Page MenuHomePhabricator
Create Task
Maniphest T431640

Improve uptime of WS Export's Calibre server
Open, Needs TriagePublicBUG REPORT
Actions

Description

In T411747 we split WS Export into two servers, one for EPUBs and one for https://calibre-ebook.com/ Calibre conversions to other formats such as PDF. The Calibre one is not very stable and often becomes unavailable. This task is to figure out what to do about this.

One quick addition could be a warning notice on the download buttons saying that EPUB is more reliable, or even removing the PDF and Mobi buttons (they'd still be accessible via the "Looking for a different format?" button, which could be made more prominent).

The current workaround for people wanting to get hold of PDFs or other non-EPUB formats is to download the EPUB and convert it locally (using Calibre perhaps, but there are quite a few other options).

See also the Grafana board for the server.

Related Objects

Event Timeline

• Samwilson created this task.Jul 8 2026, 11:43 PM
Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald TranscriptJul 8 2026, 11:43 PM
• Samwilson mentioned this in T411747: Investigate recent downtime of WS Export (December 2025).Jul 8 2026, 11:49 PM
• Samwilson mentioned this in T431595: WS Export unable to export in "pdf" format on french Wikisource.Jul 8 2026, 11:57 PM
• Samwilson merged a task: T431595: WS Export unable to export in "pdf" format on french Wikisource.Jul 9 2026, 12:00 AM
• Samwilson added a subscriber: Lorlam.
• Samwilson mentioned this in T432112: Export of Book Tugomer in PDF and MOBI formats fail and report "Service Unavailable".Jul 15 2026, 1:15 AM
• Samwilson merged a task: T432112: Export of Book Tugomer in PDF and MOBI formats fail and report "Service Unavailable".
• Samwilson added a subscriber: gorazdh.
• Samwilson mentioned this in T432404: Colette - Le pur et l'impur unable to export as plain text of pdf.Jul 17 2026, 12:06 AM
• Samwilson merged a task: T430074: HTTP 503 service unavailable for RTF download on https://ws-export.wmcloud.org/.
• Samwilson added a subscriber: LoreenBlue123.
• Samwilson merged a task: T429277: Error 503 or 'Service Unavailable' message while trying to export in "pdf" on french Wikisource.Jul 17 2026, 2:50 AM
• Samwilson merged a task: T413270: Error 503 when exporting "L'immoraliste".
• Samwilson added a subscriber: LoreenBlue.
• Samwilson updated the task description. (Show Details)Jul 17 2026, 3:36 AM

I do think we'd be better off advertising Calibre on the popup. Especially instead of mentioning Mobi (which I think is pretty much defunct now isn't it?).

• Samwilson mentioned this in T259208: PDF export should render music scores natively, i.e. not as images.Jul 24 2026, 1:00 AM
Candalua subscribed.Jul 30 2026, 9:18 AM
Candalua added a comment.Jul 30 2026, 9:31 AM

@Samwilson I tried some Mobi exports today (yes, some people still use them, at least I do :D), and they failed with 503 after a very long timeout, and after a long search I finally came about this issue :)
I think the title here should be "Non-ePub export formats don't work", as this is what is happening (it's not just a "performance" issue).
Is it possible, for now, to at least restart the Calibre server when it goes down , or restart it periodically before it goes down, until we find a permanent solution or decide what to do?
I think we should not phase out Mobi yet, as many people may still have old readers that only work with Mobi. And we definitely should not remove the PDF button...

Candalua mentioned this in T433251: Service HTTP 503 indisponible pour téléchargement RTF.Jul 30 2026, 9:35 AM
Lorlam added a comment.Jul 30 2026, 12:34 PM

Hello Guys, for me, the "PDF" option SHALL NOT be removed as "PDF" format can be used for many purposes...

If the conversion can be done afterwards, I do not know the options for the use of Calibre. Is it just possible to open a "epub" with Calibre and have an option "convert epub to PDF" and is the result is the same ? If the use of Calibre is not "automatic" or "simple", is it possible to create a tool "convert epub to PDF" which we could download and use directy on our computer ??

• Samwilson added a comment.Jul 31 2026, 1:17 AM

Is it possible, for now, to at least restart the Calibre server when it goes down , or restart it periodically before it goes down, until we find a permanent solution or decide what to do?

As a hacky workaround, I've set it to reboot daily. Lets see if that helps. I don't have time at the moment for deeper investigations, if anyone else does then please feel free to work on this! I'm just glad that EPUBs are working better than before.

If the conversion can be done afterwards, I do not know the options for the use of Calibre. Is it just possible to open a "epub" with Calibre and have an option "convert epub to PDF" and is the result is the same ? If the use of Calibre is not "automatic" or "simple", is it possible to create a tool "convert epub to PDF" which we could download and use directy on our computer ??

If you have Calibre installed, when you download an EPUB you open it in Calibre and click "Convert books", this opens a window in which you can select "PDF" and click "OK", and the PDF is created. There is more info here: https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/conversion.html The interface looks something like:

image.png (943×1,105 px, 183 KB)

• Samwilson renamed this task from Improve performance of WS Export's Calibre server to Improve uptime of WS Export's Calibre server.Jul 31 2026, 1:19 AM
• Samwilson updated the task description. (Show Details)
• Samwilson merged a task: T433251: Service HTTP 503 indisponible pour téléchargement RTF.Aug 2 2026, 8:57 AM
• Samwilson merged a task: T250614: Timeout while generating PDF using WSexport.Aug 2 2026, 9:00 AM
• Samwilson added subscribers: Ankry, Zdzislaw, Tpt.
Alien333 subscribed.Aug 27 2026, 8:12 AM
• Samwilson mentioned this in T436432: Proxy Error while trying to export from french Wikisource with WS Export.Aug 31 2026, 1:31 AM
• Samwilson mentioned this in T436340: cannot downoad from wikisource.
• Samwilson merged a task: T436432: Proxy Error while trying to export from french Wikisource with WS Export.Aug 31 2026, 6:45 AM
• Samwilson mentioned this in T439663: HTTP 503 error: Document exporter from pages does not work (not possible to export pdf, rtf, txt).Mon, Oct 5, 10:07 AM
Content licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 unless otherwise noted; code licensed under GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0 or later and other open source licenses. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Code of Conduct. · Wikimedia Foundation · Privacy Policy · Code of Conduct · Terms of Use · Disclaimer · CC-BY-SA · GPL · Credits