ruTorrent (rTorrent)

Overview

ruTorrent is a web front-end for the BitTorrent client rTorrent. The SynoCommunity package bundles both rTorrent (the daemon) and ruTorrent (the web UI).

Web Interface

After installation, access the web interface at:

http://<NAS_IP>/rutorrent

Ports

Service	Port	Protocol
Web UI	80	HTTP (via /rutorrent path)
rTorrent SCGI	8050	TCP
BitTorrent	6881-6999	TCP/UDP

For port conflict troubleshooting, see the Frequently Asked Questions.

Configuration Files

rTorrent Configuration

The rTorrent configuration file is located at:

/var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/conf/rtorrent.rc

To edit the configuration:

1. Enable SSH access on your DSM
2. Connect via SSH
3. Edit with: sudo vi /var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/conf/rtorrent.rc
4. Restart the ruTorrent package in DSM Package Center

File Locations

File	Path
rTorrent config	/var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/conf/rtorrent.rc
Session directory	/var/packages/rutorrent/var/.session/
Log file	/var/packages/rutorrent/var/rtorrent.log
ruTorrent config	/var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/conf/config.php
Plugins config	/var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/conf/plugins.ini

Troubleshooting

"Too many open files" - Package Constantly Restarting

Symptoms:

• Package crashes and restarts in a loop
• Log shows "Too many open files" errors
• Web UI becomes unresponsive with 500 errors
• High CPU usage from constant restarts

Cause: By default, DSM limits processes to 1024 open file descriptors. When downloading many torrents simultaneously, rTorrent can exhaust this limit causing it to crash.

Solution: Add the following lines to your rtorrent.rc file:

# Network resource limits (optimized for ulimit of 1024)
# Leave ~74 FDs headroom for rtorrent internals: session, logs, SCGI, etc.
network.http.max_open.set = 50
network.max_open_files.set = 600
network.max_open_sockets.set = 300

# Peer throttling to reduce connection overhead
throttle.min_peers.normal.set = 20
throttle.max_peers.normal.set = 60
throttle.min_peers.seed.set = 30
throttle.max_peers.seed.set = 80

FD budget breakdown:

• 600 (data files) + 300 (sockets) + 50 (HTTP/trackers) = 950
• Leaves ~74 FDs for rtorrent internals

These values are from the official rtorrent CONFIG-Template, specifically documented as "optimized for an ulimit of 1024 (a common default)".

After editing, restart the ruTorrent package:

synopkg restart rutorrent

Note: Starting with package version 5.2.10-21, new installations include these settings by default. Existing users upgrading from earlier versions need to add them manually.

Download Folder Permissions

If downloads fail with permission errors, ensure the sc-rutorrent user has read/write access to your download folder. See Permission Management for detailed instructions.

Plugins

ruTorrent includes several plugins by default. To enable/disable plugins, edit:

/var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/conf/plugins.ini

Custom plugins can be added to /var/services/web_packages/rutorrent/plugins/ and will be preserved during upgrades.

External Programs

Some ruTorrent plugins require external programs. The package is configured to look for common utilities in:

• /var/packages/rutorrent/target/bin/
• /usr/local/bin/
• Standard system paths

Upgrading

When upgrading ruTorrent:

• Your torrents and configuration are preserved
• The rtorrent.rc file is NOT overwritten
• Plugin settings are preserved
• Session data (.session folder) is preserved
• Custom plugins are preserved

Important: If upgrading from a version before 5.2.10-21, you should manually add the file descriptor limit settings mentioned in the "Too many open files" section above.

See Also

• rTorrent wiki
• ruTorrent wiki
• SynoCommunity Used Ports
• Permission Management
• Frequently Asked Questions