Automating downloads with FlexGet
FlexGet Daemon
To help you with this, FlexGet gives you the option of letting it run permanently in the background as a daemon. In this case, you can use the more flexible Scheduler [9] plugin for time control instead of Cron.
The easiest way to start the daemon with the system is again via a crontab by adding the following line:
@reboot /usr/local/bin/flexget daemon start -d
Another option for controlling the daemon is to integrate it with Systemd, SysVinit, or whatever init system you use: The wiki for the tool describes an example [10].
FlexGet can also be used within BitTorrent clients such as Transmission, but before you can do this, you need to install transmission-daemon
with your package manager and type
pip install transmissionrpc
to set up the required front end to pass Torrent files through to Transmission.
If, for this purpose, you are interested in a very comprehensive configuration that leverages all of FlexGet's capabilities, check out Eduardo Otubo's blog [11].
GUI
The web interface, which is still under development and declared experimental by the developers, can be set up and launched with the following lines:
$ pip install flexget[webui] $ flexget webui --help $ flexget webui --username foo --password bar
The --help
line lists the available settings. After entering the last line, the GUI should appear in your web browser with a login dialog. If this is not the case, open the page manually with http://localhost:5050 (Figure 3).
Conclusions
FlexGet is a complex system that has been under development for several years. The software outsources its functionality to a large collection of plugins – and this collection is still growing. It is mainly suitable for users who regularly download files from the Internet and are looking to automate the process.
Getting started can be a time-consuming process. If you are willing to continue, you can battle your way through what can be a month-long configuration phase that starts with a simple basic setup to which you gradually add meaningful extensions. The permanent flow of new plugins also lets you tune your existing configuration. By the way, FlexGet is also perfect for running on nano-computers such as the Raspberry Pi.
For users who are simply looking for a satisfactory point-and-click solution to downloading a variety of files, FlexGet is currently not the tool of choice. The still experimental web interface for configuration control has yet to prove its value. It remains to be seen which of the many configuration options it will offer, but experience shows that it is likely to lag behind manual configuration.
The FlexGet documentation is just as competitive as the tool itself. All of the plugins have their own page on the wiki and are described with all of their parameters and matching explanations. The FlexGet cookbook [12] has many examples of various applications. A forum and an IRC channel on the Freenode server offer support if you run into trouble.
Infos
- FlexGet: http://flexget.com
- RSS plugin: http://flexget.com/wiki/Plugins/rss
- Web UI: http://flexget.com/wiki/Web-UI#no1
- Plugins: http://flexget.com/wiki/Plugins
- Upgrades: http://flexget.com/wiki/Upgrade
- YAML: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/YAML
- Download plugin http://flexget.com/wiki/Plugins/download
- Series filter: http://flexget.com/wiki/Plugins/series
- Scheduler: http://flexget.com/wiki/Plugins/Daemon/scheduler
- Daemon: http://flexget.com/wiki/Daemon/Startup
- Integrating Transmission: http://www.otubo.net/2012/02/flexget-transmission-daemon-downloading.html
- Cookbook: http://flexget.com/wiki/Cookbook
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