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).

Figure 3: The web-based management interface for the software is still pretty much experimental.

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.

The Author

Ferdinand Thommes lives and works as a Linux developer, freelance writer, and tour guide in Berlin.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Workspace: DokuWiki Plugins

    DokuWiki is a useful wiki system already, but you can take its functionality to a whole new level using some of the available plugins.

  • Snort Helpers

    Snort is the de facto standard for open source network intrusion detection. The developer community has kept a fairly low profile for a couple of years, but extensions like Snorby, OpenFPC, and Pulled Pork have given the old hog a new lease on life.

  • Grsecurity

    Security-conscious people dig a deep moat with crocodiles around their homes, hide their furniture in back rooms, and only let visitors into the bathroom if they know the secret password. Grsecurity follows a similarly extreme principle.

  • pstoedit

    pstoedit lets you convert Postscript and PDF files to vector-based image formats.

  • Rasp Pi Symfonisk

    Build open software, open hardware smart WiFi speakers for the home with the Sonos and Ikea Symfonisk.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News