Speed limits and sharing

BitTorrent works because everyone shares what they download. OrbTorrent shares, or seeds, finished downloads until you pause them, remove them, or set a limit.

Speed limits

In Settings › Speed:

• Limit download speed, with Maximum download speed in KB/s. Off unless you turn it on.
• Limit upload speed, with Maximum upload speed in KB/s. OrbTorrent starts with uploads limited to 5,000 KB/s.

Keeping uploads below your connection’s maximum stops them slowing down your downloads and the rest of your internet use. If you don’t know your connection’s upload speed, run a speed test, and set the limit to about three-quarters of it.

The limits apply to every download together. 1,000 KB/s is about 1 MB/s.

Stop sharing at a ratio

A download’s ratio is how much you’ve uploaded divided by how much you’ve downloaded: 1.00 means you’ve given back as much as you took.

In Settings › Downloads › Seeding, turn on Stop sharing when the ratio reaches a limit, then set:

• Ratio limit, such as 2.
• Then: Stop Seeding, which keeps the download and its files, or Remove Torrent, which removes it from OrbTorrent and keeps its files.

The limit applies to every download. A download’s ratio is on its Details tab, and in its status line once it’s finished: “Seeding · 6.48 GB · Ratio 1.20”.

Pause and resume

• One download: its Pause button, in the menu bar panel or the inspector.
• Several: select them in the window, then Pause in the toolbar.
• Everything: Pause All in the menu bar panel, or Downloads › Pause All (⌥⌘.). Resume All (⌥⌘R) starts them again.

A paused download keeps what it has, and picks up where it stopped.

Private trackers

Private trackers usually ask you to keep up a ratio, and count what you upload. If you use one, set any ratio limit above what it asks, or leave the limit off. OrbTorrent never adds trackers to their torrents, and they don’t use DHT or peer exchange.