Quick Raspberry Pi rTorrent and RuTorrent Install
Tags: linux, ubuntu, raspberrypi
Published: 2021-03-16 18:30:56

Do you want to transform your Raspberry Pi into a lightweight, always on, seedbox? For this project, we are going to do just that using rTorrent and RuTorrent, using a fresh Ubuntu 20.04 install.

## What is rTorrent and RuTorrent?
[rTorrent](https://github.com/rakshasa/rtorrent)  is a text-based [BitTorrent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent) client, based on ncurses, that relies on the libTorrent libraries for Unix.

[RuTorrent](https://github.com/Novik/ruTorrent) is a web UI interface for a torrent application, rTorrent. It helps you to connect, manage,  remove torrents to your slot, monitor rTorrent settings, and do a lot of other things through its plugins.It is a highly powerful torrent application and has rich features.

## Getting started
Make sure your machine is up-to-date by running
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
```

Make sure to also write down your LAN ip
```
hostname -I
```

## Installing rtinst

We'll be using [rtinst](https://github.com/arakasi72/rtinst), a bash script setup, that will take care of most of the installation.

Just run the following command to install it
```
sudo bash -c "$(wget --no-check-certificate -qO - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arakasi72/rtinst/master/rtsetup)"
```

## Installing rTorrent and RuTorrent
Now that we have rtinst installed, we just need to run it and watch the magic happen
```
sudo rtinst -l -d -t
```
We are passing the following parameters
```
-l enables log output to ~/rtinst.log
-d enables http downloads
-t keeps the default ssh port
```

Now a few prompts will show, asking you which IP Address to use, which you should point to the one found above and asking you to confirm it. It will also ask you to enter a password for the WebUI.

You'll see the following in your prompt
```
Set Password for RuTorrent web client
Enter a password (6+ chars)
or leave blank to generate a random one
Please enter the new password:
Enter the new password again:
No additional users to add

No more user input required, you can complete unattended
It will take approx 10 minutes for the script to complete
```

Now go grab a cup of coffee and wait for the installation to finish.

If everything goes well, you should see all the info necessary to access your fresh RuTorrent Web UI
```
Summary of Installation (Important Information, please read

SSH Configured
   SSH port set to 22
   root login directly from SSH disabled
   login with ubuntu and switch to root using: sudo su

FTP Server
   vsftpd 3.0.3-12 installed
   ftp port set to 46628
   ftp client should be set to explicit ftp over tls using port 46628

rtorrent torrent client
   rtorrent 0.9.8 installed
   crontab entries made. rtorrent and irssi will start on boot for ubuntu

RuTorrent Web GUI
   RuTorrent 3.10 installed
   rutorrent can be accessed at https://10.10.10.1/rutorrent
   rutorrent password as set by user
   to change rutorrent password enter: rtpass

   If enabled, access https downloads at https://10.10.10.1/download/ubuntu

IMPORTANT: SSH Port set to 22
IMPORTANT: SSH Port set to 22
IMPORTANT: SSH Port set to 22
Please ensure you can login BEFORE closing this session

The above information is stored in rtinst.info in your home directory.
To see contents enter: cat /home/ubuntu/rtinst.info

To install webmin enter: sudo rtwebmin

SCROLL UP IF NEEDED TO READ ALL THE SUMMARY INFO
PLEASE REBOOT YOUR SYSTEM ONCE YOU HAVE NOTED THE ABOVE INFORMATION

Thank You for choosing rtinst
```

If you follow the URL you should be greeted with the RuTorrent WebUI!

![RuTorrent WebUI](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3xexicjelk1jajbkktlp.png)

## Conclusion
Thanks to rtinst, installing rTorrent with ruTorrent is a breeze.


Hope you all enjoyed it!