Quick tutorial shows how to install the latest qBitTorrent client in Ubuntu 14.04 and keep it up-to-date while the default Ubuntu repositories provide an old version.

qBitTorrent is a free cross-platform BitTorrent client written in C++ and Qt. Its optional search engine is written in the Python programming language. It aims to provide a Free Software alternative to µtorrent.

While Ubuntu universe repositories provide the 3.1.8 release for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, the latest qBitTorrent release has reached version 3.1.11. For the latest features, fixes and other changes see its news page.

Install/Upgrade qBitTorrent in Ubuntu:

To install the latest version of this Bittorrent client and receive future updates via Software Updater, add the official PPA by running below command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

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

Type in user password when it asks and hit Enter to continue. Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Linux Mint 13/17 are supported so far.

After that, start Software Updater and install updates to upgrade qBitTorrent. Or install it by running below commands one by one:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qbittorrent

That’s it. Enjoy!

qBittorrent, free and reliable P2P Bittorrent client now is at v3.1.4. Let’s see what’s new in this release and how to install it in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and their derivatives.

Changes in qBittorrent:

• FEATURE: Statistics dialog
• FEATURE: Tooltips explaining each peer’s connection flags
• FEATURE: Win/Mac Check for program updates every 15min and allow the user to manually check for updates through the help menu.
• BUGFIX: Better dialog message for torrent delete confirmation
• BUGFIX: Fix resizing grip location.
• BUGFIX: Lock toolbar in place.
• BUGFIX: Second attempt at fixing saving settings on shutdown.
• BUGFIX: Sort labels in ‘Add new torrent’ dialog.
• LINUX: Fix build under Ubuntu 13.10
• LINUX: Make sleep and shutdown functions work on systemd’s logind

Install qBittorrent via PPA:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command below to add qBittorrent PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hydr0g3n/qbittorrent-stable

After that, you can upgrade / install the app in Synaptic Package Manager after checking for updates (click Reload button). Or run commands below to update and install:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install qbittorrent

For Windows, Mac OS, and other Linux, refer to official download page

The free and reliable P2P bittorrent client qBittorrent released 3.1.3 with speed improvements, new key shortcut, and more bug fixes. This tutorial shows how to upgrade in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.04. and Linux Mint.

Changes in qBittorrent 3.1.3:

• Add a key shortcut to “Add link to torrent…”
• Make all columns and headers use the same text alignment in the transferlist.
• Fix build system for Unix/Linux.
• Case insensitive sort in Peers list. Closes #1066.
• Small optimization of WebUI responses when there isn’t a data payload.
• Hide empty folders after filtering. Closes #74.
• Expand folders when filtering files. Closes #1076.
• Updated search plugin’s URL
• Strip some png to fix incorrect sRGB profiles.
• Fixed font issues on OSX Mavericks
• Improve text in the About dialog
• Always show a peer IP address as a tool tip
• Fix inhibit system functionality. Closes #766.
• WebUI: Don’t gzip too small payloads.
• Correctly detect if the browser supports gzip compression.
• Fix WebUI link to ‘Anonymous mode’ explanation. Closes #1093.
• Correctly update tracker tier number in the trackers tab. Closes #1075.
• Speed improvements.
• Updated translations.

To get started upgrading process, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command below to add the qBittorrent PPA:

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

NOTE: I found that the PPA failed to build the packages for Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy. It may be fixed soon, check out at the launchpad page.

After added the PPA, check for updates and install or upgrade qBittorrent from Ubuntu Software Center. Or run below commands instead:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install -y qbittorrent

qBittorrent 3.1.0 has been released with a lot of new features and bugfixes. This tutorial shows you how to install or upgrade it in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Linux Mint 16/15.

What’s New in qBittorrent 3.1.0:

• Add command line option to daemonize qbittorrent-nox (ngaro)
• Add “Shutdown qBittorrent” button to Web UI (ngaro)
• Add setting to copy .torrent files for finished downloads (Driim)
• Add option to start qBittorrent on Windows startup (sledgehammer999)
• Add context menu to Web seed list (Gelmir)
• Add support for tracker tiers / groups to creator (Gelmir)
• Allow clearing execution and ban logs (Gelmir)
• Add option to use random port on each startup (ireallylikeher)
• Expose the cache expiry to the user (Gelmir)
• Support Atom feeds (Gelmir)
• Add “save path” column (John Peterson)
• Add μTorrent-compatible “Flags” column in the peer tab(sledgehammer999)
• Load magnet metadata in the background while the “Add New Torrent” Dialog is showing (Gelmir)
• Allow to enter only an info-hash for download(sledgehammer999)
• Bring the “Add New Torrent” Dialog to the front(glassez)
• Add confirmation dialog for “Force recheck” action (closes #131)
• Greatly improve RSS manager performance (closes #34)
• Ensure that all columns in the tranferlist have a size > 0.
• Don’t mark RSS item as read when it failed to download (Gelmir)
• Fix ETA calculation when some files are downloaded and marked afterwards as ‘do not download'(sledgehammer999)
• Make the UI show that PEX/DHT/LSD are actually disabled on private torrents(sledgehammer999)
• Scheduler should be much more robust and correct now(sledgehammer999)
• Now qBt won’t forget torrent settings after an unclean shutdown(sledgehammer999)
• Text boxes in edit dialogs will fit to text width(Gelmir)
• Enable edit/rename via F2 or double click in various places(Gelmir)
• Allow to edit trackers and copy their urls(Gelmir and Driim)
• Add Uploaded column to main view(Gelmir)
• Calculate ETA for seeding torrents(Gelmir)
• Add option to ignore global share ratio limits for created torrents(Gelmir)
• Many RSS bugfixes and improvements all over the place(Gelmir)
• Generate translations at configure time to reduce tarball size
• Make peer tab sortable by ip too (Gelmir)
• Translations moved to Transifex(https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/qbittorrent/)
• New Translation – Vietnamese (Anh Phan)
• Impove drawing speed of tranferlist when there are many torrents(>100)
• Impove drawing speed of peers list when there are many peers

Install / Upgrade qBittorrent:

The qBittorrent PPA has updated packages for Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal and their derivatives.

To install it, press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run below commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hydr0g3n/qbittorrent-stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qbittorrent