fairtoys/webtorrent-cli

WebTorrent, the streaming torrent client. For the command line.

WebTorrent CLI

The streaming torrent client. For the command line.

WebTorrent is the first BitTorrent client that works in the browser, but webtorrent-cli, i.e. THIS PACKAGE, is for using WebTorrent from the command line.

webtorrent-cli is a simple torrent client for use in node.js, as a command line app. It uses TCP and UDP to talk to other torrent clients.

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

To use WebTorrent in the browser, see webtorrent.

Features

• Use WebTorrent from the command line!
• Insanely fast
• Pure Javascript (no native dependencies)
• Streaming
  • Stream to AirPlay, Chromecast, VLC player, IINA, and many other devices/players
  • Fetches pieces from the network on-demand so seeking is supported (even before torrent is finished)
  • Seamlessly switches between sequential and rarest-first piece selection strategy
• Supports advanced torrent client features
  • magnet uri support via ut_metadata
  • peer discovery via dht, tracker, and ut_pex
  • protocol extension api for adding new extensions
  • Check all the supported BEPs here

Install

To install a webtorrent command line program, run:

npm install webtorrent-cli -g

Usage

$ webtorrent --help
               _     _                            _
 __      _____| |__ | |_ ___  _ __ _ __ ___ _ __ | |_
 \ \ /\ / / _ \ '_ \| __/ _ \| '__| '__/ _ \ '_ \| __|
  \ V  V /  __/ |_) | || (_) | |  | | |  __/ | | | |_
   \_/\_/ \___|_.__/ \__\___/|_|  |_|  \___|_| |_|\__|

Usage:
  webtorrent [command] <torrent-id> [options]

Examples:
  webtorrent download "magnet:..." --vlc
  webtorrent "magnet:..." --vlc --player-args="--video-on-top --repeat"

Default output location:
  * when streaming: Temp folder
  * when downloading: Current directory

Specify <torrent-id> as one of:
  * magnet uri
  * http url to .torrent file
  * filesystem path to .torrent file
  * info hash (hex string)

Commands:
  webtorrent download [torrent-ids...]      Download a torrent                             [default]
  webtorrent downloadmeta <torrent-ids...>  Download metadata of torrent
  webtorrent seed <inputs...>               Seed a file or a folder
  webtorrent create <input>                 Create a .torrent file
  webtorrent info <torrent-id>              Show torrent information
  webtorrent version                        Show version information
  webtorrent help                           Show help information

Options (streaming):
      --airplay     Apple TV                                                               [boolean]
      --chromecast  Google Chromecast                                                 [default: all]
      --dlna        DNLA                                                                   [boolean]
      --mplayer     MPlayer                                                                [boolean]
      --mpv         MPV                                                                    [boolean]
      --omx         OMX                                                              [default: hdmi]
      --vlc         VLC                                                                    [boolean]
      --iina        IINA                                                                   [boolean]
      --smplayer    SMPlayer                                                               [boolean]
      --xbmc        XBMC                                                                   [boolean]
      --stdout      Standard out (implies --quiet)                                         [boolean]

Options (simple):
  -o, --out        Set download destination                                                 [string]
  -s, --select     Select specific file in torrent                             [default: List files]
  -t, --subtitles  Load subtitles file                                                      [string]
  -h, --help       Show help information                                                   [boolean]
  -v, --version    Show version information                                                [boolean]

Options (advanced)
  -p, --port            Change the http server port                         [number] [default: 8000]
  -b, --blocklist       Load blocklist file/url                                             [string]
  -a, --announce        Tracker URL to announce to                                          [string]
  -q, --quiet           Don't show UI on stdout                                            [boolean]
  -d, --download-limit  Maximum download speed in kb/s                 [number] [default: unlimited]
  -u, --upload-limit    Maximum upload speed in kb/s                   [number] [default: unlimited]
      --pip             Enter Picture-in-Picture if supported by the player                [boolean]
      --verbose         Show torrent protocol details                                      [boolean]
      --playlist        Open files in a playlist if supported by the player                [boolean]
      --player-args     Add player specific arguments (see example)                         [string]
      --torrent-port    Change the torrent seeding port                   [number] [default: random]
      --dht-port        Change the dht port                               [number] [default: random]
      --not-on-top      Don't set "always on top" option in player                         [boolean]
      --keep-seeding    Don't quit when done downloading                                   [boolean]
      --no-quit         Don't quit when player exits                                       [boolean]
      --on-done         Run script after torrent download is done                           [string]
      --on-exit         Run script before program exit                                      [string]

To download a torrent:

$ webtorrent magnet_uri

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

$ webtorrent magnet_uri --airplay

In addition to magnet uris, webtorrent supports many ways to specify a torrent:

• magnet uri (string)
• torrent file (buffer)
• info hash (hex string or buffer)
• parsed torrent (from parse-torrent)
• http/https url to a torrent file (string)
• filesystem path to a torrent file (string)

License

MIT. Copyright (c) Feross Aboukhadijeh and WebTorrent, LLC.