RuTorrent

ruTorrent is a web interface for rTorrent. It runs as a PHP application on the same server as your rTorrent process and communicates with it over an XMLRPC socket. On Pulsed Media seedboxes, ruTorrent is the primary way users manage their torrents.

ruTorrent is not a torrent client. It is a separate program that sends commands to a running rTorrent instance. rTorrent does the actual downloading and uploading. ruTorrent gives you a browser-based interface to control it: add torrents, set speed limits, manage files, monitor progress. If ruTorrent goes down, rTorrent keeps running and your torrents continue seeding.

The project is open-source under the GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3).

How ruTorrent works on PM seedboxes

Each user on a PM seedbox has their own ruTorrent installation at ~/www/rutorrent/. It connects to your personal rTorrent process through a Unix socket at ~/.rtorrent.socket using the SCGI protocol.

Access ruTorrent at:

https://servername.pulsedmedia.com/user-username/rutorrent/

Log in with your seedbox username and password (same credentials as SFTP and the welcome page). The connection is protected by htpasswd authentication. Nginx handles the front-facing HTTPS connection and proxies requests to your per-user lighttpd instance, which serves ruTorrent's PHP.

ruTorrent loads automatically when you open your seedbox web panel. No setup required.

Adding torrents

Upload a .torrent file through the ruTorrent interface (click the add torrent button or drag and drop)
Paste a magnet link or .torrent URL
Drop .torrent files into ~/watch/ via SFTP for automatic addition
Use RSS feeds with filters to download new releases automatically

Downloaded files are stored in ~/data/. Transfer them to your local machine using SFTP, HTTPS, rsync, or Rclone. See Downloading from seedbox.

Plugins

ruTorrent's plugin system is its main advantage over qBittorrent and Deluge, which have fewer extensions. PM seedboxes ship with a standard set of plugins, and you can install additional ones via SSH.

Plugins shipped on PM seedboxes

hddquota — displays your disk usage and quota in the ruTorrent interface. Shows how much space you have used and how much remains.
unpack — automatically extracts archived torrents (.rar, .zip) after download completes.
RSS — subscribe to RSS feeds from trackers. Set regex filters to automatically download matching releases. Useful for keeping up with TV series or specific uploaders.
ratio — set seeding ratio rules per torrent or per group. Automatically stop or remove torrents after reaching a target ratio.
theme — switch between visual themes. MaterialDesign is the default on PMSS.
_getdir — retrieve directory listings from the server through the ruTorrent interface.
screenshots — capture screenshots from video files in your torrent library.

Additional plugins you can install

autodl-irssi — monitors IRC announce channels on private trackers and grabs new torrents matching your filters automatically. This is a key advantage of rTorrent over qBittorrent or Deluge for private tracker users. autodl-irssi only works with rTorrent and ruTorrent.
mediainfo — display technical metadata (codec, resolution, bitrate) for media files.
spectrogram — generate audio spectrograms, required by some music trackers for upload proof.
filemanager — browse, rename, and manage files on your seedbox through the web interface.

Install additional plugins by cloning their repository into ~/www/rutorrent/plugins/ via SSH.

The XMLRPC connection

ruTorrent talks to rTorrent through XMLRPC, a protocol for remote procedure calls encoded in XML. The connection happens over a local Unix socket, not over the network.

The flow:

rTorrent opens a SCGI socket at ~/.rtorrent.socket
ruTorrent reads its configuration from ~/www/rutorrent/conf/config.php
When you click something in ruTorrent (add torrent, set speed limit, remove torrent), it sends an XMLRPC command through the socket
rTorrent executes the command and returns the result
ruTorrent displays the updated state in your browser

This separation means rTorrent keeps running independently of ruTorrent. If the web server restarts, your torrents are unaffected. You can also control rTorrent directly from the command line via SSH if needed (see Accessing rTorrent console).

When to choose ruTorrent

ruTorrent (with rTorrent) is the right choice when:

You use private trackers and want autodl-irssi for automated snatching from IRC announce channels
You want the largest plugin ecosystem of any seedbox web interface
You manage hundreds or thousands of torrents (rTorrent scales better than the alternatives)
You want RSS automation with regex filtering
You need spectrogram or mediainfo plugins for music tracker uploads

ruTorrent is the default interface on all PM seedbox plans. It is already running when your account is provisioned.

When to consider alternatives

qBittorrent if you want a more modern web interface, need sequential downloading for media preview, or run Sonarr/Radarr with the simplest possible integration
Deluge if you prefer its label system or need execute-on-completion scripts

All three clients are available on every PM seedbox plan. Your downloaded files stay in ~/data/ regardless of which client you use.

Troubleshooting

ruTorrent shows 0 torrents but rTorrent is running: The XMLRPC connection between ruTorrent and rTorrent may be broken. First check that rTorrent is actually running: connect via SSH and run screen -r rtorrent. If rTorrent is not running, restart it from the welcome page or wait for the cron watchdog to restart it automatically. If rTorrent is running, verify the socket exists: ls -la ~/.rtorrent.socket. A missing socket means rTorrent started without SCGI configured or the socket was removed. Restarting rTorrent from the welcome page recreates it.

ruTorrent shows "bad response from server" or plugin errors: Several possible causes. Check disk quota first — run quota via SSH or check the welcome page. A full quota prevents PHP from writing temporary files. If quota is fine, check that rTorrent is running (screen -r rtorrent). A crashed rTorrent process produces the same error. Also check for PHP errors in ~/www/rutorrent/ — a broken plugin can cause this.

ruTorrent loads but is slow: On shared servers, I/O contention during peak hours can slow the web interface. The underlying rTorrent process continues at full speed. If slowness persists, check whether you are running multiple torrent clients simultaneously (rTorrent + qBittorrent + Deluge), which divides server resources.