FAQ Can I seed files I already have, downloaded earlier or with another program?

[Silas Mariusz]

Symptoms

• The data of a torrent are already on the NAS, downloaded earlier or with another program.
• You want Rtorrent 16 to seed them where they are, without downloading them again.

Cause
The seed category does this. A torrent added under seed gets no folder of its own: rtorrent looks for its files in the folder you give, checks them, downloads only what is missing and seeds. The folder can be any existing folder on a share, including one outside the download folder.


Resolution

1. In Quick access, press Add torrents. Paste the magnet link, or press Choose files and select the .torrent file.
2. Press Queue and pick the seed category for the torrent.
3. In Directory (optional), type the folder that holds the data. For a torrent with several files, use the folder above the torrent's own folder: for /share/Multimedia/Movies/Example.Film.2019, type /share/Multimedia/Movies. For a torrent with one file, type the folder that contains the file.
   
   
4. Press Add …. rtorrent checks the files and starts seeding.

Notice & Advise

• rtorrent finds the data only under the names given by the torrent. If you renamed the folder or files, rename them back first; otherwise, rtorrent downloads everything again into that folder.
• Directory (optional) applies to the whole queue. Add torrents whose data are in different folders one at a time.
• A seed torrent seeds quietly: no copy in the completed folder, no media library, no notification. The seeding rules apply to it as they do to any other torrent. If their selected action is Delete, data to trash, data outside the download folders stay where they are; only the torrent is removed from the list.

Ref. links:
Rtorrent 16 guide: Seeding & Retention