April 22, 2009 by sharky
This is a complete guide for uploading your files and making torrents in a TorrentFlux-b4rt seedbox to seed on private trackers. Here we’ll explain how to transfer files/folders to your seedbox through FTP or SFTP, as well as create torrents from within the TorrentFlux interface using the built-in "Make Torrent" feature. We’ll also illustrate how you can edit your existing seeding torrents, and change them over to new private tracker announce URLs for seeding.
Ed. note: We’ve had quite a few requests lately for TorrentFlux-b4rt help, so we’re going to fill in some gaps in our TorrentFlux Tutorials.
1. Uploading Your Files/Folders to your Seedbox
The easiest way to add new torrent jobs from your own content (i.e. uploading & seeding your own new torrents to a private tracker) is to upload your files or folders to your seedbox via FTP or SFTP. Once uploaded, it will appear in your Directory in TorrentFlux (if you’re the owner of the seedbox, it will be in the "admin" subdirectory). Note that whatever you upload will not automatically appear in the main TFlux index page in the transfer list - you’ll need to make a .torrent for your uploaded content first.
Connecting through FTP:
FTP (as opposed to SFTP) is the simplest way to transfer your files/folders to your seedbox, since it will launch you to the correct path where you need to upload to (i.e. your working directory which is most likely also your login username - or "admin" if you’re the owner/superadmin). For connecting via FTP we’ll use FileZilla as the example. From within FileZilla you can drag ‘n drop files or folders from the left side (your local computer) into the directory on the right. Alternatively you can also right-click on a file or folder, and select "Upload" to begin the transfer. We’ll run through an example with a folder entitled "Acoustic Demos EP":
After the file/folder has been successfully uploaded, it will appear in the "Remote" area in FileZilla. The uploaded folder is now located on your seedbox server.
Back in TorrentFlux, you’ll now see the new folder listed inside your directory:
All you need to do now is make the .torrent for the file or folder, upload it to a private tracker and begin seeding.
2. Creating .torrent files in TorrentFlux
TorrentFlux supports its own internal torrent creation application called Make Torrent which uses either Tornado (recommended; default) or Mainline. In the example above, we’ll make a torrent for our "Acoustic Demos EP" folder. To do this, click the "Make Torrent" icon:
In the "Torrent Maker" window there are two key things that need to be adjusted. First, you’ll need to change the setting for Private Torrent to YES. And second, you’ll need to add your ‘announce URL’ from your private tracker. Most private trackers now support passkeys appended to the torrent file, so that you’ll get the stats for uploaded (and downloaded) data credited to your account. To find your special announce URL, find the "Upload" link on your private tracker. Here’s an example of a proper announce URL:
Copy it, and paste (add) it into the TorrentFlux window where it says "Announcement URL:". Click "Create Torrent" to begin the process.
For large torrents, this process can take a considerable amount of time. For example, a torrent upwards of 50GB may take up to 2 hours to complete in TorrentFlux. Once completed, you’ll be able to download your .torrent file to your home PC in order to upload to your private tracker:
You should notice that the new torrent is now listed in your transfer list in the main TorrentFlux index page. Click the double-green arrow to start the torrent (see below). This will first ‘hash check’ the torrent, and then begin to seed it (even though you haven’t uploaded it anywhere).
UPLOAD YOUR TORRENT: Next, go back to the “Upload” link of your private tracker, and browse to the newly saved .torrent file on your hard drive. Add a description or other required information before confirming the upload:
Note: Always follow the proper ‘uploading rules’ for your private tracker, as these will vary from tracker to tracker.
Below is an example of a newly-uploaded torrent. Torrent trackers won’t immediately recognize the new addition to the tracker (they use update intervals) thus you won’t initially appear as the original seeder (the torrent will appear as 0 / 0 as shown below). Once the tracker picks up on the torrent, you should appear on the peerlist for the torrent - and the number for seeds (the "S" column) should now appear as a ( 1 ).
However, you may need to re-download that .torrent file from the private tracker that you just uploaded it to, in order to be properly listed as a seeder on the tracker ‘torrent’ page.
3. ReDownloading Your Uploaded .torrent File
If your torrent is visible on the private tracker "torrents" page but still not showing you as a seeder, you’ll need to re-download the .torrent file that you just uploaded to the private tracker, and then re-upload it to TorrentFlux. It’s recommended to allow for at least 30 minutes, and check back (refresh the tracker ‘torrent’ page) to see if the torrent has become a seeding torrent [ 1(0) ].
3A. First, stop the torrent job in TorrentFlux. Next, delete the torrent job from the transfer list (but do not use the "delete with data" function - you want the data to remain on the seedbox, but you want the job/torrent file removed from the list).
3B. Next, download the .torrent from the private tracker that you just uploaded it to, and save it to your hard drive. Be very careful here - remember this new .torrent file precisely, since it is not identical to the one you originally uploaded (one suggestion is to remove the old original .torrent file from your hard drive first so as to not get them mixed up).
3C. Finally, upload the new .torrent file into TorrentFlux (using the Browse… button) and run the transfer (start the torrent). It should automatically begin to seed the existing files without downloading anything if you selected the correct new torrent. The private tracker should eventually show you as a seeder:
Changing Trackers in Existing Torrents
It’s also possible to change a seeding torrent from one private tracker over to another one. Why would anyone ever need to do this? It’s a simple answer, really - some trackers are much more difficult to seed on than others. If you have a completed torrent (100% done) and seed it to a different tracker, only the upload stats will be counted (not the download). This works especially well with ’scene releases’ that are identical across multiple private trackers. There are two methods to accomplish this:
1. Download the corresponding .torrent from the private tracker you intend on seeding to, but be sure that it matches the release name (torrent name). Remove the existing torrent and job from TorrentFlux (but don’t use "delete with data"). Upload the new .torrent using the Browse… button, and run/start the job. It should ‘hash check’ and begin to seed to the second tracker.
2. You can edit the announce URL of the existing torrent without having to download the torrent file from the second tracker. First stop the torrent, and use the "Make Torrent" function (see above) and change the ‘Announcement URL’ to match your unique announce URL from the second tracker. If you don’t know what this is, open up a torrent from this tracker in µTorrent (you don’t need to start it) and then right-click and select "Properties" - this will show your unique passkey/announce URL for that tracker (it does not change from torrent to torrent). After making the new torrent, it should ‘hash check’ and appear in the transfer list as a seeding torrent.
Note: Do not add multiple private tracker announce URLs to the same torrent - this is considered ‘cheating’ and will get you into serious trouble with both trackers. They will undoubtedly catch you, and promptly ban you. For this reason, we omitted how to add multiple trackers to a single torrent.
Connecting through SFTP:
The alternative to FTP is SFTP - if you’re the seedbox owner you’ll have SFTP access to your seedbox. Once connected through SFTP, your working directory is "admin" (by default), and your sub-accounts (if any) will be listed here as well. In order to get to your admin path, go into admin > torrentflux > admin - this is where you want to upload your files. Below is an example in FileZilla:
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