FlexGet

Multipurpose automation tool for all your media

FlexGet - Media Automation Framework

FlexGet is a powerful, plugin-based automation tool designed to automate your media workflow. Whether you’re managing torrents, nzbs, podcasts, comics, TV shows, movies, or RSS feeds, FlexGet provides a flexible framework to handle it all with ease.

What is FlexGet?

FlexGet is a multipurpose automation tool that excels at:

• Torrent Automation - Automatically download torrents from RSS feeds
• NZB Management - Handle NZB downloads and processing
• Media Organization - Sort and rename downloaded content
• Quality Management - Download specific qualities and formats
• Client Integration - Works with Deluge, qBittorrent, Transmission, rTorrent
• Web Interface - Manage tasks and monitor activity via web UI
• Flexible Configuration - YAML-based config for unlimited customization

Installation

Install FlexGet

Install FlexGet for a specific user:

qb install flexget -u username

Installation Process

The installation will:

1. Create Python Environment - Sets up Python 3.11 virtual environment at /opt/username/Flexget/.venv
2. Install FlexGet - Installs latest FlexGet version with all dependencies
3. Configure Web UI - Sets up web interface on auto-assigned port (default: 5250)
4. Setup Authentication - Uses your QuickBox user password for web UI access
5. Install Client Plugins - Adds support for Deluge, qBittorrent, Transmission, rTorrent
6. Configure Service - Creates systemd service for automatic startup

Default Locations

FlexGet files are organized as follows:

Supported Integrations

FlexGet integrates with your entire media automation stack:

Enhanced Features

FlexGet on QuickBox Pro includes several advanced features:

CLI Commands

Basic Operations

Usage Examples

Install FlexGet:

qb install flexget -u myuser

Update FlexGet:

qb update flexget -u myuser

Reinstall (fix corrupted installation):

qb reinstall flexget -u myuser

Remove FlexGet and clean up:

qb remove flexget -u myuser

Configuration

Accessing the Web UI

After installation, access FlexGet’s web interface:

https://yourdomain.com/username/flexget

Login credentials:

• Username: your-quickbox-username
• Password: your-quickbox-password

Configuration File

FlexGet uses YAML configuration at /home/username/.config/Flexget/config.yml:

web_server:
  bind: 127.0.0.1
  port: 5250
  web_ui: yes
  base_url: /username/flexget
 
tasks:
  example:
    priority: 2
    rss: http://example.com/rss/rss.xml

Task Configuration

FlexGet works by defining tasks in your configuration. Each task can:

1. Accept inputs (RSS feeds, HTML pages, CSV files)
2. Filter content (quality, size, series tracking)
3. Output to clients (download torrents, send to client)

Torrent Client Integration

FlexGet includes pre-installed plugins for popular torrent clients:

Example: Deluge Integration

tasks:
  tv-shows:
    rss: http://example.com/tv.rss
    series:
      - Show Name
    deluge:
      host: localhost
      port: 58846
      username: myuser
      password: mypassword
      path: /home/myuser/downloads/tv/

Example: qBittorrent Integration

tasks:
  movies:
    rss: http://example.com/movies.rss
    quality: 1080p bluray
    qbittorrent:
      host: localhost
      port: 8080
      username: myuser
      password: mypassword
      category: movies

Service Management

SystemD Service

FlexGet runs as a user-specific systemd service:

# Start FlexGet
sudo systemctl start flexget@username
 
# Stop FlexGet
sudo systemctl stop flexget@username
 
# Restart FlexGet
sudo systemctl restart flexget@username
 
# Check status
sudo systemctl status flexget@username
 
# View logs
sudo journalctl -u flexget@username -f

Configuration Reload

After editing your config.yml, reload FlexGet:

sudo systemctl reload flexget@username

Or use the FlexGet daemon command:

/opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/flexget -c /home/username/.config/Flexget/config.yml daemon reload

Features & Use Cases

Automated TV Show Downloads

Track your favorite TV shows and automatically download new episodes:

tasks:
  tv-tracker:
    rss: https://showrss.info/user/12345.rss
    series:
      - Breaking Bad
      - Game of Thrones
      - The Office
    quality: 720p+ hdtv+
    deluge:
      path: /home/user/media/tv/
      label: tv-shows

Movie Downloads

Automatically download movies from RSS feeds:

tasks:
  movies:
    rss: http://example.com/movies.rss
    quality: 1080p+ bluray+
    imdb:
      min_score: 7.0
      min_votes: 5000
    qbittorrent:
      path: /home/user/media/movies/
      category: movies

Podcast Management

Download new podcast episodes automatically:

tasks:
  podcasts:
    rss: http://feeds.example.com/podcast.xml
    accept_all: yes
    download: /home/user/podcasts/

Content Filtering

FlexGet provides powerful filtering options:

• Quality filters - 720p, 1080p, 4K, etc.
• Size limits - Min/max file sizes
• Series tracking - Track watched episodes
• IMDB integration - Filter by ratings, votes, genres
• RegEx patterns - Custom text matching

Python Environment

Virtual Environment Details

FlexGet uses an isolated Python 3.11 virtual environment:

# Activate environment
source /opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/activate
 
# Check FlexGet version
/opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/flexget --version
 
# List installed packages
/opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/pip3 list
 
# Deactivate
deactivate

Installed Packages

QuickBox installs these packages by default:

• flexget - Core FlexGet framework
• setuptools - Python package tools
• deluge-client - Deluge RPC client
• transmission-rpc - Transmission RPC client
• qbittorrent-api - qBittorrent Web API client
• rtorrent-python - rTorrent XMLRPC client

Troubleshooting

Check Service Status

sudo systemctl status flexget@username

View Logs

# Real-time logs
sudo journalctl -u flexget@username -f
 
# Last 100 lines
sudo journalctl -u flexget@username -n 100

Test Configuration

/opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/flexget -c /home/username/.config/Flexget/config.yml check

Manual Execution

Run a task manually to test:

/opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/flexget -c /home/username/.config/Flexget/config.yml execute --task task-name

Common Issues

Web UI not accessible:

• Check port in /home/username/.config/Flexget/flexget.port
• Verify nginx config: /etc/nginx/software/username.flexget.conf
• Restart nginx: sudo systemctl restart nginx

Tasks not running:

• Check config syntax: flexget check
• View daemon logs: journalctl -u flexget@username
• Verify service is running: systemctl status flexget@username

Password not working:

• Password is synced with your QuickBox user password
• Change via: /opt/username/Flexget/.venv/bin/flexget web passwd

Best Practices

Database Files

FlexGet uses SQLite databases to track state:

Check Version

sqlite3 /home/username/.config/Flexget/db-config.sqlite "SELECT version FROM flexget_version;"

Backup & Restore

Automatic Backups

QuickBox automatically backs up your FlexGet configuration during:

• Installation
• Updates (if autobackup_apps is enabled)

Backup Locations

Backups are stored at:

/home/username/.qb_backups/software/flexget/default/
/home/username/.qb_backups/software/flexget/backup/

Manual Backup

qb manage software -o backup -o app -s flexget -u username

What Gets Backed Up

• Configuration file (config.yml)
• Port file (flexget.port)
• Database files (db-config*.sqlite)
• Nginx configuration

Resources

Related Applications

FlexGet works seamlessly with these applications:

Version Information

The FlexGet installation uses:

• Python Version: 3.11
• Installation Method: pip (Python Package Index)
• Update Method: pip install --upgrade flexget
• Version Tracking: Stored in SQLite database