How to set up the Qbittorrent web UI for Linux
One of the best features for the Qbittorrent application for Linux is it’s “web UI” mode. With it, it’s possible to remotely access the Qbittorrent user interface, add Torrent files and download/upload data from any web browser.
Install Qbittorrent-Nox
To use the Qbittorrent web UI on Linux, you don’t need to install the full Qbittorent desktop app. Instead, there’s a headless, terminal-based Qbittorrent application that is available. It’s called “Qbittorrent-Nox.” To get it working, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt +T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. From there, follow the command-line instructions down below that correspond to the Linux operating system that you are currently using.
Note: can’t find the Qbittorrent-Nox application for your Linux distribution? Don’t worry! The web UI feature isn’t limited to this application. This feature can also be used with the traditional Qbittorent Linux desktop application, which is easily installed via Flapak.
Ubuntu
On Ubuntu, the Qbittorrent-Nox app is in the “Universe” software repository. For most Ubuntu users (especially those using the server release of the OS) will need to enable it before attempting to install the package. To do this, launch a terminal window and use the add-apt-repository command below.
sudo add-apt-repository universe
After using the add-apt-repository command to enable Universe, you must run the update command to check for updates, and to download the new repository release information.
sudo apt update
With the update command done, it’s possible to install the Qbittorrent-Nox package using the Apt package manager.
sudo apt install qbittorrent-nox
Debian
Getting Qbittorrent-Nox on Debian Linux is easy, as it’s in the “Main” software repository. However, keep in mind that the release in “Main” may be slightly out of date, due to how the operating system does their software updates. To install it, enter the Apt-get command below.
sudo apt-get install qbittorrent-nox
Want to ensure your Debian Linux PC gets the latest Qbittorrent-Nox features? Follow our guide and set up Debian Backports.
Arch Linux
To use Qbittorrent-Nox on Arch Linux, the “Community” software repository must be enabled. To enable it, launch the /etc/pacman.conf file in the Nano text editor.
sudo nano -w /etc/pacman.conf
Scroll through the configuration file and locate “Community.” Once you’ve found it, remove all of the # symbols from in front of it, as well as directly below it. Then, save the edits by pressing Ctrl + O, exit with Ctrl + X, and re-sync Pacman with the command below.
sudo pacman -Syy
After re-syncing, install the Qbittorrent-Nox app on Arch Linux with:
sudo pacman -S qbittorrent-nox
Fedora
A relatively recent version of Qbittorrent-Nox is available to Fedora Linux users in the “Main” software repository. To install it, launch a terminal window and use the dnf package manager to install it on the system.
sudo dnf install qbittorrent-nox
OpenSUSE
OpenSUSE has Qbittorrent-Nox in the “OSS-All” software repository. To install it, use the Zypper command below.
sudo zypper install qbittorrent-nox
Setting up the Qbittorrent web UI
The Qbittorrent web UI doesn’t require configuration to turn on. Instead, it’s possible to launch it with a simple command from the terminal. Launch a command-line window with Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T. From there, use the qbittorrent-nox command, with Sudo privileges to start up the service.
sudo qbittorrent-nox
After running the above command, read through the EULA and accept it. Soon after, the program will output an HTTP URL. Highlight the URL, open up a new browser tab and paste it in to load up the UI.
As the Qbittorrent UI page loads, go back to the terminal and find the default username and enter it into the web UI login page. Assuming the login is successful, the Qbittorrent web UI will be ready to use.
Start Qbittorrent web UI in the background
Want to start the Qbittorrent web UI and send it to the background, rather than having to run the command? Do the following:
Step 1: Use the touch command and create a new script file.
sudo touch /usr/bin/qb-start
Step 2: Add commands to the script file.
sudo -s
echo '#!/bin/bash'
echo 'sudo qbittorrent-nox &>/dev/null &'
Step 3: Update the script’s permissions.
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/qb-start
Step 4: Run the script to keep it running in the background.
qb-start
Download with Qbittorrent web UI
Downloading with Qbittorrent web UI is identical to the desktop application. To start a download, open the service in a new browser tab. Then, click “File,” followed by “Add Torrent File,” or “Add Torrent Link.”
Note: the Qbittorrent web UI doesn’t give users the ability to browse for the files that are downloaded. You must look in /root/Downloads/ manually for your data.
After adding a new Torrent to the UI, it should fetch the metadata and start downloading. When done, click the red minus button to remove the Torrent.
Check out our list of the best torrent clients for Linux if you don’t want to use Qbittorrent.
