Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

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spf2001
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Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by spf2001 »

Hi there! I am using the folding@home client as an example GPU workload in a Kubernetes cluster. By leveraging the linuxserver.io image, I have successfully deployed FAH into my cluster including setting it up with an account/team via environment variables.

The issue I am looking to resolve is setting up the client to automatically begin folding at startup instead of waiting for me to goto the webui and click "Start".

Is this something I can do with an additional argument, env, or config file?
spf2001
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2025 3:26 pm

Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by spf2001 »

Looks like I may potentially be able to set something like this?

Code: Select all

state=fold
https://github.com/FoldingAtHome/fah-cl ... ig.cpp#L79
muziqaz
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Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by muziqaz »

This is not advisable because half of the people who install fah have systems which are not set up for folding driver wise or API wise. That results in loads of units wasted before users realise stuff is not working.
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spf2001
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Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by spf2001 »

That makes sense. But why not offer it as an option where the default is to not automatically start?
Joe_H
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Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by Joe_H »

Possibly from at least a decade of complaints about the autostart in the v7 client even though it was relatively easily to configure off.
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calxalot
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Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by calxalot »

You can also send a fold command using fahctl python script, which is installed with the client on Linux.
rightarmman1
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Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by rightarmman1 »

@Joe_H "... it was relatively easily to configure off. " I'm a long-time participant and have just upgraded one of my PC's. (Win11,RTX5080)
I want FAH to start at boot. I have to run the client manually after start-up. Can you direct me to the FAQ page that explains how? HideConole is running as a startup. I am an admin on the machine.
muziqaz
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Re: Start folding automatically at startup [8.4.9]

Post by muziqaz »

rightarmman1 wrote: Wed Sep 17, 2025 11:45 am @Joe_H "... it was relatively easily to configure off. " I'm a long-time participant and have just upgraded one of my PC's. (Win11,RTX5080)
I want FAH to start at boot. I have to run the client manually after start-up. Can you direct me to the FAQ page that explains how? HideConole is running as a startup. I am an admin on the machine.
Default installation option for v8 is start FAhclient at startup. So everytime you reboot, FAHClient will start. There is nothing extra you need to do. Same goes for older v7. Now with v8 on windows automatic resume is not possible at this moment, as you must pause before reboot due to how Windows kills FahClient. So one way or the other, you have to manually resume your folding when OS boots up. With Linux, there is no such problem, FAHClient will resume WUs which were running before the reboot. However, Linux in itself has new developments, where OS does not load all the GPU related stuff before FAHClient starts, so this automatic resume will kill GPU WUs upon reboot on most modern Linux Distros.

V7 fahclient does not have issues like that, so it will resume everything what you were folding before reboot automatically
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