How to Solve Common Issues & Errors for FlareSolverr

Running into frustrating FlareSolverr errors like endless timeouts, browser launch failures, or Chrome connection issues? You're definitely not the only one. Since the FlareSolverr team announced on GitHub that the project is deprecated and no longer supported, more users are hitting roadblocks—especially as Cloudflare keeps tightening its defenses.

But here’s the good news: even though support has ended, FlareSolverr can still work well in many cases if it’s properly configured. In this guide, we’ll walk you through step-by-step fixes for the most common FlareSolverr headaches—from challenge loops to browser launch issues and everything in between.

By the time you reach the end, you'll know how to:

• Stop those timeout errors and challenge loops
• Troubleshoot and fix Chrome/Chromium issues
• Get Docker set up the right way
• Handle missing dependencies without guesswork
• Know when it’s time to switch to an alternative tool

Why You Can Trust This Guide

The problem: FlareSolverr is throwing more errors than usual—timeouts, Chrome connection failures, and looped challenges are popping up more often as Cloudflare evolves.

The solution: This guide offers proven troubleshooting steps, built from community discussions, open GitHub issues, and FlareSolverr’s own documentation.

Our approach: We distilled hundreds of user reports and fixes into a practical, field-tested guide you can actually use to get FlareSolverr working again.

Step 1: Diagnose Your FlareSolverr Installation

Before we jump into fixing things, let’s make sure you understand what’s going wrong with your setup.

Check FlareSolverr Logs

To see what’s really happening behind the scenes, enable debug logs. This will surface any silent errors that might otherwise go unnoticed.

# For Docker
docker run -d \
  --name=flaresolverr \
  -p 8191:8191 \
  -e LOG_LEVEL=debug \
  ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latest

# For standalone installation
export LOG_LEVEL=debug
python src/flaresolverr.py

Test Basic Connectivity

Verify that FlareSolverr is running and responding to basic requests.

curl -L -X POST 'http://localhost:8191/v1' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
    "cmd": "request.get",
    "url": "http://www.google.com/",
    "maxTimeout": 60000
  }'

Look for Error Clues

Check your logs for the most telling error messages. These are the usual suspects:

• Timeout errors after 60 seconds
• Failure to connect to Chrome
• Chrome version not found
• Browser process launch errors

Pro tip: Save those logs to a file so you can easily review or share them when troubleshooting.

docker logs flaresolverr > flaresolverr-debug.log 2>&1

Step 2: Fix Timeout and Challenge Loop Errors

The most common issue users face? FlareSolverr times out or gets stuck in a Cloudflare challenge loop. Here’s how to tackle that.

Bump the Timeout Value

First, try increasing the timeout limit to give FlareSolverr more breathing room:

{
  "cmd": "request.get",
  "url": "https://your-site.com",
  "maxTimeout": 120000  // Increase from 60000 to 120000 (2 minutes)
}

Disable IPv6

Believe it or not, IPv6 often causes problems here. Disabling it on your host and containers may resolve the issue.

# Disable IPv6 on Linux
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=1
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=1

# Docker containers (docker-compose.yml)
sysctls:
  - net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=1

Switch to Host Network Mode

This allows FlareSolverr to share the host's network stack, which can help bypass some Cloudflare checks.

docker run -d \
  --name=flaresolverr \
  --network host \
  -e LOG_LEVEL=info \
  ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latest

Clear the Browser Cache

Sometimes it’s just stale data. Restart FlareSolverr to refresh everything:

docker restart flaresolverr

Watch out: Timeout values over 180,000ms (3 minutes) may overload memory and cause crashes.

Step 3: Resolve Chrome Connection Issues

If FlareSolverr can’t connect to Chrome, you’ll see connection errors or failed browser launches. Let’s fix those.

Match the Correct Chrome Version

FlareSolverr only works reliably with Chromium 126. Downgrade if necessary.

# Arch
sudo pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/chromium-126.*

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install chromium=126.* chromium-driver=126.*

Install Missing Dependencies

If Chrome refuses to run due to missing libraries, install the essentials:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y \
    libatk1.0-0 \
    libatk-bridge2.0-0 \
    libcups2 \
    libdrm2 \
    libgtk-3-0 \
    libnspr4 \
    libnss3 \
    libxcomposite1 \
    libxdamage1 \
    libxfixes3 \
    libxrandr2 \
    libgbm1 \
    libasound2

Check ChromeDriver Permissions

Make sure ChromeDriver is executable and matches your Chrome version:

chmod +x /path/to/chromedriver
chromedriver --version
chromium --version

Pro tip: Stick with the official Docker image to avoid these issues entirely—it comes pre-packaged with the right versions and dependencies.

Step 4: Configure Docker and Network Settings

FlareSolverr heavily depends on how Docker is set up. Small misconfigurations can cause major problems.

Basic Docker Setup

This command sets up your FlareSolverr container with logging and timezone configured:

docker run -d \
  --name=flaresolverr \
  -p 8191:8191 \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -e LOG_LEVEL=info \
  -e TZ=America/New_York \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latest

Docker Compose Example

Prefer docker-compose? Here’s a solid starting point:

version: '3.8'
services:
  flaresolverr:
    image: ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latest
    container_name: flaresolverr
    environment:
      - LOG_LEVEL=info
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - BROWSER_TIMEOUT=60000
    ports:
      - "8191:8191"
    restart: unless-stopped

Combine with Jackett or Prowlarr

When using FlareSolverr alongside Jackett or Prowlarr, make sure they share the same Docker network:

networks:
  arr-network:
    driver: bridge

services:
  flaresolverr:
    networks:
      - arr-network
  prowlarr:
    networks:
      - arr-network

Got a firewall? Make sure port 8191 is open to allow traffic.

Step 5: Install Missing Dependencies

Depending on your OS, missing packages might be stopping FlareSolverr from even starting up.

Linux Systems

Here’s what to install based on your distro:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y xvfb chromium chromium-driver python3-pip

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install -y xorg-x11-server-Xvfb chromium python3-pip

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S xorg-server-xvfb chromium python-pip

Windows

Windows users, make sure you’ve got:

1. Visual C++ Redistributable
2. Chrome or Chromium installed
3. Python 3.8+ with pip

FreeBSD

Here’s the one-liner for FreeBSD:

pkg install chromium python311 py311-pip xorg-vfbserver
python3.11 -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Reminder: Get your dependencies sorted before launching FlareSolverr to avoid failure during startup.

Step 6: Update Environment Variables

Environment variables give you more control over how FlareSolverr behaves—and can solve a surprising number of issues.

Core Environment Variables

Set these in your terminal or include them in your Docker config:

export BROWSER_TIMEOUT=120000
export LOG_LEVEL=debug
export TZ=America/New_York
export HEADLESS=true
export CHROME_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium

Docker Configuration with Variables

Here’s how to start your container with these set:

docker run -d \
  --name=flaresolverr \
  -p 8191:8191 \
  -e BROWSER_TIMEOUT=120000 \
  -e LOG_LEVEL=info \
  -e TZ=America/New_York \
  -e HEADLESS=true \
  ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latest

Better Request Management with Sessions

Using sessions can improve performance when making multiple requests:

import requests

session_data = {
    "cmd": "sessions.create",
    "session": "my-session",
    "maxTimeout": 60000
}

response = requests.post("http://localhost:8191/v1", json=session_data)
session_id = response.json()["session"]

request_data = {
    "cmd": "request.get",
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "session": session_id,
    "maxTimeout": 60000
}

Don’t forget: Clean up sessions afterward to avoid memory bloat.

Step 7: Consider Alternative Solutions

FlareSolverr isn’t being maintained—and eventually, it may just stop working altogether. Be ready with a backup plan.

Open-Source Alternatives

Here are some promising tools users are switching to:

• Byparr – Built with SeleniumBase and FastAPI
• FlareBypasser – Designed to work post-Oct 2024
• Scrappey Proxy – Drop-in compatible with FlareSolverr’s API

Commercial Tools

If uptime and scale are mission-critical, consider these:

• ZenRows – Automatically handles Cloudflare bypass
• ScraperBox – Headless browser API with rotating proxies
• Zyte – Full-fledged web scraping platform

Know When to Switch

It's time to move on when:

• FlareSolverr can't solve challenges anymore
• You’re hitting CAPTCHA walls
• Your scraping needs are scaling up
• The target sites get too strict

Pro tip: Try multiple options before committing—what works best will depend on your use case.

Final Thoughts

Yes, FlareSolverr has its share of growing pains right now—but with the right tweaks and setup, it can still do the job. From timeout tuning to Docker and Chrome fixes, this guide gives you a clear path to troubleshoot the most common problems.

Just remember: FlareSolverr won’t solve CAPTCHAs, and it's no longer being actively maintained. So if you’re scraping at scale or hitting lots of Cloudflare roadblocks, it might be time to pivot to a more reliable tool.