WebTorrent ORG

WebTorrent

The streaming torrent client. For node.js and the web.

Sponsored by        

WebTorrent is a streaming torrent client for node.js and the browser. YEP,
THAT'S RIGHT. THE BROWSER. It's written completely in JavaScript – the language of the web
– so the same code works in both runtimes.

In node.js, this module is a simple torrent client, using TCP and UDP to talk to
other torrent clients.

In the browser, WebTorrent uses WebRTC (data channels) for peer-to-peer transport.
It can be used without browser plugins, extensions, or installations. It's Just
JavaScript™. Note: WebTorrent does not support UDP/TCP peers in browser.

Simply include the
webtorrent.min.js script
on your page to start fetching files over WebRTC using the BitTorrent protocol, or
import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent' with browserify or webpack. See [demo apps
](#who-is-using-webtorrent-today) and [code examples](#usage) below.


To make BitTorrent work over WebRTC (which is the only P2P transport that works on the
web) we made some protocol changes. Therefore, a browser-based WebTorrent client or "web
peer" can only connect to other clients that support WebTorrent/WebRTC.

To seed files to web peers, use a client that supports WebTorrent, e.g.
[WebTorrent Desktop][webtorrent-desktop], a desktop client with a
familiar UI that can connect to web peers,
webtorrent-hybrid, a command line program,
or Instant.io, a website. Established torrent clients like
Vuze have already added WebTorrent support so
they can connect to both normal *and* web peers. We hope other clients will follow.

!Network

Features

• Torrent client for node.js & the browser (same npm package!)
• Insanely fast
• Download multiple torrents simultaneously, efficiently
• Pure Javascript (no native dependencies)
• Exposes files as streams

• Supports advanced torrent client features

• Comprehensive test suite (runs completely offline, so it's reliable and fast)
• Check all the [supported BEPs here](docs/bep_support.md)

Browser/WebRTC environment features

• WebRTC data channels for lightweight peer-to-peer communication with no plugins
• No silos. WebTorrent is a P2P network for the entire web. WebTorrent clients

• Stream video torrents into a ` tag (webm, mkv, mp4, ogv, mov, etc (AV1, H264, HEVC*, VP8, VP9, AAC, FLAC, MP3, OPUS, Vorbis, etc))
• Supports Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari.

To install WebTorrent for use in node or the browser with import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent', run:

bash
npm install webtorrent

To install a webtorrent
command line program, run:

bash
npm install webtorrent-cli -g

• Join us in [Gitter][webtorrent-gitter-url] or on freenode at #webtorrent to help

js
import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent'

const client = new WebTorrent()
const magnetURI = '...'

client.add(magnetURI, torrent => {
  // Got torrent metadata!
  console.log('Client is downloading:', torrent.infoHash)

  for (const file of torrent.files) {
    document.body.append(file.name)
  }
})

js
import dragDrop from 'drag-drop'
import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent'

const client = new WebTorrent()

// When user drops files on the browser, create a new torrent and start seeding it!
dragDrop('body', files => {
  client.seed(files, torrent => {
    console.log('Client is seeding:', torrent.infoHash)
  })
})

Or, you can just use the pre-built version via
import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent/dist/webtorrent.min.js' and skip the webpack configuration.

WebTorrent is also available as a standalone script
([webtorrent.min.js](webtorrent.min.js)) which exposes WebTorrent on the window
object, so it can be used with just a script tag:

html

  import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent.min.js'

html

  import WebTorrent from 'https://esm.sh/webtorrent/dist/webtorrent.min.js'

html

  import WebTorrent from 'webtorrent.chromeapp.js'

Be sure to enable the chrome.sockets.udp and chrome.sockets.tcp` permissions!

In Node.js

WebTorrent also works in node.js, using the *same npm package!* It's mad science!

NOTE: To connect to "web peers" (browsers) in addition to normal BitTorrent peers, use
webtorrent-hybrid which includes WebRTC
support for node.

As a command line app

WebTorrent is also available as a
command line app. Here's how to use it:

bash
$ npm install webtorrent-cli -g
$ webtorrent --help

To download a torrent:

bash
$ webtorrent magnet_uri

To stream a torrent to a device like AirPlay or Chromecast, just pass a flag:

bash
$ webtorrent magnet_uri --airplay

There are many supported streaming options:

bash
--airplay               Apple TV
--chromecast            Chromecast
--mplayer               MPlayer
--mpv                   MPV
--omx [jack]            omx [default: hdmi]
--vlc                   VLC
--xbmc                  XBMC
--stdout                standard out [implies --quiet]

In addition to magnet uris, WebTorrent supports [many ways](docs/api.md#clientaddtorrentid-opts-function-ontorrent-torrent-) to specify a torrent.

Talks about WebTorrent

• Sep 2017 - Nordic JS - Get Rich Quick With P2P Crypto Currency
• May 2017 - Char.la - WebTorrent and Peerify (Spanish)
• Nov 2016 - NodeConf Argentina - Real world Electron: Building Cross-platform desktop apps with JavaScript
• May 2016 - SIGNAL Conference - BitTorrent in the Browser
• May 2015 - Data Terra Nemo - WebTorrent: Mother of all demos
• May 2015 - Data Terra Nemo - WebRTC Everywhere
• Nov 2014 - JSConf Asia - How WebTorrent Works
• Sep 2014 - NodeConf EU - WebRTC Mad Science (first working WebTorrent demo)
• Apr 2014 - CraftConf - Bringing BitTorrent to the Web
• May 2014 - JS.LA - How I Built a BitTorrent Client in the Browser (progress update; node client working)
• Oct 2013 - RealtimeConf - WebRTC Black Magic (first mention of idea for WebTorrent)

Modules

Most of the active development is happening inside of small npm packages which are used by WebTorrent.

The Node Way™

> "When applications are done well, they are just the really application-specific, brackish residue that can't be so easily abstracted away. All the nice, reusable components sublimate away onto github and npm where everybody can collaborate to advance the commons." — substack from "how I write modules"

!node.js is shiny

Modules

These are the main modules that make up WebTorrent:

| module | tests | version | description |
|---|---|---|---|
| [webtorrent][webtorrent] | [![][webtorrent-ti]][webtorrent-tu] | [![][webtorrent-ni]][webtorrent-nu] | torrent client (this module)
| [bittorrent-dht][bittorrent-dht] | [![][bittorrent-dht-ti]][bittorrent-dht-tu] | [![][bittorrent-dht-ni]][bittorrent-dht-nu] | distributed hash table client
| [bittorrent-peerid][bittorrent-peerid] | [![][bittorrent-peerid-ti]][bittorrent-peerid-tu] | [![][bittorrent-peerid-ni]][bittorrent-peerid-nu] | identify client name/version
| [bittorrent-protocol][bittorrent-protocol] | [![][bittorrent-protocol-ti]][bittorrent-protocol-tu] | [![][bittorrent-protocol-ni]][bittorrent-protocol-nu] | bittorrent protocol stream
| [bittorrent-tracker][bittorrent-tracker] | [![][bittorrent-tracker-ti]][bittorrent-tracker-tu] | [![][bittorrent-tracker-ni]][bittorrent-tracker-nu] | bittorrent tracker server/client
| [bittorrent-lsd][bittorrent-lsd] | [![][bittorrent-lsd-ti]][bittorrent-lsd-tu] | [![][bittorrent-lsd-ni]][bittorrent-lsd-nu] | bittorrent local service discovery
| [create-torrent][create-torrent] | [![][create-torrent-ti]][create-torrent-tu] | [![][create-torrent-ni]][create-torrent-nu] | create .torrent files
| [magnet-uri][magnet-uri] | [![][magnet-uri-ti]][magnet-uri-tu] | [![][magnet-uri-ni]][magnet-uri-nu] | parse magnet uris
| [parse-torrent][parse-torrent] | [![][parse-torrent-ti]][parse-torrent-tu] | [![][parse-torrent-ni]][parse-torrent-nu] | parse torrent identifiers
| [torrent-discovery][torrent-discovery] | [![][torrent-discovery-ti]][torrent-discovery-tu] | [![][torrent-discovery-ni]][torrent-discovery-nu] | find peers via dht, tracker, and lsd
| [ut_metadata][ut_metadata] | [![][ut_metadata-ti]][ut_metadata-tu] | [![][ut_metadata-ni]][ut_metadata-nu] | metadata for magnet uris (protocol extension)
| [ut_pex][ut_pex] | [![][ut_pex-ti]][ut_pex-tu] | [![][ut_pex-ni]][ut_pex-nu] | peer discovery (protocol extension)

[webtorrent]: https://github.com/webtorrent/webtorrent
[webtorrent-gitter-url]: https://gitter.im/webtorrent/webtorrent

[webtorrent-ti]: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/webtorrent/webtorrent/ci.yml
[webtorrent-tu]: https://github.com/webtorrent/webtorrent/actions
[webtorrent-ni]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/webtorrent.svg
[webtorrent-nu]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/webtorrent
[webtorrent-desktop]: https://webtorrent.io/desktop

[bittorrent-dht]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-dht
[bittorrent-dht-ti]: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/webtorrent/bittorrent-dht/ci.yml?branch=master
[bittorrent-dht-tu]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-dht/actions
[bittorrent-dht-ni]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/bittorrent-dht.svg
[bittorrent-dht-nu]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-dht

[bittorrent-peerid]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-peerid
[bittorrent-peerid-ti]: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/webtorrent/bittorrent-peerid/ci.yml?branch=master
[bittorrent-peerid-tu]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-peerid/actions
[bittorrent-peerid-ni]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/bittorrent-peerid.svg
[bittorrent-peerid-nu]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-peerid

[bittorrent-protocol]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-protocol
[bittorrent-protocol-ti]: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/webtorrent/bittorrent-protocol/ci.yml?branch=master
[bittorrent-protocol-tu]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-protocol/actions
[bittorrent-protocol-ni]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/bittorrent-protocol.svg
[bittorrent-protocol-nu]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-protocol

[bittorrent-tracker]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-tracker
[bittorrent-tracker-ti]: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/webtorrent/bittorrent-tracker/ci.yml?branch=master
[bittorrent-tracker-tu]: https://github.com/webtorrent/bittorrent-tracker/actions
[bittorrent-tracker-ni]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/bittorrent-tracker.svg
[bittorrent-tracker-nu]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent

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