qBittorrent

What is qBittorrent?

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qBittorrent is a awesome, simple app that allows you to use classic QBittorrent in a docker container. I use QBittorrent because I can set it up with a VPN that only connects via the container directly. Effectively separating it from the rest of my network and allowing me to continue as normal while it is downloading. It will automatically stop the network if the VPN is not functioning correctly.

Docker Compose Example

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########################################
# qbittorrentvpn - https://hub.docker.com/r/dyonr/qbittorrentvpn
# Client with WebUI that connects to OpenVPN with iptables killswitch to
# prevent IP leakage when the tunnel goes down
########################################

services:
    qbittorrentvpn:
        container_name: torrent
        privileged: true
        image: lscr.io/linuxserver/qbittorrent:latest
        environment:
            - PUID=1000
            - PGID=1000
            - VPN_ENABLED=false
            - WEBUI_PORT=8080
            - TZ=America/New_York
        volumes:
            - ${QBITTORRENT_DATA}/config:/config
            - ${QBITTORRENT_DATA}/theme:/theme
            - downloads_nfs:/downloads
        restart: unless-stopped
        network_mode: "container:gluetun"

volumes:
    downloads_nfs:
        name: downloads_nfs
        driver_opts:
            type: nfs
            o: addr=${NAS_ADDR},nolock,soft,rw
            device: :${DOWNLOADS_PATH}

Gluetun Networking

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To ensure qBittorrent traffic is always protected by a VPN, I route its network through the gluetun container.

Enabling Gluetun Routing

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1. Set Network Mode: In the qBittorrent service definition, add network_mode: "container:gluetun".
2. Remove Ports: You must remove the ports section from the qBittorrent service. All port mappings (like 8080 for the WebUI) must instead be defined in the gluetun container’s ports section.
3. Local Access: Since the container is now in Gluetun’s network namespace, use Gluetun’s IP or the host’s IP to access the WebUI.

To set up the VPN you will need to have an existing account with a VPN service. Username & Password for the vpn will be provided as a key by your vpn service. In my case I use Surfshark and have to go log into my account, navigate to the linux setup page and grab my generated Username key and Password key there.

## download all availble server conf
sudo wget https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/api/v1/server/configurations

## cp the server you want to use into config folder
/app/QBittorrent/config/openvpn

Once you restart your qbittorrentvpn docker container you can test your vpn service with a torrent leak test. Use the + add torrent link button to Download the torrent and test that your VPN service is connected and working.

• torrent-leak-test

Magnet links

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Use magnet link and item hash to avoid logins

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:${HASH}