HOWTO: Install Hellanzb - Including a working hellanzb.conf (3 Steps, no fuss)

[SilverWave]

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HOWTO:

Install Hellanzb - Including a working hellanzb.conf
OS: Ubuntu 7.10
Architecture: 64bit.

About Hellanzb:
Once fully installed, all thats required is moving an nzb file to the queue directory.
The rest; fetching, par-checking, un-raring, etc. is taken care of by hellanzb.
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1 - Issue these commands:
sudo apt-get install hellanzb unrar par2 python-yenc PyPar2
sudo gedit /etc/hellanzb.conf

2 - Update the blank hellanzb.conf file to reflect your details (see below).

3 - Issue the command:
hellanzb

Drop your nzb's to the hellanzb/nzb/daemon.queue and hellanzb will do its thing and report on progress in the terminal.

Done

Cheers



Items that will need changed:

             username = 'gn123456',
             password = 'xyz1a2b3',

             connections = 10,

defineServer(id = 'giganews',
             hosts = [ 'news-europe.giganews.com:119' ],

Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR = '/media/home2/hellanzb/'

Supply a path to the (un)rar, par2 commands and set Skip unraring to False.

# Supply a path to the (un)rar command
Hellanzb.UNRAR_CMD = '/usr/bin/unrar'

# Supply a path to the par2 command
Hellanzb.PAR2_CMD = '/usr/bin/par2'

# Skip unraring during post processing
Hellanzb.SKIP_UNRAR = False

Here is my hellanzb.conf file:

# 
# hellanzb.conf - sample hellanzb configuration file
#
# To quickly get started, change the default defineServer() call and the
# Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR directory
#
# This is actually interpreted python code: strings must be surrounded by
# quotes, numbers and the 'None' keyword should not
# 
# $Id: hellanzb.conf.sample 1057 2007-03-27 04:13:53Z pjenvey $

# Log output to this file, set to None (no single quotes) for no logging
Hellanzb.LOG_FILE = os.path.expanduser('~') + '/.hellanzb/log'

# Uncomment this line to log DEBUG messages to the specified file
#Hellanzb.DEBUG_MODE = os.path.expanduser('~') + '/.hellanzb/log-debug'

# Automatically roll over both log files when they reach LOG_FILE_MAX_BYTES
# size
Hellanzb.LOG_FILE_MAX_BYTES = 0

# Save LOG_FILE_BACKUP_COUNT of those rolled over log files
Hellanzb.LOG_FILE_BACKUP_COUNT = 0


# Define server connections. Servers can have multiple hosts, hellanzb will
# persist the number of connections to each specified server. There may be
# multiple defineServer lines.

# Set both the username and password to 'None' (without the quotes) if your
# usenet server does not require authorization
defineServer(id = 'giganews',
             hosts = [ 'news-europe.giganews.com:119' ],
             #hosts = [ 'news.changeme.com', 'morenews.changeme.com:8000' ],


             username = 'gn123456',
             password = 'xyz1a2b3',
             #username = None,           # no auth
             #password = None,

             connections = 10,
             antiIdle = 4.5 * 60,        # 4 minutes, 30 seconds, 0 to disable
             #bindTo = '204.31.33.7',    # connect FROM this ip address
             #enabled = False,           # disable this server
             #skipGroupCmd = False,      # skip sending nntp GROUP commands
             #fillserver = 0,            # defaults to 0 (a main server).
                                         # fillservers must have values > 0
                                         # (priority)
             ssl = False
             )

# Uncomment this line to limit all server connections to the specified KB/s
# bandwidth
#Hellanzb.MAX_RATE = 150 # limit to 150kB/s

# Important locations
# Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR = os.path.expanduser('~') + '/.hellanzb/'
Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR = '/media/home2/hellanzb/'

# Where to put queued .nzb files
Hellanzb.QUEUE_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.queue/'

# Where the fully processed archives go
Hellanzb.DEST_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'done/'

# The .nzb currently being downloaded is stored here
Hellanzb.CURRENT_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.current/'

# The archive currently being downloaded is stored here
Hellanzb.WORKING_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.working/'

# Archives interrupted in the middle of downloading are stored here temporarily
Hellanzb.POSTPONED_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.postponed/'

# Archives currently being processed. May contains archive directories, or
# symbolic links to archive directories
Hellanzb.PROCESSING_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.processing/'

# Temp storage
Hellanzb.TEMP_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.temp/'

# Filename to store hellanzb state in between CTRL-Cs. The state (includes the
# order of the queue, and smart par recovery information) is intermittently
# written out as XML to this file
Hellanzb.STATE_XML_FILE = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/hellanzbState.xml'


# _Sub directory within the nzb archive dir_ to move processed files to
Hellanzb.PROCESSED_SUBDIR = 'processed'

# Remove the PROCESSED_SUBDIR if the archive was successfully post processed. 
# Warning: The normal Hellanzb.LOG_FILE should be enabled with this option --
# for a record of what hellanzb deletes
Hellanzb.DELETE_PROCESSED = True


# Maximum amount of memory used to cache encoded Article data segments.
# hellanzb will write article data to disk when this cache is exceeded
# Available settings:
# -1: Unlimited size
#  0: Disable cache (only cache to disk)
# >0: Limit cache to this size, in bytes, KB, MB, e.g.:
#     1024 '1024KB' '100MB' '1GB'
#Hellanzb.CACHE_LIMIT = 0


# Save archives into a sub directory of DEST_DIR named after their newzbin.com
# category (when queued using the enqueuenewzbin XMLRPC call); e.g. Apps,
# Movies, Music
Hellanzb.CATEGORIZE_DEST = True

# Disable SMART_PAR (download all PAR files)
#Hellanzb.SMART_PAR = False

# Supply a path to the (un)rar command
Hellanzb.UNRAR_CMD = '/usr/bin/unrar'

# Supply a path to the par2 command
Hellanzb.PAR2_CMD = '/usr/bin/par2'

# Skip unraring during post processing
Hellanzb.SKIP_UNRAR = False

# Supply a path to the optional macbinconv command (for converting MacBinary
# files)
#Hellanzb.MACBINCONV_CMD = None

# hellanzb inherits the umask from the current user's environment (unless it's
# running in daemon mode). The umask can be forced with this option
#Hellanzb.UMASK = 0022


# Supported music types (case insensitive) and optionally their decompression
# executables
# and the file type that executable will decompress to (case insensitive). The
# exes must be in the PATH.
#
# <FILE> will be replaced with the name of music file
# optional <DESTFILE> is <FILE> with the specified extension
#
# None means these files don't need to be decompressed
defineMusicType('wav', None, None)
defineMusicType('mp3', None, None)
#defineMusicType('ape', 'mac <FILE> <DESTFILE> -d', 'wav')
#defineMusicType('flac', 'flac -d -- <FILE>', 'wav')
#defineMusicType('shn', 'shorten -x < <FILE> > <DESTFILE>', 'wav')

# Max files we should decompress at the same time
Hellanzb.MAX_DECOMPRESSION_THREADS = 2


# Enable Mac OS X Growl notifications
Hellanzb.GROWL_NOTIFY = False

# The growl notification server, in the format 'hostname'
Hellanzb.GROWL_SERVER = 'IP'

# The growl password
Hellanzb.GROWL_PASSWORD = 'password'


# Enable libNotify Daemon notifications
Hellanzb.LIBNOTIFY_NOTIFY = False


# Disable ANSI color codes in the main screen (preserves the in place scroller)
#Hellanzb.DISABLE_COLORS = False

# Disable ALL ANSI color codes in the main screen (for terminals that don't
# support ANY ANSI codes
#Hellanzb.DISABLE_ANSI = False


# Hostname for the XMLRPC client to connect to. By default, localhost
Hellanzb.XMLRPC_SERVER = 'localhost'

# IP address on which the XMLRPC Server will be binded to.
# Type '0.0.0.0' for any interfaces, '127.0.0.1' will disable remote access
Hellanzb.XMLRPC_SERVER_BIND = '127.0.0.1'

# Port number the XML RPC server will listen on, and the client will connect to.
# Set to 'None' (without the quotes!) for no XML RPC server
Hellanzb.XMLRPC_PORT = 8760

# Password for the XML RPC server. You might probably never use this, but the
# command line XML RPC calls do -- it should definitely be changed from its
# default value. The XML RPC username is hardcoded as 'hellanzb' -- E.g. URL:
# http://hellanzb:changeme@localhost:8760
Hellanzb.XMLRPC_PASSWORD = 'changeme'


# Username/Password to http://www.newzbin.com for automatic NZB downloading
Hellanzb.NEWZBIN_USERNAME = None
Hellanzb.NEWZBIN_PASSWORD = None


# If any of the following file types are missing from the archive and cannot be
# repaired, continue processing because they're unimportant (case insensitive)
Hellanzb.NOT_REQUIRED_FILE_TYPES = [ 'log', 'm3u', 'nfo', 'nzb', 'sfv', 'txt' ]

# Don't get rid of (move into the PROCESSED dir) the following file types when
# finished post processing (case insensitive)
#Hellanzb.KEEP_FILE_TYPES = [ 'log', 'm3u', 'nfo', 'nzb', 'sfv', 'txt' ]
Hellanzb.KEEP_FILE_TYPES = [ 'nfo', 'txt' ]


# List of alternative file extensions matched as NZB files in the QUEUE_DIR.
# The 'nzb' file extension is always matched
#Hellanzb.OTHER_NZB_FILE_TYPES = [ 'xml' ]

# Support extracting NZBs from ZIP files with this suffix (case insensitive) in
# QUEUE_DIR. Defaults to '.nzb.zip'. Set to False to disable.
#Hellanzb.NZB_ZIPS = '.nzb.zip'

# Support extracting NZBs from GZIP files with this suffix (case insensitive)
# in QUEUE_DIR. Defaults to '.nzb.gz'. Set to False to disable.
#Hellanzb.NZB_GZIPS = '.nzb.gz'

# Delay enqueueing new, recently modified NZB files added to the QUEUE_DIR until
# this many seconds have passed since the NZB's last modification time (defaults
# to 10 seconds)
#Hellanzb.NZBQUEUE_MDELAY = 10

# Optional external handler script. hellanzb will run this script after post
# processing an archive, with the following arguments:
#
# handler_script type archiveName destDir elapsedTime parMessage
#
# type: post processing result, either 'SUCCESS' or 'ERROR'
# archiveName: name of the archive, e.g. 'Usenet_Post5'
# destDir: where the archive ended up, e.g. '/ext2/usenet/Usenet_Post5'
# elapsedTime: a pretty string showing how long post processing took, e.g.
#              '10m 37s'
# parMessage: optional post processing message. e.g. '(No Pars)'
#Hellanzb.EXTERNAL_HANDLER_SCRIPT = '~/bin/post_hellanzb.sh'

The hellanzb.conf above contains MY data so it will need to be changed to reflect your details.
You have, as far as practical, a working copy - obviously the pw has been changed



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Notes:

python-yenc is optional but recommended for speed.
PyPar2 is an optional gui for par2, Hellanzb does the par checking for you so it should never be needed but I like to be prepared



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Extras:

I have set Firefox to download nzb files to: hellanzb/nzb/daemon.queue
hellanzb/done is where your finished downloads are placed



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Acknowledgments:

This how to is based on various Google searches and the following posts:
http://www.hellanzb.com/
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-462163.html
http://lunapark6.com/hellanzb-automa...-and-more.html

Best of Luck

[nfox]

Hey, what does this line mean in the config file:

#bindTo = '204.31.33.7', # connect FROM this ip address

I know what it says, but why would I ever want to use this? Like, Apache has a bind-to and so does SAMBA and I get why you want to bind a web server but where does it apply to Hellanzb? Is this for a web interface or something?

Just wondering...

[SilverWave]

I was thinking that bindTo would allow you to choose which of your nic's to use (if you had more than one) but tbh I don't know

I have had a look at the homepage and the search returns these hits:
http://www.hellanzb.com/trac/hellanz...t=on&ticket=on

bindTo has previously had a patch applied to address a problem...

http://www.hellanzb.com/trac/hellanz...ixbindto.patch

... so it does still have a function

Checking the example IP ...
http://ws.arin.net/whois/?queryinput=204.31.33.7

Returns this:

OrgName: ICG NetAhead, Inc.
OrgID: ICGN
Address: 1025 Eldorado Blvd.
City: Broomfield
StateProv: CO
PostalCode: 80021
Country: US
NetRange: 204.31.16.0 - 204.31.79.255

If you do confirm what bindTo does please return and post an update

[nfox]

Yea, the NIC thing was a good idea.

I think it may be related to the web-based UI. I know I wouldn't want someone in pick-a-place to access my usenet account and download bad stuff.

Still a little odd though

[hoverX]

ok i've installed hellanzb but i cannot find a directory called daemon.queue. What is the exact path of this directory?

[darco]

ok i've installed hellanzb but i cannot find a directory called daemon.queue. What is the exact path of this directory?

it depends what you entered in the .conf file for this line

Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR = '/media/home2/hellanzb/'

then just drill down to find the folder

darco

[nfox]

the queue folder is as stated above. mine is specifically here:

~/.hellanzb/nzb/daemon.queue

using default options to install which is where I'm guessing yours is.

[Dodominyk]

Thanks for the guide.

How do you set Firefox to download nzb files to hellanzb/nzb/daemon.queue. I can only get Firefox to always download nzb files, but I have to enter the location every times.

[darco]

Strange but I have been using Hella for a long time now and today after I d/l an .nzb, everything looks fine. Hella reports "found new nzb", "Parsing", then "parsed" then Hella says its "queued" and nothing downloads? I have tried several .nzbs and they all just sit there? Any clue?

darco

[Drizzel]

Hi, I followed your tut to the T and hellanzb refuses to connect. I have to use lottanzb in standalone mode to be able to download anything. I compared my hellanzb.conf file to yours and did everything just like yours. Why wont hellanzb connect. I would like to use it instead of having to use lottanzb in standalone mode. Tons of people use hellanzb, why wont it work for me? I have read countless tutorials on getting hellanzb to work and not once has it connected. Very dissappointing.