Transmission (BitTorrent client)

Template:Infobox Software

Transmission is a lightweight BitTorrent client which features a simple interface on top of a cross-platform back-end. It is free and open source software, mostly licensed under the MIT License. Transmission runs on Linux and other Unix-like systems (GTK+ interface), Mac OS X (Cocoa interface) and BeOS/ZETA (native interface). On 14 January 2008, it was adopted as the default Bittorrent client in the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu.^[1] An unofficial port of Transmission (with a command-line interface) to the iPhone OS was accomplished on March 3, 2008.^[2] As of January 10, 2008, Transmission has had over 230,000 downloads.^[3] It is the most popular BitTorrent client downloaded from Mac software website MacUpdate.

Transmission uses a smaller amount of system resources than many other BitTorrent clients (such as Vuze).^[4] The project aims to strike a balance between providing useful functionality without feature bloat. Keeping the interface simple and intuitive on all platforms is a key design goal.^[5]

Features[edit | edit source]

All Platforms[edit | edit source]

Selective downloading and file prioritizing
Encrypted peer connections
Torrent file creation
Peer exchange (compatible with Azureus and μTorrent)
Automatic port mapping (using UPnP/NAT-PMP)
Fast Resume - with peer caching
Dynamically bans bad peers, and can use an IP blocklist
Single listening port for all torrents
Global/individual bandwidth caps
Sorting/filtering options
HTTPS tracker support

Mac OS X specific[edit | edit source]

Transfer Management
- Downloading and seeding queues
- Basic scheduling
- Auto-seeding options
- Groups
Dock and Growl notifications
Customizable toolbar
Advanced progress box
Automatic updates using Sparkle
Universal Binary

Development[edit | edit source]

File:Transmission torrent details.png

Transmission allows users to monitor a torrent's activity.

Daily Mac OS X build and source tarballs are available online. The project has a forum where users can discuss support issues and make features requests. They also have an IRC channel, #transmission, located on Freenode.

Early criticism[edit | edit source]

File:Transmission 1.0.png

Main window on Mac OS X Leopard

Version 0.6.1 of Transmission did not strictly adhere to the complete BitTorrent specification. This resulted in the banning of that version from many private trackers. The issues were resolved in the subsequent 0.70 release.

libTransmission[edit | edit source]

The Transmission back-end (libTransmission) also serves as the basis of the shareware Mac client Xtorrent, and the Transmission daemon. The daemon supports a web front-end called Clutch. Older versions have been ported to form the basis of the the update system for the video game Metal Gear Solid on PS3,^[6], as well as the backend for ImageShack's BitTorrent service. libTransmission also utilizes some third party libraries, including libevent, libcrypto, miniupnp and libcurl.