How to install rtorrent and rutorrent on ubuntu linux

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@Torrent Support How to install rtorrent and rutorrent on ubuntu linux

 

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How to install rtorrent and rutorrent on ubuntu linux

Here’s a clean way to install rTorrent + ruTorrent on Ubuntu
(works well on 20.04/22.04; adapt versions/paths as needed)

1. Install base packages
Install rTorrent, nginx (or Apache) and PHP-FPM:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install rtorrent screen nginx php-fpm php-cli php-curl php-xml php-zip php-mbstring php-json unzip git

Optional (but recommended):

sudo apt install mediainfo ffmpeg unrar-free

2. Create rTorrent user + directories
Either use your existing user or create a dedicated one:

sudo adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" rtorrent

Create directories for downloads and session:

sudo -u rtorrent mkdir -p /home/rtorrent/{downloads,watch,.session}

3. Configure rTorrent (~/.rtorrent.rc)
As the rtorrent user:

sudo -u rtorrent -s
nano /home/rtorrent/.rtorrent.rc

Minimal example:

directory = /home/rtorrent/downloads
session = /home/rtorrent/.session
schedule = watch_directory,5,5,load_start=/home/rtorrent/watch/*.torrent

# Network / ports
port_range = 51413-51413
port_random = no

# Encryption
encryption = allow_incoming,try_outgoing,enable_retry

# DHT / PEX
dht = auto
dht_port = 6881
peer_exchange = yes

# SCGI for ruTorrent
scgi_port = 127.0.0.1:5000

# UI tweaks
use_udp_trackers = yes
check_hash = yes

Exit the shell or switch back to your user when done.

4. Run rTorrent as a service (recommended)
Create a systemd service so rTorrent runs in the background:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/rtorrent.service

Put this inside:

[Unit]
Description=rTorrent
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=rtorrent
Group=rtorrent
WorkingDirectory=/home/rtorrent
ExecStart=/usr/bin/screen -DmS rtorrent /usr/bin/rtorrent
ExecStop=/usr/bin/killall -w rtorrent
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable rtorrent
sudo systemctl start rtorrent
sudo systemctl status rtorrent

(You can attach later with sudo -u rtorrent screen -r rtorrent.)

5. Install ruTorrent
Put ruTorrent under nginx’s web root (example: /var/www/rutorrent):

cd /var/www
sudo git clone https://github.com/Novik/ruTorrent.git rutorrent
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/rutorrent

6. Configure ruTorrent to talk to rTorrent (SCGI)
Edit the main config:

sudo nano /var/www/rutorrent/conf/config.php

Set the SCGI address/port to match .rtorrent.rc:

<?php
    $scgi_port = 5000;
    $scgi_host = "127.0.0.1";

    $XMLRPCMountPoint = "/RPC2";

(Leave the rest default for a basic setup.)

7. Configure nginx virtual host
Create a site config:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/rutorrent

Example config (HTTP only for simplicity):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/rutorrent;

    index index.php index.html;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/rutorrent_access.log;
    error_log  /var/log/nginx/rutorrent_error.log;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php-fpm.sock;  # adjust if your socket path differs
    }

    # SCGI proxy to rTorrent
    location /RPC2 {
        include scgi_params;
        scgi_pass 127.0.0.1:5000;
    }
}

Enable the site and reload nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/rutorrent /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/rutorrent
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

8. Permissions for downloads
Make sure the web server can access the download path if needed (for plugins):

sudo usermod -a -G rtorrent www-data
sudo chown -R rtorrent:rtorrent /home/rtorrent
sudo chmod -R 775 /home/rtorrent

Log out/in (or restart PHP-FPM) so group changes take effect.

9. Access ruTorrent
Open in your browser:

http://yourdomain.com/ or http://server_ip/​

You should see the ruTorrent web UI. If it shows “No connection to rTorrent”, double-check:

• scgi_port + scgi_host in .rtorrent.rc
• /RPC2 location + scgi_pass in nginx config
• That the rtorrent service is running

10. Security notes
For production/Internet-facing:

• Put ruTorrent behind HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt with nginx).
• Add basic auth or another auth layer in nginx.
• Restrict access by IP / VPN if possible.