RTorrent

rTorrent is a terminal-based BitTorrent client that runs on Linux servers. It is the default torrent client on Pulsed Media seedboxes and the most widely used client across the PM fleet. Most users interact with rTorrent through RuTorrent, a web interface that provides a graphical frontend to the rTorrent process running in the background.

rTorrent is built on the libtorrent library (not the same libtorrent-rasterbar used by Deluge and qBittorrent). It uses less CPU and RAM than the alternatives, which is why it handles large numbers of simultaneous torrents better on shared servers where resources are divided among users.

How rTorrent works on PM seedboxes

On a PM seedbox, each user gets their own rTorrent process. It runs inside a GNU Screen session and starts automatically when the server boots or when you log in. If it crashes, PMSS dual-level redundancy restarts it within 1-15 minutes.

You do not need to touch rTorrent directly. RuTorrent handles everything: adding torrents, setting labels, checking speeds, managing files. If you do need the console (rare), connect via SSH and reattach the screen session.

rTorrent stores its state in session files under ~/session/. If these become corrupted after a crash, you can clear them and re-add your torrents. See Removing rTorrent session data.

Downloaded files go to ~/data/. Pull them to your machine over SFTP or HTTPS. See Downloading from seedbox.

ruTorrent web interface

RuTorrent is a PHP-based web UI that communicates with rTorrent over XMLRPC. On PM seedboxes, it is available at https://servername.pulsedmedia.com/user-username/rutorrent/.

Features:

• Add torrents by .torrent file, magnet link, or URL
• RSS feed automation with filters
• File manager plugin for moving and deleting files
• Bandwidth scheduling
• Tracker management
• Ratio rules for private trackers
• autodl-irssi integration for IRC-based auto-downloading

ruTorrent plugins extend functionality. PM seedboxes ship with a standard plugin set. You can install additional plugins via SSH if you need them.

When to choose rTorrent

rTorrent is the right choice when:

• You are running many torrents simultaneously (hundreds to thousands)
• You want the lowest resource usage on a shared server
• You use private trackers with autodl-irssi for auto-snatching
• You want the most mature and tested client on PM infrastructure

rTorrent has been running on PM seedboxes since 2009. It has the most operational history on the platform and PMSS monitors it more closely than the alternatives.

When to consider alternatives

• Deluge if you prefer its plugin system or its native support for labels and move-completed actions
• qBittorrent if you want a familiar interface similar to the desktop qBittorrent client, or need sequential downloading for media preview

All three clients are available on every PM seedbox plan. You can switch between them or run multiple clients simultaneously.

See also

• RTorrent vs qBittorrent vs Deluge — full comparison of all three torrent clients on PM seedboxes
• RuTorrent — web interface for rTorrent
• Restarting rTorrent — how to restart the client
• Deluge — alternative BitTorrent client on PM seedboxes
• qBittorrent — alternative client with sequential download support