qBittorrent

A cross-platform BitTorrent desktop client written in C++ and Qt on top of libtorrent, with official builds for the three major desktop systems.

41.5k stars, 5k forks C++ On GitHub since February 2012

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

qBittorrent at a glance

Open sourceYes, GPL-3.0No paid parts in the repository
Health91 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDesktop appsOne-click in Umbrel, YunoHost and 5 more
AppsLinux, Windows, macOSBuilds in GitHub releases
Interface48 languagesIncluding English, German and French
Issue repliesWithin ~4 hoursMedian first reply; 100% of recent issues answered

What is qBittorrent?

qBittorrent is a BitTorrent client built with C++ and the Qt toolkit, relying on the libtorrent library (also known as libtorrent-rasterbar) for the protocol work. Its developers aim for a fast, stable alternative to other torrent clients, with full Unicode support. The country of each connected peer is looked up in the free IP to Country Lite database from DB-IP. Source tarballs and binaries have been signed with a PGP key since version 3.3.4, and the interface is available in 48 languages.

Good fit if

  • You want a free desktop torrent client that works alike on Linux, Windows and macOS.
  • You want to verify the client you install against signed release files.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a lightweight daemon for a server or router, controlled through a web UI: Transmission.
  • You only need to send a file to someone through a link: transfer.sh.

Before you adopt it

qBittorrent is GPL software. The source code is GPL-2.0 or later, while binary distributions are GPL-3.0 or later because they include GPLv3 assets such as images; that switch from GPL-2.0 to GPL-3.0 for binaries happened in September 2022. Both carry an exception that allows linking with OpenSSL. Nothing in the repository is sold separately. Work is spread across many contributors, with 29 authors in the last 90 days, and ready-made builds exist for Linux, Windows and macOS.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run qBittorrent yourself

One-click install

Not listed in Coolify. Checked against each panel’s app catalog on 12 November 2026.

Ways to install

Docker files
None in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Packages
Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, EPEL, Arch Linux, AUR, Alpine, openSUSE and 10 more versions on Repology
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, Windows, macOS in GitHub releases
Interface languages
48 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish
Show all 48

Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Basque, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Occitan, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Install instructions: qbittorrent.org or the README on GitHub. Docker images and packages are checked weekly.

qBittorrent health: is it still maintained?

91 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~22 daysLatest: release-5.3.0, 20 October 2026
Issue repliesWithin ~4 hoursMedian first reply; 100% of recent issues answered
Bus factorLow riskThe most active of 29 authors wrote 35% of recent commits
  • Activity
    137 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 11 November 2026.
    26 / 30
  • Contributors
    29 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 35% of them.
    20 / 20
  • Releases
    6+ releases in the last 12 months; the latest, release-5.3.0, on 20 October 2026.
    17 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 100% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 4 hours.
    20 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 7.9 of 10.
    8 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

qBittorrent security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code. OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

Security advisoriesNone publishedNo advisories in the repository’s Security tab
OpenSSF Scorecard7.9 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyYesExplains how to report a vulnerability
Signed releasesPartlyOnly some downloads can be checked against a signature

What each Scorecard check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Security policy10 / 10Explains how to report a vulnerability
  • Static analysis10 / 10Code is scanned for bugs on every change
  • Token permissions10 / 10CI tokens have only the rights they need
  • Code review9 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • License file9 / 10A license file is present, but not where tools look for it
  • Signed releases8 / 10Some releases are signed
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Pinned dependencies0 / 10Dependencies are not pinned to fixed versions

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 9 November 2026; checks that do not apply to qBittorrent are left out.

qBittorrent license: is it open source?

qBittorrent uses GPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. February 2012First published on GitHub under GPL-2.0.
  2. 12 September 2022Changed to GPL-3.0. Commit: Binary distributions are GPLv3+ licensed
  3. TodayGPL-3.0.

qBittorrent for developers

Written in

  • C++ 70%
  • JavaScript 14%
  • HTML 13%
  • Python 1%
  • CSS <1%
  • Other 2%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues2,615On GitHub
Authors, 90 days29Of the latest 100 commits
Donationsown pageListed on GitHub

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to qBittorrent

  • TransmissionOfficial Transmission BitTorrent client repository 66 health · GPL-3.0 · 15.4k stars
  • ZiplineA ShareX/file upload server that is easy to use, packed with features, and with an easy setup! 78 health · MIT · 3.5k stars
  • DashBeamShare files nearby and beyond. 77 health · AGPL-3.0 · 10.3k stars
  • slskdA modern client-server application for the Soulseek file sharing network. 72 health · AGPL-3.0 · 4.3k stars
  • OnionShareSecurely and anonymously share files, host websites, and chat with friends using the Tor network 69 health · GPL-3.0 · 7.2k stars

All 14 projects in File sharing

Questions about qBittorrent

Is qBittorrent open source?

Yes. qBittorrent is published under GPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is qBittorrent still maintained?

Its health score is 91 of 100 (actively developed). It had 137 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 11 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 20 October 2026.

Did qBittorrent change its license?

Yes. It moved from GPL-2.0 to GPL-3.0 on 12 September 2022.

How do I run qBittorrent?

You can run it as an app for Linux, Windows, macOS and in one click from Umbrel, YunoHost, TrueNAS and 4 more. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is qBittorrent written in?

qBittorrent is written mainly in C++ (70% of the code), with JavaScript (14%) and HTML (13%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What languages is qBittorrent available in?

The repository has interface translations for 48 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Russian.

What are the alternatives to qBittorrent?

Close alternatives in the File sharing category include Transmission, Zipline, DashBeam.