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WebTorrent is a streaming torrent client fornode.js and thebrowser. 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 toother torrent clients.

In the browser, WebTorrent usesWebRTC (data channels) for peer-to-peer transport.It can be usedwithout browser plugins, extensions, or installations. It's JustJavaScript™. Note: WebTorrent doesnot support UDP/TCP peers in browser.

Simply include thewebtorrent.min.js scripton your page to start fetching files over WebRTC using the BitTorrent protocol, orimport WebTorrent from 'webtorrent' withbrowserify orwebpack. Seedemo apps andcode examples below.

To make BitTorrent work over WebRTC (which is the only P2P transport that works on theweb) we made some protocol changes. Therefore, a browser-based WebTorrent client or"webpeer" 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, a desktop client with afamiliar UI that can connect to web peers,webtorrent-hybrid, a command line program,orInstant.io, a website. Established torrent clients likeVuze havealready added WebTorrent support sothey can connect to both normaland web peers. We hope other clients will follow.

• Torrent client for node.js & the browser (same npm package!)
• Insanely fast
• Downloadmultiple torrents simultaneously, efficiently
• Pure Javascript (no native dependencies)
• Exposes files asstreams
  • 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 viaut_metadata
  • peer discovery viadht,tracker,lsd, andut_pex
  • protocol extension apifor adding new extensions
• Comprehensive test suite (runs completely offline, so it's reliable and fast)
• Check all thesupported BEPs here

• WebRTC data channels for lightweight peer-to-peer communication withno plugins
• No silos. WebTorrent is a P2P network for theentire web. WebTorrent clientsrunning on one domain can connect to clients on any other domain.
• Stream video torrents into a<video> 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 withimport WebTorrent from 'webtorrent', run:

npm install webtorrent

To install awebtorrentcommand line program, run:

npm install webtorrent-cli -g

To install a WebTorrent desktop application for Mac, Windows, or Linux, seeWebTorrent Desktop.

• Join us inGitter or on freenode at#webtorrent to helpwith development or to hang out with some mad science hackers :)
• Create a new issue to report bugs
• Fix an issue. WebTorrentis anOPEN Open Source Project!

Lots of folks!

Read the full API Documentation.

WebTorrent is the first BitTorrent client that works in the browser, using open webstandards (no plugins, just HTML5 and WebRTC)! It's easy to get started!

importWebTorrentfrom'webtorrent'constclient=newWebTorrent()constmagnetURI='...'client.add(magnetURI,torrent=>{// Got torrent metadata!console.log('Client is downloading:',torrent.infoHash)for(constfileoftorrent.files){document.body.append(file.name)}})

importdragDropfrom'drag-drop'importWebTorrentfrom'webtorrent'constclient=newWebTorrent()// 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)})})

There are more examples indocs/get-started.md.

WebTorrent works great withbrowserify, an npm package that letsyou usenode-style require() to organize your browser code and load modules installed bynpm (as seen in the previous examples).

WebTorrent also works withwebpack, another modulebundler. However, webpack requires extra configuration which you can find inthe webpack bundle config used by webtorrent.

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

WebTorrent is also available as a standalone script(webtorrent.min.js) which exposesWebTorrent on thewindowobject, so it can be used with just a script tag:

<scripttype='module'>importWebTorrentfrom'webtorrent.min.js'</script>

The WebTorrent script is also hosted on fast, reliable CDN infrastructure (Cloudflare andMaxCDN) for easy inclusion on your site:

<scripttype='module'>importWebTorrentfrom'https://esm.sh/webtorrent'</script>

If you want to use WebTorrent in aChrome App, you can include thefollowing script:

<scripttype='module'>importWebTorrentfrom'webtorrent.chromeapp.js'</script>

Be sure to enable thechrome.sockets.udp andchrome.sockets.tcp permissions!

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

NOTE: To connect to "web peers" (browsers) in addition to normal BitTorrent peers, usewebtorrent-hybrid which includes WebRTCsupport for node.

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

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

To download a torrent:

$ webtorrent magnet_uri

To stream a torrent to a device likeAirPlay orChromecast, just pass a flag:

$ webtorrent magnet_uri --airplay

There are many supported streaming options:

--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 supportsmany ways to specify a torrent.

• 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)

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

"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"

These are the main modules that make up WebTorrent:

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

Innode, enable debug logs by setting theDEBUG environment variable to the name of themodule you want to debug (e.g.bittorrent-protocol, or* to printall logs).

DEBUG=* webtorrent

In thebrowser, enable debug logs by running this in the developer console:

localStorage.setItem('debug','*')

Disable by running this:

localStorage.removeItem('debug')

MIT. Copyright (c)Feross Aboukhadijeh andWebTorrent, LLC.