# anacrolix/torrent

Full-featured BitTorrent client package and utilities

Repository: https://github.com/anacrolix/torrent
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/torrent
Language: Go
License: MPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: torrent, go, magnet-link, bittorrent, p2p, streaming, tracker
Last push: 2026-08-25T04:15:54+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4255, "days_push": 8, "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 6100, forks 685 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:35.033511+00:00)

## What it is
A full-featured BitTorrent client library and CLI utilities written in Go, designed to be embedded in other projects. It supports streaming data directly from the BitTorrent network via idiomatic io.Reader interfaces, with DHT, PEX, encryption, WebTorrent, and pluggable storage backends.

## Use cases
- embed bittorrent downloads in a go application
- stream video directly from a torrent while downloading
- download files from magnet links programmatically
- build a torrent-based file distribution service
- mount torrents as a filesystem
- store torrent data in sqlite or s3 instead of disk

## When to choose
- you need a programmable torrent client as a Go library rather than a GUI app
- you want to stream or seek into torrent data before it fully downloads
- you need custom storage backends like databases or object storage
- you need modern protocol support like BitTorrent v2, WebTorrent, or holepunching

## When to avoid
- you just want an end-user desktop torrent client with a GUI
- your project is not in Go and cgo bindings are unacceptable
- you need a lightweight single-file downloader without p2p

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: p2p, streaming, http-server, file-system, networking
- domain: files, networking, developer-tools, media
- platform: go, cross-platform, cli
- tags: bittorrent, magnet-links, torrent-client, dht, webtorrent, torrentfs, streaming-downloads

## Member repositories
- anacrolix/torrent (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:35.033511+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 2026-08-29T17:48:15.931317+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/anacrolix/torrent (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:35.033511+00:00, sha b0a65d998ec2)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.