How to get qBittorrent working on your Chromebook
if you use torrents to download open-source software (which saves projects bandwidth,) download open-source operating system ISO files, or use the torrent protocol for large files (like a personal photo collection), and want to do all of this on your Chromebook, you’ll want to install a torrent client like qBittorrent.
Please note: AddictiveTips does not advocate downloading unauthorized software with qBittorrent. Please only use this torrent client to download legitimate, legal software on your device.
Enable Linux support on Chrome OS
Before you can install the qBittorrent app on your Chrome OS system, enable Linux support on your Chromebook. Thankfully, it isn’t too difficult to get Linux working on a Chromebook.
To start, select the clock on the Chrome OS panel, then select the gear icon. After opening up the settings area, find the “Advanced” section, and click on it. Then, select “Developers,” and click the “Turn on” button under the Linux development environment area.
When you select the “Turn on” button, it will download the Linux container. This download will be quick. When the download is complete, Chrome OS will automatically launch the terminal. In the terminal, find “penguin,” and select it with the mouse. After choosing “penguin,” the terminal will open and be ready to use.
Once the terminal is open and ready to use, you will need to check for updates to the container. Run the apt update command to check for any software updates to the Linux container.
sudo apt update
Now that you’ve checked for software updates, you can install them using the apt upgrade command. Keep in mind, this command may take a few minutes to run if you have a lot of software updates available.
sudo apt upgrade
With all the software upgrades installed, the Linux terminal will be ready to use on your Chromebook or Chrome desktop device.
How to install qBittorrent on a Chromebook
To install qBittorrent on your Chromebook, start by opening up the terminal. Once it is open, click on the “penguin” button. When you select “penguin,” Linux is ready to use. Now, use the apt install command to install the “qbittorrent” app.
sudo apt install qbittorrent
Install a newer version of qBittorrent
The version of qBittorrent that comes with the Linux container on Chrome OS is not as up-to-date as some would like. If you’d like to install this version, start by installing the “flatpak” package with the apt install command.
sudo apt install flatpak
With the Flatpak package installed, you can set up the qBittorrent application using the commands below.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub org.qbittorrent.qBittorrent
How to use qBittorrent on your Chromebook
To use the qBittorrent application, start by launching the app. You can launch the app by opening up the Chrome OS app menu via the “Linux apps” sub-menu.
With the qBittorrent app open on your Chromebook, do the following. First, find a torrent you wish to download to your Chromebook. In this example, we’ll download the official Ubuntu ISO from Ubuntu.com.
Once you’ve located the torrent you wish to download, click on it in the Chrome browser and download it. When you select the torrent, it should download the torrent file to your Chromebook in the “Downloads” folder. Open up the Chrome OS Files app, and select the “Downloads” Folder.
In the Chrome OS “Downloads” folder, locate the torrent file you downloaded to your Chromebook previously. Then, locate the “Linux files” section on the sidebar, and drag the torrent file into it. We must add the torrent file to the “Linux files” area for the qBittorrent app to find it.
After adding the torrent file to the “Linux files” section, return to the qBittorrent app. Then, find the “File” button, and click on it with the mouse. Inside the “Files” menu, click on the “Add torrent file” button. When you select this button, a pop-up menu will appear.
Browse for the torrent file and select it. When you select the torrent file, qBittorrent will instantly be added. After the torrent file is added, it’ll start downloading the file you’re looking to download.
How to download via URL
Adding torrent files by downloading the file in Chrome, and moving it into “Linux files” works, but it is tedious. You can also download a torrent in qBittorrent on Chrome OS by adding the URL.
To add a torrent via URL, do the following. First, find the URL to a torrent file and copy it to your clipboard. You can also copy a magnet link to your clipboard as well. Then, launch the qBittorent app on your Chromebook via the “Linux apps” menu.
Once the qBittorrent app is open, find the “Open URL” button and select it with the mouse. Then, paste the torrent URL into the box. Select the “Download” button when ready to begin the download process.
