What Software Can I Use To Make Torrents?
I Have The Required Software, What Else Do I Need To Know?
How Do I make A .torrent File Using Azureus?
How Do I Make A .torrent File Using Make Torrent 2?
How Do I Make A .torrent File Using µTorrent?
I Have Made My .torrent File, What Do I Do Next?
Some Important Things To Remember
A .torrent file is what you will need to create in order to
start making torrents. It is also the file you download
when you want to download something. They are usually very
small in size, just a few kbs.
A .torrent file just contains information relating to the
end file you are looking to share - information such as the
file title, overall size, the amount of pieces the file has
been broken down into and how big they are, the tracker
tracking the file etc etc etc.
When you open a .torrent file with your torrent client, the
file tells your client what tracker it needs to connect to,
and tells the tracker what file you are looking to share.
You are then able to begin sharing.
It would be impossible for me to write a complete guide on
how to create and upload torrents as there are different
ways of doing it dependant on the client you use and the
site you want to upload to. But below you will find an
overall guide and information on how to do it in one of the
ways possible.
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There are two main ways to create torrent files, one is to use specific BitTorrent clients that also give you the ability to create torrents like µTorrent or Azureus, the other is to use something like Make Torrent 2 which is designed solely to make torrents and nothing else. I use µTorrent as it is very simple and easy.
As all clients are different I wont try to give instructions on them each, but below are instructions for Azureus, Make Torrent 2 and µTorrent. I have also created some animated visual guides.
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Next you will need to select a tracker. A tracker is the thing that keeps track(!) of what files people are sharing, how much of it they have downloaded/uploaded and what pieces of the file are available in the swarm. It will also keep a record of the amount of data you have uploaded and downloaded.
The tracker does not actually host the file you want to download, merely information on how it can be shared in the form of a .torrent file. In order to successfully make a .torrent file, you will need an announce url. The announce url you use will be dependant on the tracker that you are going to use for your torrent. Each tracker has it's own announce url, the two go together as a pair.
If you don't know what tracker and announce url to use, why not use a freely available public tracker. It is "public" because anyone is allowed to use it. Just have a search for a current Public Tracker using google.
All you have to do with this tracker is use the announce URL to make the torrent. You don't need to upload the torrent to the tracker at all, just post the torrent on a forum or site of your choice for others to download from.
If that tracker isn't working, then you will have to search about for another to use. Some forums have their own trackers, and there are plenty more public trackers available
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You can view an animated visual guide here
1. Create a folder and call it something similar to the file you are looking to share (or at least make it recognizable for future use). Open this folder and create another folder inside it, also with the same or something very similar name to the file you are looking to share. Open this folder and put the file you want to share inside it.
(The name of this second folder will be the name of the .torrent file you create, and ultimately share, so this is why you need to make it descriptive of the file it contains)
2. Open Azureus and select 'File' then 'Create A Torrent'
3. Make sure 'Use an external Tracker' and 'Directory' are checked
4. Enter your announce url into the 'Announce URL' box and select then 'Next'
5. Now locate the folder that your file is in and click 'Next'
6. Leave the settings on the final screen alone, just hit 'Finish'. Azureus will then make your torrent for you. We did it this way to make life easier in the long run. When people go to download your file later, they will download a copy of the folder you created and the files that it contains.
It is also useful to do things this way as you will have a copy of the .torrent file in the same parent folder as the file you are looking to share, this can be very handy when uploading or seeding again at a later stage as everything is in the same place.
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You can view an animated visual guide here
1. Create a folder and call it something similar to the file you are looking to share (or at least make it recognizable for future use). Open this folder and create another folder inside it, also with the same or something very similar name to the file you are looking to share. Open this folder and put the file you want to share inside it.
(The name of this second folder will be the name of the .torrent file you create, and ultimately share, so this is why you need to make it descriptive of the file it contains)
2. Open Make Torrent 2 and click on the "classic" tab (this just changes the view) if you aren't on it already
3. Next to the field called "Filename or Pathname" click on the "dir" button.
* make sure the "1 torrent from entire folder" button is checked.
4. Now locate the folder that your file is in and click "ok"
5. You should now see the pathname of the folder which contains your file for sharing in the "Filename or Pathname" field.
6. Add the announce url into the "Tracker" field (if you don't have an announce url then go back a stage and follow the instructions on how to find one)
7. Now click "Create .torrent now!" button
8. Make Torrent 2 will now create a .torrent file for you. This will take longer for big files. Once it has finished hit the "Finish" button! We did it this way to make life easier in the long run. When people go to download your file later, they will download a copy of the folder you created and the files that it contains.
It is also useful to do things this way as you will have a copy of the .torrent file in the same parent folder as the file you are looking to share, this can be very handy when uploading or seeding again at a later stage as everything is in the same place.
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You can view an animated visual guide here
1. Create a folder and call it something similar to the file you are looking to share (or at least make it recognizable for future use). Open this folder and create another folder inside it, also with the same or something very similar name to the file you are looking to share. Open this folder and put the file you want to share inside it.
(The name of this second folder will be the name of the .torrent file you create, and ultimately share, so this is why you need to make it descriptive of the file it contains)
2. Open µTorrent and navigate "File > Create new torrent"
3. Click "Add Directory", locate the folder on your hard-drive and click "ok"
4. Add the announce url into the "Tracker URL" field (if you don't have an announce url then go back a stage and follow the instructions on how to find one)
*note: Start Seeding option - Use this option to automatically load the torrent into µTorrent ready for seeding once you have created the .torrent file. It's a handy option but not recommended for some trackers, especially those which use a Passkey system.
*note: Private Torrent option - This should be enabled if you intend to use a Private tracker for the torrent. A private tracker is one which requires registration. If you don't enable this option, it will allow some clients to connect to the torrent swarm through your client, completely bypassing the tracker (and any stats that may be recorded). If you are using a public tracker you do not need this option.
5. Click "Create and save as". µTorrent will now make your torrent and then ask you where to save it. You might have a special folders for torrents, or you may prefer to keep the torrents in the same place as the folder it relates to. Either way don't forget where you put it!
We did it this way to make life easier in the long run. When people go to download your file later, they will download a copy of the folder you created and the files that it contains.
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Now you have made your .torrent file you will need to let everyone else know what you have to share. To do this you will need to upload it to a forum or other BitTorrent site like Pirates of the UK. As each forum and site have different ways of uploading you will need to refer to the instructions given on that site.
This might include uploading to a tracker as well as a forum. Some forums have integrated trackers and if that's the case, you just need to upload to the forum. If the site does not have its own tracker, or has a separate one, then you need to upload the torrent you made to both the tracker and the forum.
Once you have uploaded your .torrent file to a site or forum you will need to make sure it is also in your client and ready for seeding. See this visual guide for help on this bit **NEW! Visual Guide on How to Seed!**
One way of doing this is to double click on the .torrent file and open it with your BitTorrent client.
You can also just click on the file you uploaded and choose to open it with your client like you would when you go to download someone else's file for sharing. Your client will ask you where you want to save the file for "download". Make sure you select the same folder which already contains your file. Your client will then check that folder, realise you already have the file and automatically begin seeding it (well, this is how it works with most mainstream clients). If you are unsure on this stage have a look at the authors website of your client for more information.
That's it! You have just created a .torrent file and uploaded it for others to share. As long as it is in your client and ready for seeding (and the tracker is working), you will begin to upload that file whenever someone else goes to download it.
In order to successfully create a
torrent swarm for your file you may have to seed it
continuously for maybe a few days, especially for large
files. Once someone has downloaded it they may not continue
to seed (bad people) in which case you will have to carry on
for a while longer.
You are not invisible when
you are in a swarm. Others, including copyright owners if
they so wished, can see your IP when you are downloading or
uploading a file. Learn more here.
If you upload a torrent site which has a forum attached then
make sure you give as much description on the file you are
sharing as possible! Try to give the title, file size,
platform, genre and description at all times. You may want
to also link to another site that gives more information on
that file.
Torrent sites and trackers themselves die. They go up and
down quicker than a whores draws. Just the nature of the
beast.
Trackers can come under huge load very quickly sometimes and
then they become unstable, torrent sites and forums can be
shut down sometimes for legal reasons.
The speed at which you upload to others is determined by
things such as the Seed to Peer ratio, your upload bandwidth
and of course your peers download bandwidth.
REMEMBER - ULTIMATELY YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT OF ANY UPLOADS
