fredy
Fredy is a self-hosted Node.js application that automatically scrapes German real estate listings from multiple platforms (ImmoScout24, Immowelt, Immonet, eBay Kleinanzeigen, WG-Gesucht) and sends instant notifications via Slack, Telegram, Email, Discord, or ntfy. It deduplicates results across platforms and provides a web UI for managing searches.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | orangecoding/fredy |
| Owner | orangecoding |
| Primary language | JavaScript |
| License | Apache-2.0 — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 1.3k |
| Forks | 184 |
| Open issues | 6 |
| Latest release | 22.9.6 (2026-07-01) |
| Last updated | 2026-07-01 |
| Source | https://github.com/orangecoding/fredy |
What fredy is
Built in JavaScript/Node.js, Fredy uses Puppeteer for browser-based scraping with bot-detection workarounds (CloakBrowser fingerprinting), reverse-engineered ImmoScout mobile API, and modular adapters for multiple notification channels. Deployable via Docker, includes a built-in MCP Server for LLM integration, and stores state in a database to prevent duplicate notifications.
Get the fredy source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/orangecoding/fredy.gitcd fredy# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Node.js 22+ required; ensure runtime compatibility with your deployment environment before production use.
- Bot detection is an ongoing arms race—residential proxy configuration is strongly recommended for VPS/server deployments to avoid blocking.
- Config.json setup is mandatory; plan for secure storage of API keys (Slack, Telegram, email providers) and management of multiple search jobs.
- Database schema may change between releases; test upgrades in a staging environment before applying to production.
- MCP Server integration (v20+) is optional but enables natural-language querying via local LLMs; assess LLM setup complexity for your use case.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Non-German real estate markets — Fredy is purpose-built only for German platforms; it will not work for apartment hunting in other countries.
- Zero tolerance for web scraping legal risk — Scraping real estate sites may violate terms of service or local regulations in some jurisdictions; organizations with strict compliance requirements should obtain explicit legal review.
- Expecting zero maintenance operations — Real estate websites frequently change HTML/API structures; Fredy requires ongoing maintenance to handle breaking changes from providers.
- Needing guaranteed uptime SLAs — Self-hosted open-source software is not backed by commercial support contracts; you are responsible for reliability and incident response.
License & commercial use
Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0) – a permissive OSI-approved license that grants rights to use, modify, and distribute the software, with liability disclaimers and trademark protections. Requires license notice in distributions.
Apache-2.0 explicitly permits commercial use, modification, and distribution. However, the software scrapes third-party websites; commercial operators must independently verify that their scraping activities comply with each platform's terms of service and applicable law. The license provides no warranty or indemnification for TOS violations or legal claims. Requires review before commercial deployment.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Moderate |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Self-hosting places security responsibility on the operator. Fredy stores credentials in config.json (API keys, webhook URLs, database credentials); ensure file-system permissions and secrets management are hardened. Default login credentials (admin/admin) must be changed immediately in production. Headless browser execution (Puppeteer) runs JavaScript on external sites; audit the code and monitor for supply-chain risks in dependencies. No security audit or CVE history is documented. Residential proxies introduce a third-party intermediary; evaluate their privacy and data-handling policies.
Alternatives to consider
ImmoScout24 official alerts
Eliminates scraping risk and bot detection concerns; however, limited to a single platform and no multi-platform deduplication.
Immowelt built-in notifications
Native alerts from the platform itself; does not aggregate across providers or offer multi-channel notifications.
Dedicated real estate SaaS aggregators
Commercial services (if available for German market) provide managed infrastructure, legal compliance, and SLAs; lack of control over data and ongoing subscription costs.
Build on fredy with DEV.co software developers
Deploy Fredy on your infrastructure today. Docker image, full source code, and community support available on GitHub.
Talk to DEV.coRelated open-source tools
Surfaced by semantic similarity across the DEV.co open-source index.
Related on DEV.co
Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.
fredy FAQ
Does Fredy work outside Germany?
Is scraping legal?
Do I need a residential proxy?
Can I customize notifications?
Work with a software development agency
Need help beyond evaluating fredy? DEV.co is a software development agency offering software development services and web development for teams of every size. Our software developers and web developers build custom software, web applications, APIs, and open-source devops integrations — and maintain them long-term.
Ready to automate apartment hunting in Germany?
Deploy Fredy on your infrastructure today. Docker image, full source code, and community support available on GitHub.