / invalid / `0`:** same as **`Environment.ProcessorCount`** (original fork behavior). For **NFS or slow storage**, set **`1`** or **`2`** explicitly. |
+| **Allowed** | **`1`–`64`:** use that cap. **`0`:** treat as unset (processor count). |
+| **Scope** | Process environment (re-read on each scan/import parallel section) |
 
 It applies to:
 
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ It applies to:
 
 **Docker:** fully supported. Set the variable on the container like any other env; the .NET process reads the container environment.
 
+On the first disk scan, Lidarr logs a line like `Media import parallelism: MaxDegreeOfParallelism=…` so you can confirm the value it sees (useful if compose/env typos leave the variable unset).
+
 ### Docker Compose
 
 ```yaml
@@ -33,7 +35,7 @@ services:
       - PUID=1000
       - PGID=1000
       - TZ=Etc/UTC
-      # Gentle on NFS / network mounts; omit for default (2)
+      # Gentle on NFS / network mounts (omit var for processor-count default)
       - LIDARR_MEDIA_IO_PARALLELISM=1
 ```
 
diff --git a/src/NzbDrone.Common/MediaImportParallelism.cs b/src/NzbDrone.Common/MediaImportParallelism.cs
index 1100b32c1..057d0f164 100644
--- a/src/NzbDrone.Common/MediaImportParallelism.cs
+++ b/src/NzbDrone.Common/MediaImportParallelism.cs
@@ -3,35 +3,34 @@
 namespace NzbDrone.Common
 {
     /// <summary>
-    /// Limits parallel disk work during library scan/import (tag reads, folder scans, candidate scoring).
+    /// Caps parallel disk work during library scan/import (tag reads, folder scans, candidate scoring), optional via env.
     /// Unrelated to download bandwidth limits in Lidarr settings.
     /// </summary>
     public static class MediaImportParallelism
     {
         public const string EnvironmentVariableName = "LIDARR_MEDIA_IO_PARALLELISM";
 
-        private const int DefaultMaxDegree = 2;
-        private const int MinDegree = 1;
         private const int MaxDegreeCap = 64;
 
-        private static readonly Lazy<int> MaxDegreeLazy = new Lazy<int>(ReadMaxDegree);
-
         /// <summary>
-        /// Maximum concurrent workers for scan/import parallelism. Default 2; override with LIDARR_MEDIA_IO_PARALLELISM (1–64).
+        /// Maximum concurrent workers for scan/import parallelism.
+        /// If <c>LIDARR_MEDIA_IO_PARALLELISM</c> is unset, empty, invalid, 0, or negative: uses <see cref="Environment.ProcessorCount"/> (matches pre-cap fork behavior).
+        /// Otherwise uses the set value clamped to 1–64.
+        /// Re-reads the environment each call so container/env changes are visible without restart (same process still needs a new read on next scan).
         /// </summary>
-        public static int MaxDegreeOfParallelism => MaxDegreeLazy.Value;
+        public static int MaxDegreeOfParallelism => ReadMaxDegree();
 
         private static int ReadMaxDegree()
         {
             var raw = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(EnvironmentVariableName);
             if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(raw) || !int.TryParse(raw.Trim(), out var parsed))
             {
-                return DefaultMaxDegree;
+                return Math.Max(1, Environment.ProcessorCount);
             }
 
-            if (parsed < MinDegree)
+            if (parsed <= 0)
             {
-                return DefaultMaxDegree;
+                return Math.Max(1, Environment.ProcessorCount);
             }
 
             return Math.Min(parsed, MaxDegreeCap);
diff --git a/src/NzbDrone.Core/MediaFiles/DiskScanService.cs b/src/NzbDrone.Core/MediaFiles/DiskScanService.cs
index b1c0f5b71..928518757 100644
--- a/src/NzbDrone.Core/MediaFiles/DiskScanService.cs
+++ b/src/NzbDrone.Core/MediaFiles/DiskScanService.cs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 using System.IO.Abstractions;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
+using System.Threading;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using NLog;
 using NzbDrone.Common;
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ public class DiskScanService :
         private readonly IRootFolderService _rootFolderService;
         private readonly IEventAggregator _eventAggregator;
         private readonly Logger _logger;
+        private static int _mediaParallelismLogged;
 
         public DiskScanService(IConfigService configService,
                                IDiskProvider diskProvider,
@@ -126,6 +128,17 @@ public void Scan(List<string> folders = null, FilterFilesType filter = FilterFil
 
             var musicFilesStopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
 
+            if (Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref _mediaParallelismLogged, 1, 0) == 0)
+            {
+                var envRaw = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(MediaImportParallelism.EnvironmentVariableName);
+                _logger.Info(
+                    "Media import parallelism: MaxDegreeOfParallelism={0} ({1}={2}). Set 1–64 to cap IO; unset or 0 uses processor count ({3}).",
+                    MediaImportParallelism.MaxDegreeOfParallelism,
+                    MediaImportParallelism.EnvironmentVariableName,
+                    string.IsNullOrEmpty(envRaw) ? "(unset)" : envRaw,
+                    Environment.ProcessorCount);
+            }
+
             Parallel.ForEach(foldersToScan, new ParallelOptions { MaxDegreeOfParallelism = MediaImportParallelism.MaxDegreeOfParallelism }, folder =>
             {
                 _logger.ProgressInfo("Scanning {0}", folder);