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NZBGet ReadMe
=====================================
Contents
--------
1. About NZBGet
2. Supported OS
3. Prerequisites on POSIX
4. Installation on POSIX
5. Compiling on Windows
6. Configuration
7. Usage
8. Authors
9. Copyright
10. Contact
=====================================
1. About NZBGet
=====================================
NZBGet is a binary newsgrabber, which downloads files from usenet
based on information given in nzb-files. NZBGet can be used in
standalone and in server/client modes. In standalone mode you
pass a nzb-file as parameter in command-line, NZBGet downloads
listed files and then exits.
In server/client mode NZBGet runs as server in background.
Then you use client to send requests to server. The sample requests
are: download nzb-file, list files in queue, etc.
Standalone-tool, server and client are all contained in only one
executable file "nzbget". The mode in which the program works
depends on command-line parameters passed to the program.
=====================================
2. Supported OS
=====================================
NZBGet is written in C++ and was initialy developed on Linux.
It was ported to Windows later and tested for compatibility with
several POSIX-OS'es.
The current version (0.7.0) should run at least on:
- Linux Debian 4.0 on x86;
- Linux with uClibc and BusyBox on MIPSEL and ARM;
- FreeBSD 7.0 on x86;
- OpenSolaris 2008.11 on x86;
- Mac OS X;
- Windows XP SP2 on x86.
Clients and servers running on different OS'es may communicate with
each other. For example, you can use NZBGet as client on Windows to
control your NZBGet-server running on Linux.
The download-section of NZBGet web-site provides binary files
for Windows. The binary packages for many routers and NAS devices are
also available in OPTWARE repository (http://www.nslu2-linux.org),
but for most POSIX-systems you need to compile the program yourself.
If you have downloaded binaries you can just jump to section
"Configuration".
=====================================
3. Prerequisites on POSIX
=====================================
NZBGet is developed on a linux-system, but it should run on other
POSIX platforms (see the list of tested platforms above).
NZBGet absolutely needs the following libraries:
- libstdc++ (usually part of compiler)
- libxml2 (http://www.xmlsoft.org)
And the following libraries are optional:
- for curses-output-mode (enabled by default):
- libcurses (usually part of commercial systems)
or (better)
- libncurses (http://invisible-island.net/ncurses)
- for par-check and -repair (enabled by default):
- libpar2 (http://parchive.sourceforge.net)
- libsigc++ (http://libsigc.sourceforge.net)
- for encrypted connections (TLS/SSL):
- GnuTLS (http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls)
or
- OpenSSL (http://www.openssl.org)
All these libraries are included in modern Linux distributions and
should be available as installable packages. Please note that you also
need the developer packages for these libraries too, they package names
have often suffix "dev" or "devel". On other systems you may need to
download the libraries at the given URLs and compile them (see hints below).
=====================================
4. Installation on POSIX
=====================================
Well, the usual stuff:
- untar the nzbget-source via
tar -zxf nzbget-VERSION.tar.gz
- change into nzbget-directory via
cd nzbget-VERSION
- configure it via
./configure
(maybe you have to tell configure, where to find some libraries.
./configure --help is your friend!)
also see "Configure-options" later.)
- compile it via
make
- become root via
su
- install it via
make install
Configure-options
-----------------
You may run configure with additional arguments:
--disable-curses - to make without curses-support. Use this option
if you can not use curses/ncurses.
--disable-parcheck - to make without parcheck-support. Use this option
if you can not use libpar2 or libsigc++.
--with-tlslib=(GnuTLS, OpenSSL) - to select which TLS/SSL library
should be used for encrypted server connections.
--disable-tls - to make without TLS/SSL support. Use this option if
you can not neither GnuTLS nor OpenSSL.
--enable-debug - to build in debug-mode, if you want to see and log
debug-messages.
Optional package: par-check
---------------------------
NZBGet can check and repair downloaded files for you. For this purpose
it uses library par2 (libpar2), which needs sigc++ on its part.
The libpar2 and libsigc++ (version 2 or later) must be installed on your
system. On most linux distributions these libraries are available as packages.
If you do not have these packages you can compile them yourself.
Following configure-parameters may be usefull:
--with-libpar2-includes
--with-libpar2-libraries
--with-libsigc-includes
--with-libsigc-libraries
The library libsigc++ must be installed first, since libpar2 requires it.
If you use nzbget on a very slow computer like NAS-device, it may be good to
limit the time allowed for par-repair (option "ParTimeLimit" in nzbget
configuration file). This feature requires a patched version of libpar2.
To compile that version download the original source code of libpar2
(version 0.2) and apply patches "libpar2-0.2-bugfixes.patch" and
"libpar2-0.2-cancel.patch", provided with nzbget:
cd libpar2-0.2
cp ~/nzbget/libpar2-0.2-*.patch .
patch < libpar2-0.2-bugfixes.patch
patch < libpar2-0.2-cancel.patch
./configure
make
make install
If you are not able to use libpar2 or libsigc++ or do not want them you can
make nzbget without support for par-check using option "--disable-parcheck":
./configure --disable-parcheck
Optional package: curses
-------------------------
For curses-outputmode you need ncurses or curses on your system.
If you do not have one of them you can download and compile ncurses yourself.
Following configure-parameters may be usefull:
--with-libcurses-includes
--with-libcurses-libraries
If you are not able to use curses or ncurses or do not want them you can
make the program without support for curses using option "--disable-curses":
./configure --disable-curses
Optional package: TLS
-------------------------
To enable encrypted server connections (TLS/SSL) you need to build the program
with TLS/SSL support. NZBGet can use two libraries: GnuTLS or OpenSSL.
Configure-script checks which library is installed and use it. If both are
avialable it gives the precedence to GnuTLS. You may override that with
the option --with-tlslib=(GnuTLS, OpenSSL). For example to build whith OpenSSL:
./configure --with-tlslib=OpenSSL
Following configure-parameters may be usefull:
--with-libtls-includes
--with-libtls-libraries
--with-openssl-includes
--with-openssl-libraries
If none of these libraries is available you can make the program without
TLS/SSL support using option "--disable-tls":
./configure --disable-tls
=====================================
5. Compiling on Windows
=====================================
NZBGet is developed using MS Visual C++ 2005. The project file and solution
are provided. If you use MS Visual C++ 2005 Express you need to download
and install Platform SDK.
To compile the program with par-check-support you also need the following
libraries:
- libsigc++ (http://libsigc.sourceforge.net)
- libpar2 (http://parchive.sourceforge.net)
Download these libaries, then use patch-files provided with NZBGet to create
preconfigured project files and solutions for each library.
Look at http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/patch.htm for info on how
to use patch-files, if you do not familiar with this technique.
To compile the program with TLS/SSL support you also need the library:
- GnuTLS (http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls)
Download a precompiled version of GnuTLS from http://josefsson.org/gnutls4win
and create lib-file as described there in section "Using the GnuTLS DLL from
your Visual Studio program".
After libsigc++ and libpar2 are compiled in static libraries (.lib), the
library for GnuTLS is created and include- and libraries-paths are configured
in MS Visual C++ 2005 you should be able to compile NZBGet.
=====================================
6. Configuration
=====================================
NZBGet needs a configuration-file to work properly.
You need to set at least the option "MAINDIR" and one newsserver in
configuration file. Have a look at the example in nzbget.conf.example,
it has comments on how to use each option.
The program looks for configuration file in following standard
locations (in this order):
On POSIX systems:
~/.nzbget
/etc/nzbget.conf
/usr/etc/nzbget.conf
/usr/local/etc/nzbget.conf
/opt/etc/nzbget.conf
On Windows:
<EXE-DIR>\nzbget.conf
If you put the configuration file in other place, you can use command-
line switch "-c <filename>" to point the program to correct location.
In special cases you can run program without configuration file using
switch "-n". You need to use switch "-o" to pass required configuration
options via command-line.
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7. Usage
=====================================
NZBGet can be used in either standalone mode which downloads a single file
or as a server which is able to queue up numerous download requests.
TIP for Windows users: NZBGet is controlled via various command line
parameters. For easier using there is a simple shell script included
in "nzbget-shell.bat". Start this script from Windows Explorer and you will
be running a command shell with PATH adjusted to find NZBGet executable.
Then you can type all commands without full path to nzbget.exe.
Standalone mode:
----------------
nzbget <nzb-file>
Server mode:
------------
First start the nzbget-server:
- in console mode:
nzbget -s
- or in daemon mode (POSIX only):
nzbget -D
- or as a service (Windowx only, firstly install the service with command
"nzbget -install"):
net start NZBGet
To stop server use:
nzbget -Q
TIP for POSIX users: with included script "nzbgetd" you can use standard
commands to control daemon:
nzbgetd start
nzbgetd stop
etc.
When NZBGet is started in console server mode it displays a message that
it is ready to receive download requests. In daemon mode it doesn't print any
messages to console since it runs in background.
When the server is running it is possible to queue up downloads. This can be
done either in terminal with "nzbget -A <nzb-file>" or by uploading
a nzb-file into server's monitor-directory (<MAINDIR>/nzb by default).
To check the status of server start client and connect it to server:
nzbget -C
The client have three different (display) outputmodes, which you can select
in configuration file (on client computer) or in command line. Try them:
nzbget -o outputmode=log -C
nzbget -o outputmode=color -C
nzbget -o outputmode=curses -C
To list files in server's queue:
nzbget -L
It prints something like:
[1] nzbname\filename1.rar (50.00 MB)
[2] nzbname\filename1.r01 (50.00 MB)
The numbers in square braces are ID's of files in queue. They can be used
in edit-command. For example to move file with ID 2 to the top of queue:
nzbget -E T 2
or to pause files with IDs from 10 to 20:
nzbget -E P 10-20
or to delete files from queue:
nzbget -E D 3 10-15 20-21 16
The edit-command has also a group-mode which affects all files from the
same nzb-request. You need to pass one ID of any file in the group. For
example to delete all files from the first nzb-request:
nzbget -E G D 1
The switch "o" is useful to override options in configuration files.
For example:
nzbget -o reloadqueue=no -o dupecheck=no -o parcheck=yes -s
or:
nzbget -o createlog=no -C
Running client & server on seperate machines:
---------------------------------------------
Since nzbget communicates via TCP/IP it's possible to have a server running on
one computer and adding downloads via a client on another computer.
Do this by setting the "serverip" option in the nzbget.conf file to point to the
IP of the server (default is localhost which means client and server runs on
same computer)
Security warning
----------------
NZBGet communicates via unsecured socket connections. This makes it vulnerable.
Although server checks the password passed by client, this password is still
transmitted in unsecured way. For this reason it is highly recommended
to configure your Firewall to not expose the port used by NZBGet to WAN.
If you need to control server from WAN it is better to connect to server's
terminal via SSH (POSIX) or remote desktop (Windows) and then run
nzbget-client-commands in this terminal.
Post processing scripts
-----------------------
After the download of nzb-file is completed nzbget can call post-process-script,
defined in configuration file. See example configuration file for the
description of parameters passed to the script.
An example script for unraring of downloaded files is provided in file
postprocess-example.sh. The usage instructions are included in the file,
please open the file in any text editor to read them.
NOTE: That example script is for POSIX systems (not for Windows).
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8. Authors
=====================================
NZBGet was initialiy written by Sven Henkel (sidddy@users.sourceforge.net).
Up to version 0.2.3 it was developed and maintained by Bo Cordes Petersen
(placebodk@users.sourceforge.net).
Beginning at version 0.3.0 the program is being developed by Andrei Prygounkov
(hugbug@users.sourceforge.net).
Module TLS (TLS.c, TLS.h) is based on work by Martin Lambers (marlam@marlam.de).
=====================================
9. Copyright
=====================================
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
The complete content of license is provided in file COPYING.
Additional exemption: compiling, linking, and/or using OpenSSL is allowed.
Binary distribution for Windows contains code from the following libraries:
- libpar2 (http://parchive.sourceforge.net)
- libsigc++ (http://libsigc.sourceforge.net)
- GnuTLS (http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls)
libpar2 is distributed under GPL; libsigc++ and GnuTLS - under LGPL.
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10. Contact
=====================================
If you encounter any problem, feel free to use forums on
sourceforge.net/projects/nzbget
or contact me at
hugbug@users.sourceforge.net