FAQ Private trackers: do I have to turn off DHT and peer exchange?

[Silas Mariusz]

Symptoms

• Your private tracker's rules say that DHT and peer exchange (PEX) must be off.
• In Settings → Connection, DHT is set to On.

Cause
A torrent from a private tracker has the private flag in its .torrent file. For a torrent with this flag, rtorrent never uses DHT or peer exchange. It does not announce the torrent to DHT or look for peers there, and peer exchange stays off. This applies in every DHT mode, so the DHT setting affects public torrents only. Rtorrent 16 also never adds its list of public trackers to a private torrent.


Resolution

1. To read the help, open Settings → Connection. Under DHT and peer exchange, click the question mark next to mode. The help reads: "Finds peers for public torrents without a tracker. Never used for private torrents."
   
   
2. If you also download public torrents, leave mode on On. Public torrents use DHT to find peers.
3. If you still want DHT off, set mode to Off (can be enabled at runtime) or Disabled. Press Review & save and confirm the change in the window that opens. Private torrents work the same either way.

Notice & Advise

• The private flag determines this, not the connection profile. A tracker host that you add under Overrides by tracker host in Settings → Connection profiles (shown after you turn on Advanced at the top of Settings) changes only the peer limits and the seeding rule. A torrent without the private flag keeps DHT, peer exchange and the public tracker list.
• Peer exchange (PEX) and Add public trackers to new public torrents appear in Settings → Connection after you turn on Advanced. Neither can be set for a single torrent.

Ref. links:
Rtorrent 16 guide: Public and private connection profiles