Overview
This is the client from the people who wrote the protocol, and it has stayed small and fast throughout. The whole program is a few megabytes, it idles on almost no memory with a large queue loaded, and it handles the things that matter to a heavy queue properly, sequential ordering, per torrent limits, disk cache control and a scheduler that changes behaviour by time of day.
The Pro tier removes the advertising panels that fill the free client and adds the integrated virus scanning of completed files, the built in media player and the automatic conversion for files that will not play on a phone. This build applies that tier, so the interface is clean and those features are live without a subscription attached.
Queue management and speed
The queue handles active and seeding limits separately, which is the setting most people get wrong. Running twenty torrents at once splits a connection into pieces too small to be useful to anyone, and holding three or four active with the rest queued finishes the whole set faster. Per torrent upload and download caps override the global settings for the ones that matter.
Global limits, a scheduler that applies different limits by hour and day, and a setting that drops to a slower profile when another application needs the connection are all here. The scheduler is the underused feature, since setting it to run at full speed overnight and throttle during working hours removes the entire class of problem where a download makes a video call unusable.
Disk, connection and protocol settings
Disk cache size, whether to preallocate files, and whether to write out of order all affect how hard a queue hits the drive. Preallocating avoids fragmentation on mechanical drives and is unnecessary on solid state ones. Sequential download is available where you want to preview a file before it completes, at the cost of some efficiency for the swarm.
Connection settings cover the listening port, whether to attempt automatic port mapping, encryption preference, and the peer exchange and distributed hash table options that find peers without a tracker. Protocol encryption set to enabled rather than forced is the sensible default, since forcing it excludes peers that do not support it and gains little.
Pro features and remote control
The virus scanning runs automatically on a completed file using an integrated engine, before you open it. The media player plays completed video and audio inside the client, and the conversion feature re-encodes a file into a format a phone or tablet will actually play, which saves finding a separate converter for the one file that arrives in an awkward format.
Remote access lets the client be controlled from a browser or a phone elsewhere, adding torrents and managing the queue on a machine at home. The web interface covers most of what the desktop client does, and the whole thing can also run in a mode with no interface at all for a machine that lives in a cupboard.
What you get
- No advertising panels anywhere in the interface
- Integrated virus scanning of completed files
- Built in media player for completed video and audio
- Automatic conversion for phone and tablet playback
- Separate active and seeding queue limits
- Scheduler applying different speed limits by hour and day
- Per torrent upload and download caps
- Sequential download, disk cache and preallocation control
- Remote access from a browser or phone
Inside the archive
- BitTorrent client installer, 32 and 64 bit
- Pro tier applied during setup
- Media player and conversion components
- Remote access component
- Language packs for the interface list shown above
System requirements
| Operating system | Windows 7 or newer, 32 or 64-bit |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any current x86 or x64 processor |
| Memory | 512 MB |
| Storage | 100 MB plus space for downloads |
| Display | 1024 by 768 or higher |
| Other | A network connection and an open listening port for best speeds |
Installing it
- Close any other client using the same listening port.
- Run the installer as administrator.
- Apply the tier step from the archive before the first launch.
- Open the client and confirm the advertising panels are absent from the interface.
- Set the active queue limit to three or four and configure the scheduler before adding a large queue.
Mirrors
| Route | Region | Note | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct, primary | Europe | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Direct, secondary | North America | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Torrent magnet | Global | Not needed at this size | Online |
Release history
- Fixed the scheduler not applying after a system time change
- Disk cache handling improved on very large queues
- Remote access reconnects without restarting the client
- Conversion component updated with more device profiles
- Reduced memory use with several thousand torrents loaded
- Peer exchange reliability improved
Questions about this release
Are the adverts really gone?
Yes. The Pro tier is applied, so the panels are absent rather than hidden behind a setting.
How many torrents should run at once?
Three or four active. More splits your connection into pieces too small to be useful and slows the whole queue down.
Should I force protocol encryption?
Enable it rather than force it. Forcing excludes peers that do not support encryption and gains very little.
Can I control it from another machine?
Yes, remote access works from a browser or a phone and covers most of the desktop functionality.
Comments
Scheduler set to throttle during the day fixed my video calls. Should be the first thing anyone configures.
Remote access from my phone means I stop leaving the desk to add things.
Comments are read before they appear. If a build stops working, say so here and it gets rebuilt rather than quietly left up.
Clean interface, no panels. Idles on nothing with 900 torrents in the list.