# lmatteis/torrent-net

Distributed search engines using BitTorrent and SQLite

Repository: https://github.com/lmatteis/torrent-net
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/torrent-net
Language: C
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2023-12-31T02:12:57+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3428, "days_push": 977, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1030, forks 39 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:17.870305+00:00)

## What it is
TorrentNet is a C application that builds distributed search engines on top of the BitTorrent network and SQLite databases. It lets users query a torrent-hosted database on demand by prioritizing downloads of only the pieces relevant to their search, instead of downloading the whole file first.

## Use cases
- run a search engine without owning a server by seeding an SQLite database as a torrent
- query a distributed site's database before it finishes downloading
- host censorship-resistant torrent sites addressed by public key via DHT
- build browsable distributed sites where only relevant data pieces are fetched
- share large searchable databases peer-to-peer with no hosting costs

## When to choose
- you want a decentralized, serverless search engine resistant to takedowns
- your dataset is large but users only need to query small portions of it
- you want visitors to help host your site by participating in the swarm

## When to avoid
- you need low-latency, real-time search over frequently updated data
- you need full-text search features beyond what SQLite queries provide
- you need a production-ready system with active maintenance and large community support

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: experimental
- function: search-engine, database, p2p, http-server
- domain: databases, censorship-circumvention, self-hosted, privacy
- platform: windows, cli
- tags: bittorrent, sqlite, sqltorrent, distributed-web, dht, decentralized-search, search, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- lmatteis/torrent-net (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:17.870305+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:07:34.331704+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lmatteis/torrent-net (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:17.870305+00:00, sha 7669565fdf37)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.