PrismCast Oracle VPS Issues

Playground Hacks
#1

I'm trying to run prismcast on an Oracle VPS, ubuntu arm64 instance but I get:

[2026/03/14 22:35:43.100] [ERROR] Failed to launch browser: No Chrome installation found. Set CHROME_BIN environment variable.
[2026/03/14 22:35:43.100] [ERROR] Failed to initialize browser during startup: No Chrome installation found. Set CHROME_BIN environment variable.
[2026/03/14 22:35:43.100] [ERROR] Fatal startup error occurred: No Chrome installation found. Set CHROME_BIN environment variable.

I tried installing chromium and restarting prismcast but I get the same error. Any ideas how to solve it? Thank you.

Introducing PrismCast: Browser-based Live TV Capture for Channels DVR and Plex
#2

If you go to configuration, you can define Chrome.
BROWSER

Chrome Executable Path

Path to Chrome executable. Leave empty to autodetect.

Hope this helps

1 Like
#3

I disabled my FOX News and Business TVE channels. Using PrismCast for them. Wife likes seeing the commercials. Miss being able to use EPlus.

#4

I get this in the log:

Configuration file: /home/ubuntu/.prismcast/config.json

but there is no config.json at that location, there's only prismcast.log there.

#5

I don't think it writes the config file until it's up and running. Sounds like it didn't get that far.
Try the command line options https://github.com/hjdhjd/prismcast?tab=readme-ov-file#cli-options
or environment variables https://github.com/hjdhjd/prismcast?tab=readme-ov-file#configuration

run prismcast --list-env to see all available options

https://github.com/hjdhjd/prismcast?tab=readme-ov-file#platform-support

Linux is supported both natively and via Docker. The Docker image includes everything needed to run PrismCast (Chrome, virtual display, VNC access) and is the recommended approach for Linux server deployments. Native Linux installation works with Node.js and Google Chrome installed manually.

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#6

I should read more closely. You are likely using Chromium. Don’t know if PrismCast supports it. * Google Chrome (PrismCast will try to find it automatically, or you can specify the path; included in the Docker image) They don’t mention Chromium.

1 Like
#7

I first tried Docker image but I got this error:

WARNING: The requested image's platform (linux/amd64) does not match the detected host platform (linux/arm64/v8) and no specific platform was requested

I couldn't get around it and I also read on the official github in the issues section that:

The problem is that there is no ARM version of Chrome for Linux. Use either the NPM or Homebrew installation methods.

So I tried using NPM but even the node version in ubuntu is outdated and I get warnings:

npm WARN EBADENGINE Unsupported engine {
npm WARN EBADENGINE package: '[email protected]',
npm WARN EBADENGINE required: { node: '>=22' },
npm WARN EBADENGINE current: { node: 'v18.19.1', npm: '9.2.0' }
npm WARN EBADENGINE }
npm WARN EBADENGINE Unsupported engine {
npm WARN EBADENGINE package: '[email protected]',
npm WARN EBADENGINE required: { node: '>=20' },
npm WARN EBADENGINE current: { node: 'v18.19.1', npm: '9.2.0' }
npm WARN EBADENGINE }

#8

What are Linux install requirements because on the github page only node.js and Chrome are listed?

#9

From AI:

These warnings mean you are running an older version of

Node.js (v18.19.1) that doesn't meet the requirements for your installed packages. Specifically:

[image]Stack Overflow +1

To fix this, you need to upgrade Node.js to at least v22

1 Like
#10

I solved the version problem by uninstalling the old version of node and installing it using nvm so my versions are now correct:

ubuntu@ampere:~$ npm -v
10.9.4
ubuntu@ampere:~$ node -v
v22.22.1

but still no Chrome is found.

#11

I would think you need to remove old install of PrismCast and start fresh. Sorry, I can’t help more… I have only run the docker and npm version on Win 11 and Qnap NAS. The NAS didn’t have enough horsepower.

1 Like
#12

I just set it up on a windows 11 machine in no time.
The issue on Linux is probably related to the VPS being arm64 and/or being headless, no real display attached to it, and without real Chrome. I read that Chrome isn't available for arm64.

#13

To be successful with this you'd need to be using an AMD vCPU, and then use the Dockerfile as a guide for the packages you'd need to install. It very well could be pointless in the end though, as I believe the IP address ranges used by commercial data centers would typically be blocked by streaming content providers.

1 Like
#14

https://www.racknerd.com/BlackFriday/
If you're dead set on using a VPS, I would recommend one of these. They're really cheap and honestly really much more powerful than the Oracle ones. It's like a once-a-year payment.

I'm running some small application on one and compiling basically Rust on it and it handles it like a champ and Rust is not fun to compile.

Support is also excellent. They get back to you within a few minutes, honestly

3 Likes
#15

Oracle is free for up to 4 CPUs and 24GB of memory so a lot of people are trying to get Ampere based VM and use it for something. In this case however ARM64 is a wrong architecture. As @bnhf suggested AMD is the proper one. This reminds me to hunt for ARM64 again ( couldn't get yes from the final boss the last time) on Oracle Cloud but I think my home datacenter is oversubscribed.

#16

You need to upgrade your account to pay-as-you-go to be able to get 4-core ampere at Oracle.

#17

Arm Compute Instance

Arm-based Ampere A1 cores and 24 GB of memory usable as 1 VM or up to 4 VMs

Always Free
3,000 OCPU hours and 18,000 GB hours per month

#18

In reality you won't be able to provision 1 VM with all 4 cores unless you upgrade the account.

1 Like
#19

Yeah, I just terminated the account. Oracle Cloud rubs me a wrong way.

#20

I had the same bad experience with them. Rack nerd has been great though.

1 Like