Download libtorrent – High-Performance BitTorrent Library for C++ and Python

libtorrent is a free, open-source C++ library that implements the BitTorrent protocol, providing the engine used by many popular torrent clients including qBittorrent, Deluge, and others. It is designed to be high-performance, lightweight, and highly configurable — making it the most widely adopted BitTorrent library in the open-source ecosystem.

libtorrent handles all aspects of the BitTorrent protocol including DHT (Distributed Hash Table), Peer Exchange (PEX), magnet links, WebSeed, uTP (Micro Transport Protocol), and BitTorrent v2. It abstracts the complexity of the protocol into a clean C++ and Python API that developers can use to build their own torrent clients, download managers, or file distribution systems.

Python bindings are available via the python-libtorrent package, making libtorrent accessible for scripting and automation without writing C++ code. It is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and embedded systems.

Key Features

• Full BitTorrent v1 and v2 protocol implementation including DHT, PEX, and magnet links
• High-performance with optimized I/O, memory management, and network code
• uTP (Micro Transport Protocol) support for congestion-friendly transfers
• WebSeed support (BEP 17 and BEP 19) for downloading from HTTP sources
• Python bindings via python-libtorrent for scripting and automation
• Cross-platform — Windows, Linux, macOS, and embedded systems
• Used as the engine in qBittorrent, Deluge, and other major torrent clients

How to Install

1. Click the download button below to get the libtorrent source or prebuilt package.
2. For Python use, install via pip: pip install libtorrent
3. For C++ projects, build from source using CMake or install a prebuilt package via vcpkg or your Linux package manager.
4. Include the libtorrent headers in your project and link against the libtorrent library.
5. Refer to the official documentation at libtorrent.org for the C++ and Python API reference.