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[How-To] Install qBittorrent on Ubuntu 24

Purpose

This how to will focus on explaining steps for qBittorrent installation and basic first time config for a Ubuntu 24 VM.

Prerequisites

List of prerequisites:

  • Sudo user
  • Ubuntu 24 VM

qBittorrent Installation Instructions

Step 1: Update the System

First, update the system by running the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install qBittorrent Prerequisite Packages

Now, run the following command to install packages needed for qBittorrent install later:

sudo apt install dirmngr ca-certificates software-properties-common apt-transport-https -y

Step 3: Import qBittorrent PPA

Next import the PPA for qBittorrent so we know where to get the install from and what repository for Ubuntu 24:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable -y

Now that those are added, update the system to see the new available packages/repos:

sudo apt update

Step 4: Install qBittorrent-nox & Web-UI for Ubuntu Headless Server

We are now ready to install qBittorrent. This version will install for headless Ubuntu 24, meaning it won't install an app with a gui, but a app that can be accessed in web browser to get to the gui. This is best suited for headless servers such as our install with no desktop interface. Install with the following command: 

sudo apt install qbittorrent-nox -y

Then, add a new user for qBittorrent with the following command:

sudo adduser --system --group qbittorrent-nox

Now, add the new user to the correct groups, replacing username with your specified username created just above:

sudo adduser your-username qbittorrent-nox

Now that your user is ready, create a service for qBittorrent to run on so you don't always have to monitor or manually start the service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/qbittorrent-nox.service

In the config, paste the following code:

[Unit]
Description=qBittorrent Command Line Client
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=qbittorrent-nox
Group=qbittorrent-nox
UMask=007
ExecStart=/usr/bin/qbittorrent-nox -d --webui-port=8080
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 5: Start qBittorrent Services

We are now ready to start the qBittorrent services. Do so with the following command:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start qbittorrent-nox
sudo systemctl enable qbittorrent-nox

Check the service is running and functioning correctly with this command, should show active green:

systemctl status qbittorrent-nox

 

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