From 38eaa43d04063edd61b48ac719e207752b41de8e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: tim <tim@stack.local>
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2026 07:40:41 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Add FlareSolverr for Cloudflare challenges on Prowlarr
 indexers

Provides a browser proxy on arr-net so indexers behind Cloudflare JS
challenges can work; document limits (not a universal captcha solver).
---
 .env.example       |  4 ++++
 README.md          |  1 +
 docker-compose.yml | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 quickstart.md      |  8 ++++++++
 4 files changed, 31 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index bbb1885..1e53dd6 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ OPENHANDS_PORT=3001
 # LiteLLM-style id; after first start check http://host:8081/v1/models
 OPENHANDS_MODEL=openai/local
 
+# FlareSolverr (Cloudflare helper for Prowlarr; internal only)
+FLARESOLVERR_LOG_LEVEL=info
+FLARESOLVERR_CAPTCHA_SOLVER=none
+
 # Forgejo — self-hosted Git (web + SSH clone)
 FORGEJO_HTTP_PORT=3002
 FORGEJO_SSH_PORT=2222
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4f077f2..5146854 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ for the **Beelink SER5 PRO** (Ryzen 7 7735HS + Radeon 680M).
 | Jellyfin    | http://host:8096       | Media server / playback              |
 | qBittorrent | http://host:8080       | Torrent client (VPN-only)            |
 | Prowlarr    | http://host:9696       | Indexer manager                      |
+| FlareSolverr| (internal :8191)       | Cloudflare proxy for indexers        |
 | Sonarr      | http://host:8989       | TV shows                             |
 | Radarr      | http://host:7878       | Movies                               |
 | Bazarr      | http://host:6767       | Subtitles                            |
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 6be6f8e..b64850d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -94,6 +94,24 @@ services:
       TZ: ${TZ}
     volumes:
       - ${CONFIG_DIR}/prowlarr:/config
+    depends_on:
+      - flaresolverr
+
+  # Cloudflare / JS challenge proxy for Prowlarr indexers (not a general captcha solver)
+  # Wire in Prowlarr: Settings → Indexers → FlareSolverr → http://flaresolverr:8191
+  flaresolverr:
+    image: ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latest
+    container_name: flaresolverr
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    networks: [arr-net]
+    environment:
+      LOG_LEVEL: ${FLARESOLVERR_LOG_LEVEL:-info}
+      LOG_HTML: "false"
+      CAPTCHA_SOLVER: ${FLARESOLVERR_CAPTCHA_SOLVER:-none}
+      TZ: ${TZ}
+    # Optional LAN debug UI/API — leave commented to keep it internal-only
+    # ports:
+    #   - "8191:8191"
 
   # -------------------------------------------------------------------- TV #
   sonarr:
diff --git a/quickstart.md b/quickstart.md
index 58d5a89..ec5cc07 100644
--- a/quickstart.md
+++ b/quickstart.md
@@ -91,6 +91,14 @@ Root folders: `/data/media/tv`, `/data/media/movies`, `/data/media/music` (hardl
 
 **Prowlarr** — Add indexers. Apps: Sonarr `http://sonarr:8989`, Radarr `http://radarr:7878`, Lidarr `http://lidarr:8686` + each API key (*Settings → General*).
 
+**FlareSolverr** (Cloudflare / JS challenges for some indexers) — container `flaresolverr` on `arr-net`, no public port by default.  
+Prowlarr → **Settings → Indexers** (or **Settings → Connect** / FlareSolverr section depending on version) → add FlareSolverr host:
+
+- Host: `http://flaresolverr:8191`  
+- Then enable FlareSolverr on indexers that show Cloudflare errors.
+
+Does **not** solve every captcha (Turnstile/hCaptcha image puzzles, etc.). Prefer indexers without CF; paid APIs (2captcha / CapSolver) are optional external services, not a free self-hosted magic box.
+
 **Bazarr** — Sonarr/Radarr URLs + API keys; paths `/data/media/tv`, `/data/media/movies`.
 
 **Jellyfin** — Libraries: Movies `/data/media/movies`, Shows `/data/media/tv`, Music `/data/media/music`.