In this article I’d like to describe a text-mode Bittorrent client - rTorrent. It will be helpful to people that share a computer with other household members because it allows them to download files regardless of the logged in user.

On my post entitled "How to use BitTorrent in Linux" I've taught you the basics of downloading torrent files using Transmission, a popular BitTorrent client with GUI (Graphical User Interface). This time, I will show you how to use an ultra-lightweight text-based ncurses BitTorrent client --rTorrent.

This can be achieved by using the ultra-lightweight text-based BitTorrent client "rTorrent".
If you are using Ubuntu, you can install

The reason I am writing this post is because I tried many howto's which didn't work and I eventually ended up combining some to get both rtorrent and wtorrent to install and run on my Debian 5 Lenny VPN. In case you don't know: wtorrent is a WebUI for rtorrent, a command line Bittorrent client. Be aware, there are quite a few steps on doing this, so you need a lot of patience and time.

rTorrent is a popular command line based bittorrent client. It provides very powerful features yet it is very light on the system - contrary to other bittorrent clients like Vuze. There are a couple of webinterfaces for it but they are not truly needed. SSH access combined with the "screen" program provide you all the tools you need.

rTorrent is a popular command line based bittorrent client. It provides very powerful features yet it is very light on the system - contrary to other bittorrent clients like Vuze. There are a couple of webinterfaces for it but they are not truly need. SSH access combined with the "screen" program provide you all the tools you need.

Torrent is a great way to transfer large files very quickly. However most torrent clients are gui based and have quite some impact on system resources (e.g. Azureus). rTorrent is a lightweight client running from the terminal.

I have played a lot with rTorrent and wTorrent (which I've already posted how to set up) and also ruTorrent and various Web UIs for rTorrent but I've came to the conclusion that the best way (for me at least) for remote Bittorrent download is Transmission Remote GUI - I've been using it for a few days now and love it.

I have a constantly running server that would be a perfect on which to run torrent downloads. The only catch is that the server is headless -- it has no monitor or keyboard. To overcome this obstacle, I use rTorrent as my torrent client, and GNU Screen so that I can disconnect my terminal session and leave rTorrent running.