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How to Write a BitTorrent Client, Part 1

184 points by networked 10y ago

cheatdeath 10y ago
I recently went through the same thing – building my own simple BitTorrent client, mostly just due to curiosity about how the protocol works. There were some tricky parts, most of which are outlined in this but I found the underlying concept so simple. I guess simplicity is a requirement for scale and resilience. I wrote up my adventure too: http://seanjoflynn.com/research/bittorrent.html http://seanjoflynn.com/research/bittorrent.html
andreicon 10y ago
this is actually pretty cool. i think cryptocurrencies could benefit from the implementation of some design features from the bittorrent protocol.
SlashmanX 10y ago
Feross has some great implementations of the different pieces of BitTorrent (including parsing torrent files, magnets etc) in JavaScript on his GitHub[0]. Would recommend people take a look if they find this blog post interesting. [0] - https://github.com/feross?tab=repositories https://github.com/feross?tab=repositories
joeblau 10y ago
This is something that's been on my list of things to do for a while and I've never gotten around to it. Thanks for this post.
Vojislav_Dabic 10y ago
Illegal
- emodendroket 10y ago
  What part of this do you think is illegal?
zielmicha 10y ago
For "Writing BitTorrent Client" workshops I've made, I have created "introductory" tracker and peers (they, for example, display friendly errors if you make invalid protocol requests): https://torrent.zielmicha.com/ https://torrent.zielmicha.com/ The source is on Github: https://github.com/zielmicha/torrent-workshops https://github.com/zielmicha/torrent-workshops (unfortunately you need to register before using it, but you can even use fake mail)
allenkim6 10y ago
If anyone is interested in a similar writeup for a bittorrrent client for node.js, check out my tutorial here: http://allenkim67.github.io/bittorrent/2016/05/04/how-to-make-your-own-bittorrent-client.html http://allenkim67.github.io/bittorrent/2016/05/04/how-to-mak...
- siculars 10y ago
  Love! Thanks!

184 points by networked 10y ago

I recently went through the same thing – building my own simple BitTorrent client, mostly just due to curiosity about how the protocol works. There were some tricky parts, most of which are outlined in this but I found the underlying concept so simple. I guess simplicity is a requirement for scale and resilience. I wrote up my adventure too: http://seanjoflynn.com/research/bittorrent.html http://seanjoflynn.com/research/bittorrent.html

andreicon 10y ago

this is actually pretty cool. i think cryptocurrencies could benefit from the implementation of some design features from the bittorrent protocol.

SlashmanX 10y ago

Feross has some great implementations of the different pieces of BitTorrent (including parsing torrent files, magnets etc) in JavaScript on his GitHub[0]. Would recommend people take a look if they find this blog post interesting. [0] - https://github.com/feross?tab=repositories https://github.com/feross?tab=repositories

joeblau 10y ago

This is something that's been on my list of things to do for a while and I've never gotten around to it. Thanks for this post.

Vojislav_Dabic 10y ago

Illegal

emodendroket 10y ago
What part of this do you think is illegal?

zielmicha 10y ago

For "Writing BitTorrent Client" workshops I've made, I have created "introductory" tracker and peers (they, for example, display friendly errors if you make invalid protocol requests): https://torrent.zielmicha.com/ https://torrent.zielmicha.com/ The source is on Github: https://github.com/zielmicha/torrent-workshops https://github.com/zielmicha/torrent-workshops (unfortunately you need to register before using it, but you can even use fake mail)

allenkim6 10y ago

If anyone is interested in a similar writeup for a bittorrrent client for node.js, check out my tutorial here: http://allenkim67.github.io/bittorrent/2016/05/04/how-to-make-your-own-bittorrent-client.html http://allenkim67.github.io/bittorrent/2016/05/04/how-to-mak...

siculars 10y ago
Love! Thanks!