FlareSolverr Deployment Guide for P510¶

Created: 2026-01-08 Issue: #125 Status: Build Successful, Ready for Deployment

Summary¶

FlareSolverr has been successfully re-enabled on P510 after resolving the xvfbwrapper Python 3.13 build error that caused it to be disabled on 2025-09-02.

What Was Fixed¶

Previous Issue¶

xvfbwrapper Python 3.13 build error - Package couldn't build with Python 3.13
Chromium 127+ incompatibility - Selenium library would hang during webdriver initialization

Resolution¶

The issues have been resolved in current nixpkgs:

xvfbwrapper-0.2.16 now builds successfully with Python 3.13
Chromium 143.0.7499.192 is being used (beyond problematic Chromium 127)
FlareSolverr 3.4.6 package builds without errors
Selenium 4.29.0 has Python 3.13 support

Build Verification¶

# Build completed successfully with all dependencies:
- python3.13-xvfbwrapper-0.2.16
- chromium-143.0.7499.192
- flaresolverr-3.4.6
- python3.13-selenium-4.29.0
- All Python 3.13 dependencies available

Configuration Details¶

Service Configuration¶

Location: hosts/p510/flaresolverr.nix
Port: 8191 (firewall automatically opened)
Service: Native NixOS services.flaresolverr

Key Features¶

Resource Limits: 2GB RAM, 200% CPU quota
Security Hardening:
PrivateDevices = true
ProtectHostname = true
ProtectClock = true
ProtectKernelLogs = true
RestrictNamespaces = true
Optimization:
SCHED_FIFO CPU scheduling
Nice priority -5
I/O scheduling class 2, priority 4
Environment:
Headless mode enabled
40-second browser timeout
10-minute session TTL
Chrome optimization flags

Deployment Instructions¶

On P510 (Direct Deployment)¶

Since remote SSH deployment is not currently working, deploy directly on P510:

# SSH into P510
ssh olafkfreund@p510

# Navigate to nixos config
cd ~/.config/nixos

# Pull latest changes from this branch
git fetch origin
git checkout feature/125-p510-flaresolverr
git pull origin feature/125-p510-flaresolverr

# Build and deploy
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#p510

# Verify service started
sudo systemctl status flaresolverr

# Check if port is listening
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 8191

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u flaresolverr -f

Alternative: Build Locally First¶

If you want to test build first without deploying:

# From current machine (already tested, successful)
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.p510.config.system.build.toplevel

# Then SSH to P510 and deploy

Testing Procedures¶

1. Verify Service Status¶

# Check service is running
sudo systemctl status flaresolverr

# Expected output:
# ● flaresolverr.service - FlareSolverr
#      Loaded: loaded
#      Active: active (running)

2. Test API Endpoint¶

# Test health endpoint
curl http://localhost:8191/v1

# Expected response:
# {"msg":"FlareSolverr is ready!","version":"3.4.6","userAgent":"..."}

# Test from another machine on network
curl http://p510:8191/v1
# OR
curl http://192.168.1.127:8191/v1

3. Test Cloudflare Bypass¶

# Create test request JSON
cat > /tmp/flaresolverr-test.json <<'EOF'
{
  "cmd": "request.get",
  "url": "https://nowsecure.nl",
  "maxTimeout": 60000
}
EOF

# Send request to FlareSolverr
curl -X POST http://localhost:8191/v1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @/tmp/flaresolverr-test.json | jq .

# Expected output:
# {
#   "status": "ok",
#   "message": "",
#   "solution": {
#     "url": "https://nowsecure.nl/",
#     "status": 200,
#     "response": "<html>...",
#     "cookies": [...],
#     "userAgent": "..."
#   }
# }

4. Test with Common Cloudflare-Protected Sites¶

# Test various Cloudflare challenge types
for url in "https://nowsecure.nl" "https://www.google.com"; do
  echo "Testing: $url"
  curl -X POST http://localhost:8191/v1 \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"cmd\":\"request.get\",\"url\":\"$url\",\"maxTimeout\":60000}" \
    | jq -r '.status'
done

Integration with Media Services¶

Prowlarr Integration¶

Add Indexer Proxy:
Settings → Indexers → Indexer Proxies
Add → FlareSolverr
Host: http://localhost:8191 or http://192.168.1.127:8191
Tags: Add tags to indexers that need Cloudflare bypass
Configure Indexers:
Edit indexer → Tags → Add FlareSolverr tag
Test indexer connection

Jackett Integration (if used)¶

Configure FlareSolverr:
Jackett Dashboard → Settings
FlareSolverr API URL: http://localhost:8191
Test connection
Enable for Indexers:
Edit indexer → Enable FlareSolverr
Test indexer

NZBGet Integration¶

NZBGet doesn't directly use FlareSolverr, but indexers accessed through Prowlarr/Jackett will benefit from Cloudflare bypass.

Resource Monitoring¶

Check Resource Usage¶

# CPU and memory usage
ps aux | grep flaresolverr

# Detailed systemd resource tracking
systemctl show flaresolverr | grep -E "(MemoryCurrent|CPUUsage)"

# Real-time monitoring
htop -p $(pgrep -f flaresolverr)

Expected Resource Usage¶

Idle: ~100MB RAM, <5% CPU
Active (solving challenges): ~500MB-1GB RAM, 50-100% CPU (per browser instance)
Peak: Up to 2GB RAM limit, 200% CPU quota (2 cores)

Troubleshooting¶

Service Won't Start¶

# Check detailed logs
sudo journalctl -u flaresolverr -b --no-pager

# Common issues:
# - Port 8191 already in use
# - Missing Chromium dependencies
# - Insufficient resources

Chromium/Selenium Hangs¶

If you encounter the Chromium 127+ Selenium hang issue:

# Check Chromium version in use
nix-store -q --references /run/current-system/sw | grep chromium

# If using Chromium 127-142, this may be problematic
# Current deployment uses Chromium 143, which should work

API Returns Errors¶

# Test with verbose output
curl -v http://localhost:8191/v1

# Check if service is actually listening
sudo ss -tlnp | grep 8191

# Restart service if needed
sudo systemctl restart flaresolverr

High Resource Usage¶

# Check active sessions
curl http://localhost:8191/v1/sessions | jq

# Clear old sessions if needed (automatic after 10min TTL)

# If persistent high usage, check logs:
sudo journalctl -u flaresolverr -f

Known Limitations¶

FlareSolverr Deprecation¶

Important: FlareSolverr was deprecated by its maintainers in 2024:

No longer actively maintained
May not work with newest Cloudflare protections
Cloudflare constantly updates detection methods
Alternative solutions: ZenRows, Scrapeless, Multilogin (commercial)

Compatibility¶

Works with current Cloudflare challenges (as of 2026-01-08)
May break with future Cloudflare updates
Limited to specific Cloudflare versions
Can fail with highly protected websites
Selenium/Chromium compatibility issues may recur

Success Criteria¶

Next Steps¶

Deploy on P510: Follow deployment instructions above
Verify Service: Complete all testing procedures
Configure Prowlarr: Add FlareSolverr proxy to indexers
Monitor Performance: Watch resource usage and success rates
Update Issue #125: Report deployment success or issues
Create PR: Merge changes to main once verified working