rTorrent is a command line ncurses BitTorrent client written in C++, based on the libTorrent. rTorrent is very lightweight and has a very clean command line user interface. rTorrent is also one of the most lightweight BitTorrent clients used by most of the BitTorrent distribution servers. rTorrent is a really good BitTorrent client for Raspberry Pi. rTorrent is lighter and faster compared to BitTorrent clients like Transmission, Deluge and takes lesser CPU resource.
rTorrent performs better on the tests I have done on my Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi I have been using is a Model B.
Let’s get started
Updating your local repository database.
sudo apt-get update
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)Installing screen and rTorrent. If you are a Tmux user you can go ahead and use it instead of the screen.
sudo apt-get install screen rtorrent
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)Now create a rtorrent.rc file.
touch ~/.rtorrent.rc
Open the file in nano and add the example config below.
nano ~/.rtorrent.rc
Here is an example config of .rtorrent.rc.
# This is an example resource file for rTorrent. Copy to
# ~/.rtorrent.rc and enable/modify the options as needed. Remember to
# uncomment the options you wish to enable.
# Maximum and minimum number of peers to connect to per torrent.
#min_peers = 40
#max_peers = 100
# Same as above but for seeding completed torrents (-1 = same as downloading)
#min_peers_seed = 10
#max_peers_seed = 50
# Maximum number of simultanious uploads per torrent.
#max_uploads = 15
# Global upload and download rate in KiB. "0" for unlimited.
#download_rate = 0
#upload_rate = 0
# Default directory to save the downloaded torrents.
directory = /thr/location/of/the/downloads/folder/
# Default session directory. Make sure you don't run multiple instance
# of rtorrent using the same session directory. Perhaps using a
# relative path?
#session = ./session
# Watch a directory for new torrents, and stop those that have been
# deleted.
#schedule = watch_directory,5,5,load_start=./watch/*.torrent
#schedule = untied_directory,5,5,stop_untied=
# Close torrents when diskspace is low.
#schedule = low_diskspace,5,60,close_low_diskspace=100M
# The ip address reported to the tracker.
#ip = 127.0.0.1
#ip = rakshasa.no
# The ip address the listening socket and outgoing connections is
# bound to.
#bind = 127.0.0.1
#bind = rakshasa.no
# Port range to use for listening.
#port_range = 6890-6999
# Start opening ports at a random position within the port range.
port_random = yes
# Check hash for finished torrents. Might be usefull until the bug is
# fixed that causes lack of diskspace not to be properly reported.
check_hash = yes
# Set whetever the client should try to connect to UDP trackers.
#use_udp_trackers = yes
# Alternative calls to bind and ip that should handle dynamic ip's.
#schedule = ip_tick,0,1800,ip=rakshasa
#schedule = bind_tick,0,1800,bind=rakshasa
# Encryption options, set to none (default) or any combination of the following:
# allow_incoming, try_outgoing, require, require_RC4, enable_retry, prefer_plaintext
#
# The example value allows incoming encrypted connections, starts unencrypted
# outgoing connections but retries with encryption if they fail, preferring
# plaintext to RC4 encryption after the encrypted handshake
#
# encryption = allow_incoming,enable_retry,prefer_plaintext
# Enable DHT support for trackerless torrents or when all trackers are down.
# May be set to "disable" (completely disable DHT), "off" (do not start DHT),
# "auto" (start and stop DHT as needed), or "on" (start DHT immediately).
# The default is "off". For DHT to work, a session directory must be defined.
#
# dht = auto
# UDP port to use for DHT.
#
# dht_port = 6881
# Enable peer exchange (for torrents not marked private)
#
# peer_exchange = yes
#
# Do not modify the following parameters unless you know what you're doing.
#
# Hash read-ahead controls how many MB to request the kernel to read
# ahead. If the value is too low the disk may not be fully utilized,
# while if too high the kernel might not be able to keep the read
# pages in memory thus end up trashing.
#hash_read_ahead = 10
# Interval between attempts to check the hash, in milliseconds.
#hash_interval = 100
# Number of attempts to check the hash while using the mincore status,
# before forcing. Overworked systems might need lower values to get a
# decent hash checking rate.
#hash_max_tries = 5
Code language: Bash (bash)You can edit the `.rtorrent.rc as per your needs.`
Now we can start using rTorrent.
screen rtorrent
You can detach to the rtorrent screen by typing CTRL + A + D.
To connect back to the rTorrent screen.
screen -r
To add a BitTorrent simply hit ENTER
Now you have you rTorrent running on your Raspberry Pi. If you have any question, feel free to leave a comment below.
