WebTorrent
⚡️ Streaming torrent client for the web observed · 2026-08-28
Health v2 · maintenance only
98/100
- Activity 99
- Release rhythm 95
- Longevity 100
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-03. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: 0
- age_days: 4705
- days_rel: 37
- days_push: 7
- n_releases_24m: 60
Adoption not part of the score
31372 stars · 2915 forks observed · 2026-08-28
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded
WebTorrent is a streaming BitTorrent client written entirely in JavaScript that runs in Node.js (using TCP/UDP) and in the browser (using WebRTC data channels). The project also ships WebTorrent Desktop and a CLI client, letting users download and stream torrents without waiting for the full download.
Use cases
- stream torrents in the browser without plugins
- download torrents from the command line
- build peer-assisted content delivery for a website
- seed files to web peers over WebRTC
- stream video from a torrent while it downloads
- share files peer-to-peer between browsers
When to choose
- you want torrent downloading or seeding inside a web app using only JavaScript
- you need streaming playback of torrent media before the download completes
- you want a lightweight CLI or desktop torrent client
- you are building peer-assisted delivery to reduce bandwidth costs
When to avoid
- you need browser peers to connect to non-WebRTC BitTorrent clients over TCP/UDP
- you need a native-performance torrent client outside the JavaScript ecosystem
- your use case requires private trackers or clients that do not support the WebTorrent protocol
Facets
library · maturity active
p2p streaming http-client cli networking web-development media files developer-tools browser cli cross-platform bittorrent webrtc torrent-client peer-to-peer file-sharing streaming-media web-peers nodejs javascript
5 sources
- readme: https://github.com/webtorrent/webtorrent · fetched 2026-08-28 · 110d7abd7753
- homepage: https://webtorrent.io · fetched 2026-08-29 · bc9de1481dcf
- site_page: https://webtorrent.io/docs · fetched 2026-08-29 · 28b3bfe003c6
- registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/webtorrent-cli · fetched 2026-08-29 · dd364d2c4cd9
- site_page: https://webtorrent.io/faq · fetched 2026-08-29 · cb059616fd40
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| webtorrent/webtorrent | main | 98 |
| webtorrent/webtorrent-desktop | plugin | 66 |
| webtorrent/webtorrent-cli | plugin | 87 |
For agents
markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="webtorrent/webtorrent")
Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem