Configuring qBittorrent for Seeding and Automatic File Management

Configuring qBittorrent for Seeding and Automatic File Management | Generated by AI

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It seems like you want to configure qBittorrent to continue seeding your torrents while automatically moving completed .mkv files to /var/www/movies for serving on a server. Below, I’ll guide you through the steps to achieve this, assuming you’re using qBittorrent on a system where /var/www/movies is a valid directory (e.g., a Linux server with a web server like Apache or Nginx). Here’s how you can set it up:

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Understand qBittorrent’s File Management

qBittorrent can move files automatically after download completion while still seeding them, as long as you use its built-in “Set Location” or “Move” features properly. Moving files manually outside of qBittorrent (e.g., via a file explorer) will break seeding unless you re-point qBittorrent to the new location.

2. Configure qBittorrent Settings

Open qBittorrent.
Go to Tools > Options (or press Alt + O).

##### a) Set Default Download Location

Under the Downloads tab:
- Set Default Save Path to a temporary directory where files will download initially (e.g., /home/user/downloads or wherever you have space). This is where qBittorrent will store files while downloading and seeding until they’re moved.
- Ensure Keep incomplete files in is set to the same or a different directory if you prefer (optional).

##### b) Enable Automatic File Moving

Scroll down to When Torrent Finishes:
- Check the box for Automatically move completed downloads to.
- Set the path to /var/www/movies. This tells qBittorrent to move the .mkv files to /var/www/movies once the download is complete.
Important: qBittorrent will continue seeding from the new location (/var/www/movies) after the move, so you don’t need to worry about losing seeding capability.

##### c) Optional: Filter for .mkv Files

If you only want .mkv files to move to /var/www/movies (and not other file types like .txt or .nfo), you can use qBittorrent’s Run External Program feature (see Step 3 below) instead of the automatic move option.

##### d) Seeding Limits

Under BitTorrent tab or Downloads tab:
- Set seeding limits if desired (e.g., seed until a certain ratio or time is reached). For unlimited seeding, set Ratio and Time to 0 or uncheck the limits.
- This ensures qBittorrent keeps uploading your seeds indefinitely from /var/www/movies.
Click Apply and OK to save settings.

3. Alternative: Use “Run External Program” for More Control

If you need more customization (e.g., only move .mkv files and leave others seeding from the original location), use this:
- In Options > Downloads, scroll to Run External Program.
- Check Run external program on torrent completion.
- Enter a command like:
```
mv "%F"/*.mkv /var/www/movies/
```
  - %F is a qBittorrent placeholder for the content folder path. This command moves only .mkv files to /var/www/movies.
- Note: qBittorrent will still seed the .mkv files from /var/www/movies after the move, but other files (e.g., .torrent, .nfo) will remain in the original location and continue seeding from there unless you adjust further.

4. Verify Permissions

Ensure qBittorrent has write permissions to /var/www/movies:
- On Linux, run:
```
sudo chown -R <qbittorrent-user>:<qbittorrent-group> /var/www/movies
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/movies
```
  Replace <qbittorrent-user> and <qbittorrent-group> with the user and group under which qBittorrent runs (e.g., your username or qbittorrent if it’s a service).
Without proper permissions, qBittorrent won’t be able to move files to this directory.

5. Test the Setup

Add a torrent with .mkv files to qBittorrent.
Wait for it to finish downloading.
Check that:
- The .mkv files move to /var/www/movies.
- The torrent status in qBittorrent switches to Seeding, and the upload speed indicates it’s still sharing the files.
Visit /var/www/movies to confirm the files are there and accessible (e.g., via your web server at http://<server-ip>/movies).

6. Manually Move Existing Files (If Needed)

For torrents you’ve already downloaded and want to move to /var/www/movies without breaking seeding:
- In qBittorrent, right-click the torrent.
- Select Set Location.
- Choose /var/www/movies and let qBittorrent move the files.
- After the move, qBittorrent will resume seeding from the new location.

7. Optimize Upload Settings

To maximize seeding:
- Go to Options > Speed:
  - Set Upload to 0 (unlimited) or a high value (e.g., 80% of your max upload speed).
- Go to Options > Connection:
  - Ensure Enable UPnP / NAT-PMP port forwarding is checked (if your router supports it) or manually forward a port for better connectivity.
  - Increase Global maximum number of upload slots (e.g., to 50 or 100) to allow more peers to connect.

Key Notes

Seeding Continuity: As long as you let qBittorrent handle the file moving (via automatic move or “Set Location”), it will update its internal tracking and continue seeding from /var/www/movies.
Web Server Access: Ensure your web server (e.g., Apache/Nginx) is configured to serve files from /var/www/movies. This is outside qBittorrent’s scope but critical for your server goal.
Storage: Make sure /var/www/movies has enough space for your files.

If you run into issues (e.g., files not moving or seeding stopping), let me know your setup details (OS, qBittorrent version, etc.), and I’ll refine the solution!

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