Fixing Podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service Failure On NixOS

Hey there, tech-savvy folks and NixOS enthusiasts! Ever found yourself staring at a terrifying failed status for a critical service and wondering, "What in the world just happened?" Well, you're definitely not alone. Today, we're diving deep into a particularly gnarly issue involving the podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service on a storage host, which recently threw a massive wrench into someone's system on 2025-11-30. This isn't just any ordinary hiccup; it's a persistent failure with an exit code 1, indicating something fundamentally wrong. For those of you running Glunetun containers with Podman on a NixOS setup, this guide is going to be your new best friend. We're going to break down exactly why this podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service is failing, how to interpret those cryptic logs, and most importantly, how to get your VPN exit node back up and running smoothly.

Glunetun is an awesome tool for managing your VPN connections, especially when you need specific routing or want to ensure certain containers always exit through a VPN. When it fails, it can disrupt your entire network setup, impact privacy, and even halt critical services that rely on that secure connection. The beauty of NixOS is its declarative nature, which means your system's configuration is defined in a very explicit way. While this offers incredible reproducibility and reliability, it also means that even a tiny configuration error can cascade into service failures, precisely what we're seeing with this podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service. We'll explore the systemd service logs, identify the root cause, which points directly to an incorrect WireGuard endpoint IP configuration, and walk you through the precise steps to rectify it. So, grab your favorite beverage, buckle up, and let's get your Glunetun instance back to being the robust, private network gateway it's meant to be! Understanding these kinds of container service failures is crucial for anyone managing complex server environments, and this specific case provides a fantastic learning opportunity for NixOS users dealing with Podman and VPNs.

Diving Deep into the podman-gluetun Error: Unmasking the exit-code 1

Alright, let's roll up our sleeves and dig into the nitty-gritty details of this podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service failure. When you see a service Active: failed (Result: exit-code) and Main PID: ... (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE), it's a clear signal that the application itself, in this case, our Glunetun container, couldn't start or run successfully. The systemd logs provide a treasure trove of information, and the first things that jump out are the repeated restart attempts and the ominous Start request repeated too quickly message. This indicates that systemd tried to bring the service back online multiple times, failed instantly, and then gave up to prevent a resource-hogging restart loop. This behavior is built into systemd to protect your system from constantly trying to run a broken service. But what exactly caused the gluetun container to fail in the first place? That's the million-dollar question, and the answer lies a bit deeper in the recent logs.

Scrutinizing the journal logs, we see a series of events: container start, then container died, and finally container remove. This tells us the podman command tried to run the Glunetun image, but the container immediately exited with an error. The crucial log line, the one that holds the key to our mystery, is this beauty from the gluetun-exit-brazil process: 2025-11-30T19:51:47Z ERROR reading VPN settings: VPN provider: server selection: files WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP: ParseAddr("ca3.vpn.airdns.org"): unexpected character (at "ca3.vpn.airdns.org") - note this MUST be an IP address, see https://github.com/qdm12/gluetun/issues/788. Bingo! This message is incredibly specific and directly points to the problem: the WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP environment variable, which defines the WireGuard server's endpoint, was set to a hostname (ca3.vpn.airdns.org) instead of an actual IP address. The Glunetun application, when configured for WireGuard, expects a numeric IP address for this specific setting, not a DNS hostname. This is a common configuration pitfall that many users encounter, especially when switching between VPN providers or updating their Glunetun setup without realizing the strict format requirements for certain variables. The error message even helpfully provides a link to the Glunetun GitHub issues, further emphasizing that this is a known expectation. Understanding these detailed container logs and application-specific error messages is paramount for effective NixOS service troubleshooting. It saves countless hours of guessing and directs you straight to the heart of the configuration problem. Don't forget those warnings about DOT_PROVIDERS, DOT, HEALTH_VPN_DURATION_INITIAL, and HEALTH_VPN_DURATION_ADDITION being obsolete; while not the cause of this failure, they're important for maintaining an up-to-date configuration.

The Culprit: Incorrect WireGuard Endpoint Configuration

So, as we've just unpacked, the root cause of our podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service failure is a misconfigured WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP. Specifically, the Glunetun container was instructed to connect to ca3.vpn.airdns.org as its WireGuard endpoint, but the Glunetun application's WireGuard implementation demands an actual IP address for this particular setting. It's a classic case of expectation mismatch: Glunetun expects 1.2.3.4 but received domain.name. This isn't just a minor oversight; it's a critical configuration error that prevents the WireGuard tunnel from establishing, thereby causing Glunetun to fail its startup sequence and exit immediately with status 1. The error message, ParseAddr("ca3.vpn.airdns.org"): unexpected character, clearly indicates that the internal parsing function, which is designed to interpret an IP address, encountered non-numeric characters where it expected digits, periods, or colons (for IPv6). This highlights a strict validation rule within Glunetun for WireGuard endpoint configuration. While many network services can resolve hostnames to IP addresses automatically, Glunetun explicitly states (and enforces) that WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP must be an IP address. This design choice likely stems from the desire for predictable and static configurations for VPN tunnels, avoiding potential DNS resolution issues during critical startup phases, or perhaps due to the underlying WireGuard library's requirements. For anyone managing VPN services via Glunetun, especially on a NixOS system where configurations are explicit and declarative, understanding these specific environmental variable requirements is absolutely vital. Ignoring this detail can lead to persistent service failure and a lot of head-scratching. Always cross-reference the Glunetun documentation for the latest and most accurate variable requirements to avoid such configuration pitfalls.

The Fix: Getting Your WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP Right and Beyond!

Alright, guys, let's get to the good part: fixing this stubborn podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service! The primary goal here is to replace the incorrect hostname in WIREGUARD_ENDPOINT_IP with a proper, numeric IP address. This is the cornerstone of resolving our WireGuard configuration error.

Step 1: Finding the Correct IP Address. First off, you need to grab the actual IP address for ca3.vpn.airdns.org. The easiest way to do this is by performing a DNS lookup. On most Linux systems, including NixOS, you can simply open your terminal and type:

ping ca3.vpn.airdns.org

Or, for a more direct lookup:

dig +short ca3.vpn.airdns.org

This command will return one or more IP addresses associated with that hostname. You should pick one of these to use. For example, if ping returns 64.233.167.99, that's your guy! This step is absolutely critical for providing Glunetun with the data it expects for the WireGuard endpoint IP.

Step 2: Updating Your Podman or Systemd Unit Configuration on NixOS. Now that you have the correct IP, you need to update your NixOS configuration. Since NixOS uses a declarative approach, you won't be editing /etc/systemd/system/podman-gluetun-exit-brazil.service directly. Instead, you'll modify your configuration.nix file (or a module that defines this service).

Look for the section where your podman-gluetun-exit-brazil service is defined. It will likely include environment variables passed to the Glunetun container. You're searching for something like `environment = {