How To Set Up A uTorrent Server On Linux
If you love uTorrent, but don’t feel like dealing with Wine just to get it working on Linux, there’s another way to enjoy the software. As it turns out, uTorrent does have support for Linux, in the form of “uTorrent server” which means you can set up a uTorrent server on Linux and avoid using Wine altogether.
uTorrent server works like a lot of other torrent server tools on Linux and allows users to add torrents from any machine on the network via a web browser.
Install uTorrent Server
The uTorrent server app does have Linux support, though it only has downloads available for Debian/Ubuntu systems. If you plan to run a uTorrent server on Linux, it’s best to install Ubuntu Server, or to set up a Debian server, as there appear to be no plans for Redhat based systems like CentOS/Suse Enterprise, Fedora Server, Rhel, etc.
Note: if you absolutely have to have uTorrent server on your Redhat Linux server system, try running the software anyway. Though the website says it supports “Debian,” it’s just a Tar archive.
Getting uTorrent server starts out by using the wget download tool. Open up a terminal and grab the most recent version of the server software.
Ubuntu
wget https://download-hr.utorrent.com/track/beta/endpoint/utserver/os/linux-x64-ubuntu-13-04 -O utserver-ubuntu-64bit.tar.gz
or
wget https://download-hr.utorrent.com/track/beta/endpoint/utserver/os/linux-i386-ubuntu-13-04 -O utserver-ubuntu-32bit.tar.gz
Debian
wget https://download-hr.utorrent.com/track/beta/endpoint/utserver/os/linux-x64-debian-7-0 -O utserver-debian-64bit.tar.gz
or
wget https://download-hr.utorrent.com/track/beta/endpoint/utserver/os/linux-i386-debian-7-0 -O utserver-debian-32bit.tar.gz
Extract the server software into the /opt/ folder on the server’s file system.
sudo mkdir -p /opt/utorrent-server/
sudo tar -zxvf utserver-ubuntu-*.tar.gz -C /opt/utorrent-server/ --strip=1
or
sudo tar -zxvf utserver-debian-*.tar.gz -C /opt/utorrent-server/ --strip=1
This version of uTorrent server is for Ubuntu 13.04, and Debian 7. However, it will run on newer versions like Ubuntu server 18.04, and Debian 9. To do this, you’ll need to install a few things. Specifically, LibSSL 1.0. In a terminal, enter the following commands to get it going.
sudo apt install libssl1.0.0 libssl-dev
or, for Debian users:
sudo apt-get install libssl1.0.0 libssl-dev
Set up uTorrent
Downloading uTorrent server for Linux contains a few things. Mainly, the core server software, which is important to run the app. In addition to the server binary, there’s a web UI component that needs setting up. Luckily, to set up the web UI, you’ll only need to extract some files to a directory. In a terminal, use the cd command and move the terminal to the new /opt/utorrent-server/ folder on your server. Then gain root access to start the extraction process.
cd /opt/utorrent-server/ sudo -s
The uTorrent software package has another archive inside of it, that needs extracting. To extract it, run unzip.
unzip webui.zip
Start tuTorrent Server
With the uTorrent Server application set up correctly, it’s time to launch it. Open up a terminal and use the CD command to move to the uTorrent server directory.
cd /opt/utorrent-server/
In the uTorrent server directory, use the chmod command to update the server app’s permissions and set it to “executable”. It’s important to update the permissions of this file, otherwise, the server will not start up.
sudo chmod +x utserver
Now that the permissions are set up correctly, uTorrent server is ready to start up. In the terminal, execute the utserver file.
sudo ./utserver
Run uTorrent Server In Background
The uTorrent server is running, though it doesn’t have a script to automatically start it up. As a result, the admin will need to manually run the utserver command and keep a terminal open.
Luckily, it’s possible to set up uTorrent server to run in the background, with the help of a simple script. To set up the script, open up a terminal and follow the instructions below.
First, add the Shebang to the autostart program. Adding a Shebang allows Bash and the terminal to understand what to do with the script when run.
sudo touch /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start sudo -s echo '#!/bin/bash' >> /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start echo '' >> /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start
Use the echo command to add the automatic start command to the startup script.
sudo -s echo 'cd /opt/utorrent-server/' >> /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start echo '' >> /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start echo './utserver &>/dev/null &' >> /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start
Update the permissions of the script and move it into place.
sudo chmod +x /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start sudo mv /opt/utorrent-server/utorrent-start /usr/bin
To run uTorrent server, enter the following command.
sudo utorrent-start
Accessing uTorrent Server
Installation is complete! Now it’s time to access the server! Open up a new browser tab on your Linux PC, and visit the following website URL.
Note: enter “admin” in the username section, and leave “password” blank to log in.
https://ip-address-of-server-pc:8080/gui/web/index.html
Running uTorrent server on your Ubuntu/Debian desktop? Open a web browser and visit this URL instead.
https://localhost:8080/gui/web/index.html
