January 10, 2010 by sharky
For years torrenters have been using private tracker RSS feeds to filter out and download the latest torrents coming onto the site. While RSS may offer a distinct advantage over conventional ‘browse & download’ when it concerns jumping into a swarm early, it’s no secret that IRC autodl scripts easily beat out their RSS cousin by as much as 15 minutes (an eternity on What.CD or BMTV). Most trackers that announce new releases (torrents) in an IRC channel will offer a specific customized IRC script to accomplish this (IRSSI), but that’s not the topic for this tutorial. Instead, we’ve discovered a brand new plugin for ChatZilla that supports several different private tracker #announce channels for the purpose of downloading & filtering .torrents, and then it automatically sends these torrent files to a local or remote BitTorrent client.
1.) Intro / What You’ll Need:
By no means is this an easy tutorial to follow, but it’s definitely worth the time invested once it’s all set up. The prize at the bottom of this cereal box is RSS-style filtering (but with much quicker access to new torrents through IRC announce bots) without the need to configure/install multiple tracker-specific customized scripts. Autodl (see below) currently supports 12 popular private trackers - and others can be added manually - with the option to connect to multiple IRC announce channels simultaneously. Set it up once, and the rest is gravy.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- • The latest version of Firefox (or XULRunner).
- • The ChatZilla add-on for Firefox.
- • Autodl plugin for ChatZilla (this is the crux of the whole operation).
- • Accounts at select private trackers* :)
(*Autodl currently supports TorrentVault, SCC, TorrentLeech, BitMeTV, PolishTracker, Torrent-Damage, GFT, DigitalHive, Preto.me, IPTorrents, XNT.nu and ScenePalace.org).
2.) Getting Started / How to Install:
The procedures listed here in Step 2 only need to be done once in order to configure autodl through ChatZilla.
Assuming that you’re using Firefox, install ChatZilla and restart Firefox. Launch ChatZilla through Firefox (Tools > ChatZilla). The ChatZilla window should now be open.
2a. In the command textbox in ChatZilla, type "/pref profilePath" (without quotes) and hit enter (see below). This will display the ‘working path’ to your ChatZilla app directory; this is necessary for installing the autodl plugin.
2b. You’ll need to ‘browse’ to your own unique specific path of the folder shown above.
2c. Click into (open) the "scripts" directory. Next, download Autodl and extract the .zip file to a temporary location. Inside that, there’s a folder named "autodl" - copy this into your scripts directory.
[Below...] If everything was done correctly, you should now have a folder located inside ../scripts named "autodl". Inside this autodl folder you should see a file called init.js and another directory named files, as well as a README.txt file. Refer to this .txt file for a more simplistic explanation of this tutorial, if desired.
2d. Next, completely exit ChatZilla (close the program) - but it’s not necessary to restart Firefox. Now restart ChatZilla through Firefox (Tools > ChatZilla).
In ChatZilla, if you can see "Initializing autodl v1.xx" in the *client* tab window, then it is properly installed (see below). If you can’t see the Auto Downloader menu, then the auto downloader is disabled. Type "/enable-plugin autodl" (without quotes) to enable it again.
Next up: How to configure & connect to tracker IRC #announce channels.
3.) Configuration, Setup & Usage of Auto Downloader:
While Autodl simplifies the processes required to initiate auto-downloading from IRC, you’ll still need to do a few things on your own through ChatZilla, such as:
- • 3a. — Manually connect to IRC networks of supported private trackers.
- • 3b. — Join #announce channels (assuming you have access to them).
- • 3c. — Use Autodl to help to find ‘cookies’ from your private trackers.
- • 3d. — Configure a "filter" (should be easy if you’re already familiar with RSS filters).
3a. Manually connect to IRC. As with any IRC client, you’ll need to connect to the IRC network of your private tracker(s). For those already familiar with ChatZilla; this needs no explanation, but we’ll elaborate nonetheless:
To connect, use the command box in ChatZilla (more info on ChatZilla can be found here). We’ll use ScenePalace.org for the example since it’s one of the 12 supported trackers. Use /server or /attach and add the name of the network you wish to connect to, and hit Enter:
/server irc.scenepalace.org
If all went well, you should now see a new tab indicating the connection:
TIP: You may be required to register & identify yourself (ie - your tracker username) on the IRC network before being granted access to certain channels (such as #announce channels). Use IRC commands in ChatZilla’s command box as to register/identify yourself with a tracker:
- Register: /msg NickServ register <password> <your-email>
- Identify: /msg NickServ identify <password>
Here you can find specific supported IRC channels (click an entry on the left to display IRC info for each tracker). This is also where entries can be added or edited.
Back in ChatZilla, connect to your chosen announce channel for the network that you’re already connected to in step 3a. For the ScenePalace example, type:
/join #SP-announce
3c. Private Tracker Cookies. Just as with RSS feeds, this step is necessary to tell Autodl about your tracker ‘cookie’ - basically this is your unique uid & passkey in the torrents. Since trackers don’t all do this the exact same way, there are different methods for finding out such info. Autodl explains each method for all 12 supported trackers.
In ChatZilla click on the Auto Downloader tab, and select "Preferences…" and then click on the Tracker Settings tab. From the dropdown list, select a private tracker (as for our example, ScenePalace). Here will be instructions on how to find your specific cookie info.
For the ScenePalace example (and most others in the list), you’ll need to visit the homepage of your private tracker (logged in, of course), making certain you’re on the /index.php or home page. Copy/paste the line below into the address bar (ie - replace http://scenepalace.org/index.php) with this:
javascript:document.innerHTML=document.cookie
Now hit enter. You should now see a mostly blank page with uid= and pass=. Highlight all of the text, right-click and Copy it.
Back in Auto Downloader (Preferences… > Tracker Settings), select the associated tracker and Paste the data into the cookie field, click OK to finalize.
That’s it for setting up cookies. Repeat for other trackers, as needed.
3d. Filters. You’ll probably want to apply some filters in order to tell your #announce channel which .torrents you want to automatically download. If you don’t, you’ll wind up downloading all new torrents (not recommended, especially once you’re adding them to a BitTorrent client in Step 4). We won’t dwell on how to add variables and wildcards to the filter - essentially it’s the exact same principles as setting up filters in an RSS feed (refer to here or here - or Google it).
In Auto Downloader, choose Filters… and add a name for your new filter. Point and hover your mouse cursor over each field to get an explanation for each one.
4.) Auto-Downloading .torrent Files
We’ll assume that you’re already connected to at least one IRC #announce channel in ChatZilla, cookies & filters have been properly configured, and that Autodl is running. You’ll now need to tell Autodl where new .torrents are to be saved, or else loaded into a remote location. Basically just three options exist here, all of which can be toggled through Auto Downloader > Preferences… > Torrent Upload.
4a. Locally, with uTorrent and a ‘Watch Folder’.
If you wish to automatically load (start) torrents from #announce directly into uTorrent (locally, on a home PC) then follow these instructions:
First, configure uTorrent to load .torrents from a predetermined location. In uTorrent, go to Preferences… and click on the Directories tab on the left side. Put a checkmark in "Automatically load .torrents from:" and browse to a valid path. Click apply and OK to finalize the settings. Copy this path, or remember it for the next step.
Next, open Auto Downloader > Preferences… and click on the Torrent Upload tab. The "Watch Folder" option should be selected, and where it says ‘Torrent client watch folder’ enter the same path (or browse) to the location as set up in uTorrent. Click OK to finish.
That’s about it! Autodl will download .torrents from #announce into your chosen directory, and uTorrent will add (and start them) as they come in.
4b. Remotely, through uTorrent WebUI.
This can be done to a seedbox running uTorrent (uTorrent WebUI) or even locally if you’ve enabled WebUI through uTorrent on a home PC. Below shows the seedbox method:
4c. Remotely, through FTP.
This is the best option for adding .torrents directly to your seedbox, since it will automatically upload your torrents via FTP to a specific location on the server. You’ll likely need a SFTP connection, and also require setting up a "watch directory" through rTorrent or any other BitTorrent client.
Happy torrenting!
Update: There’s now an installer for Windows users; this should make the first portion of this tut a little easier.
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