Cloud Torrent — Self-Hosted Remote Torrent Client

Introduction

Cloud Torrent is a self-hosted, web-based torrent client written in Go. It runs on your server and provides a browser-based interface for adding magnet links or torrent files, downloading content server-side, and then streaming or transferring the files over HTTP.

What Cloud Torrent Does

• Downloads torrents on your server via a clean web interface
• Streams completed files directly in the browser over HTTP
• Accepts magnet links and .torrent file uploads
• Provides a built-in file manager for browsing downloaded content
• Runs as a single binary with no external dependencies

Architecture Overview

Cloud Torrent is a single Go binary embedding both the torrent engine and the web server. It uses the anacrolix/torrent library for BitTorrent protocol handling and serves a React-based frontend. Downloaded files are written to a configurable directory and served over HTTP with range-request support for streaming.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Deploy as a single binary or via the official Docker image
• Configure the download directory and listening port via CLI flags
• Set optional authentication with username and password flags
• Place behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS for secure remote access
• Adjust concurrent download limits and connection settings via the web UI

Key Features

• Zero-dependency single binary deployment
• In-browser file streaming with HTTP range support
• Real-time download progress and peer statistics
• Search integration for finding torrents by keyword
• RSS feed support for automated torrent downloads

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Transmission — traditional torrent client with web UI; Cloud Torrent adds HTTP file streaming
• qBittorrent — feature-rich desktop client; Cloud Torrent is lighter and server-first
• Deluge — Python-based client with plugin system; Cloud Torrent is a single Go binary
• ruTorrent — web frontend for rTorrent; Cloud Torrent is self-contained without rTorrent dependency

FAQ

Q: Can I password-protect the web interface? A: Yes, pass --auth user:password when starting the binary or set the AUTH environment variable.

Q: Does Cloud Torrent support magnet links? A: Yes, paste any magnet link into the web UI to start downloading immediately.

Q: Can I stream video files before the download completes? A: Yes, Cloud Torrent prioritizes sequential downloading and serves files via HTTP with range requests.

Q: What are the system requirements? A: Cloud Torrent runs on minimal hardware. A VPS with 512 MB RAM is sufficient for typical use.

Sources

• https://github.com/jpillora/cloud-torrent