┌─ FILE ANALYSIS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┐
│ DEVELOPER : Bram Cohen / BitTorrent Inc.
│ CATEGORY : Other
│ MIME TYPE : application/x-bittorrent
└ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┘
What is a Torrent file?
A .torrent file is a small metadata file used by the BitTorrent protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing. It does not contain the actual shared data but rather information about the files (names, sizes, checksums) and the tracker servers that coordinate the download. Modern BitTorrent also supports trackerless operation via DHT and magnet links.
How to open Torrent files
- qBittorrent (Windows, macOS, Linux) — Free, open-source
- Transmission (macOS, Linux) — Lightweight, free
- Deluge (Windows, macOS, Linux) — Free, extensible
- Any text editor — View raw bencoded metadata
Technical specifications
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Encoding | Bencoding (binary encoding) |
| Contents | File list, piece hashes, tracker URLs |
| Piece Size | 256 KB - 16 MB (typically) |
| Hash | SHA-1 (v1), SHA-256 (v2) |
| Protocol | BitTorrent v1, v2, Hybrid |
Common use cases
- Linux distributions: Official ISO distribution method.
- Open-source software: Large file distribution.
- Dataset sharing: Scientific and academic datasets.
- Creative Commons: Free media distribution.