Configuration

qbt is configured with a TOML file. Most commands need at least the [qbittorrent] connection block.

Config file location

Create .qbt.toml in ~/.config/qbt/:

mkdir -p ~/.config/qbt && touch ~/.config/qbt/.qbt.toml

qbt looks for a file named .qbt.toml in the following locations, in order:

1. the current working directory
2. your home directory ($HOME)
3. $HOME/.config/qbt

You can also point at a specific file with the global --config flag:

qbt --config /path/to/.qbt.toml torrent list

Minimal configuration

[qbittorrent]
addr     = "http://127.0.0.1:6776" # qbittorrent webui-api hostname/ip
login    = "user"                  # qbittorrent webui-api user     (optional)
password = "password"              # qbittorrent webui-api password (optional)

Connection - [qbittorrent]

Key	Description
addr	qBittorrent Web API URL, including scheme and port
login	Web API username (optional)
password	Web API password (optional)
apikey	Web API key - qBittorrent 5.2.x and newer only (optional)
basicUser	HTTP basic auth username, if your Web API is behind basic auth
basicPass	HTTP basic auth password, if your Web API is behind basic auth

Reannounce - [reannounce]

Some trackers are buggy and need a reannounce before a torrent can start. These values are used by qbt torrent reannounce.

[reannounce]
enabled  = true # true or false
attempts = 10   # number of attempts, typically 10-30
interval = 7000 # interval between attempts, in milliseconds

Rules - [rules]

Limit how many torrents download simultaneously. Applied when adding torrents unless you pass --ignore-rules.

[rules]
enabled              = true # enable or disable rules
max_active_downloads = 2    # max active downloads

• On HDDs with 1 Gbit, max_active_downloads = 2 is a good value to avoid overloading the disks while giving each torrent as much bandwidth as possible.
• On SSDs and 1 Gbit+ you can increase this value.

Add defaults - [add]

Defaults applied by qbt torrent add.

[add]
sequential       = false # download pieces in sequential order (useful for streaming)
first_last_piece = false # prioritize first and last pieces for all new torrents

Compare instances - [[compare]]

qbt torrent compare can compare torrents against other qBittorrent instances. Add one [[compare]] block per instance.

[[compare]]
addr     = "http://100.100.100.100:6776"
login    = "user"
password = "password"
#basicUser = "user"
#basicPass = "password"

[[compare]] # you can specify multiple compare blocks
addr     = "http://100.100.100.101:6776"
login    = "user"
password = "password"

autodl-irssi

qbt torrent add works well as an autodl-irssi upload action.

Edit autodl.cfg.

Global action:

[options]
...
upload-type = exec
upload-command = /usr/bin/qbt
upload-args = add "$(TorrentPathName)"

Per filter:

[filter example_filter_action]
...
upload-type = exec
upload-command = /usr/bin/qbt
upload-args = add "$(TorrentPathName)" --category cat1 --tags tag1

ruTorrent

In ruTorrent, go to autodl-irssi Preferences, then the Action tab and set the following for the global action. This can be set per filter as well, where you can also add a category, tags and so on.

Choose .torrent action: Run Program
Command: /usr/bin/qbt
Arguments: add "$(TorrentPathName)"