Aluvia

US VM to UK catalog and NZ trade sites

This page as markdown: https://aluvia.io/resources/us-vm-uk-nz-field-kit.md

Updated · Aluvia

Worked scenarios for operators running Grok Bot (or a similar cloud agent) on a US VM when the job needs a UK or EU catalog, or a New Zealand trade site sitting behind Imperva. This is a field kit: setup, country select, sticky session for checkout, rotate when the exit is still blocked, and the limits that keep you honest.

The command

Command
npx aluvia-cli setup

First 10 MB free without an account, API key or payment, then 2 USD per GB. Run on the browser's machine with Node.js 18 or later and usable local Chrome or Chromium. Initial setup can restart Chrome. Read JSON and follow next for recovery before selecting a country. Reload the page and verify its content; ready: true is not target access. Complete quickstart.

Shared setup

Grok Bot's browser uses the VM's IP. On a US AWS-style machine, every request looks like a US datacenter visitor. Sites return US prices, refuse the region, or drop the client at the edge. Install once on that machine. The agent runs the commands. You do not SSH in to set env vars for the happy path.

Bring-your-own proxy URL via aluvia proxy-provider <url> is free for bandwidth on Aluvia's side. When you are finished with the exit, aluvia proxy-off keeps Chrome running on the machine's own IP.

Aluvia is not a human VPN, not for streaming, not an MCP, and not a login bypass. Country only, not city. It does not change fingerprint, Linux Chrome, TLS, or canvas.

Command
aluvia proxy-off

Scenario 1 — US VM vs UK / EU prices and catalog

A UK or EU shop opens in Grok Bot's Chrome. The currency, tax line, catalog, or language matches the United States. Or the page says the content is not available in your region / country, or that the shop does not ship to your location. There may be no Cloudflare Ray ID and no Imperva incident card. The IP country is one possible cause; check the saved country, shipping rules and account settings first.

The shop is choosing the country page from the client address. A US cloud IP selects the US storefront. That is how a .co.uk checkout or a UK catalog fails to appear even though the URL looks right.

GB is the usual code when a US VM needs Britain. For another EU market, pass that country's code instead (confirm with aluvia geos). Omit --geo only when any residential exit in the global pool is enough; for catalog and checkout work, set the country explicitly. Reload after proxy-on. Confirm currency, language, and ship-to match the market you need before you continue.

Sticky 30 minutes for checkout

Sticky sessions last up to 30 minutes. Keep the same exit through browse, cart, and checkout so the shop does not see the country flip mid-flow. If you turn the proxy off and on again, you may get a different IP. Plan the checkout inside the sticky window when the site is sensitive to IP changes.

If the UK or EU page is still wrong or blocked

When the UK / EU scenario is the wrong tool

Scenario 2 — NZ trade site / Imperva Error 16

A New Zealand trade or parts site refuses the request before the catalog HTML loads. The card may show "Error 16," "This request was blocked by our security service," "Access denied," "Your IP" / "Proxy IP" / "Incident ID," or "Powered by imperva." The hostname can still sit on that card while the rest of the site is missing. This is not a 403 from the origin and not a Cloudflare "Verify you are human" flow with a Ray ID.

Imperva sits in front of the origin. Error 16 means the security service classified the client and dropped the request. IP classification and country are possible inputs, but the card alone does not identify the rule that rejected the request.

--geo NZ matches the market when country also matters. If you only need to leave the datacenter range and the shop does not key on New Zealand, aluvia proxy-on without --geo uses the global pool. For NZ trade work, prefer --geo NZ when that code is listed in aluvia geos. Reload. A residential exit sometimes reaches the origin. Sometimes. Not a promise.

Rotate when Error 16 returns

Use this only for a remaining IP-related refusal. Rotate once, reload and stop if unchanged. For 429 or Error 1015, wait and reduce requests instead.

Try one new IP with aluvia rotate-ip and reload. If Error 16 remains, stop and record the result. Browser checks or other access rules may still apply.

If the first residential exit clears Error 16 and you need to move through search, cart, or account gates that the trade site exposes after the edge, stay on that sticky session (up to 30 minutes). Rotating mid-checkout can put you back on a blocked address.

Command
aluvia rotate-ip

Login-shaped Imperva cards

The address bar can show /login while the card is still Imperva's security service. That is not a credential form yet. Changing the exit IP is in scope so the request might reach a real login page. Filling or skipping username, password, SSO, or 2FA is out of scope. If a login form is already on screen and waiting for secrets, Aluvia is the wrong tool.

When the NZ / Imperva scenario is the wrong tool

Operator alternatives

A Tailscale home exit needs an available exit node, device authentication and configuration on the browser host. Those steps can be automated, including when a VM is replaced. Aluvia needs setup on the new browser host and data on its network; it does not require a home exit node. Both approaches can need recovery. Tailscale automated provisioning.

Plan how the browser host will be configured after replacement. With Aluvia, run setup again and inspect its recovery output. Successful setup does not prove target access; paid continuation needs the operator.

Command cheat sheet

If aluvia is not on PATH, replace aluvia with npx aluvia-cli, for example npx aluvia-cli status. When the free 10 MB is used up, a command that needs the network returns payment_required and a claim_url. The operator opens that URL on their machine; the agent does not invent payment.

Honest limits

Next step

Run npx aluvia-cli setup — what setup does lists what that writes. Then open https://aluvia.io, Grok Bot for the Grok Bot geo case, and the Imperva security-service card for the Error 16 card.