transmission-cli

TLDR

Download a torrent

$ transmission-cli [path/to/file.torrent]

Download a magnet link

$ transmission-cli "[magnet:?xt=urn:btih:...]"

Download to a specific directory

$ transmission-cli -w [path/to/download/dir] [file.torrent]

Download with speed limits (KB/s)

$ transmission-cli -d [500] -u [100] [file.torrent]

Download and exit immediately when complete (don't seed)

$ transmission-cli -m [file.torrent]

Download with peer blocklist enabled

$ transmission-cli -b [file.torrent]

Run in quiet mode

$ transmission-cli -q [file.torrent]

SYNOPSIS

transmission-cli [-b] [-d limit] [-u limit] [-g dir] [-m] [-w dir] [-q] torrent-file|magnet-uri

transmission-cli is a lightweight, command-line BitTorrent client for downloading and uploading torrents. It supports both .torrent files and magnet URIs, making it suitable for servers, headless systems, and scripted torrent operations.
The client handles a single torrent per invocation, downloading the content and optionally seeding upon completion. Progress is displayed in the terminal showing download/upload speeds, peer connections, and completion percentage.
Configuration is stored in ~/.config/transmission by default, allowing resume functionality if a download is interrupted. The client respects the TRANSMISSIONHOME environment variable for custom config locations and httpproxy for tracker announces.
Sending SIGHUP to a running transmission-cli process contacts the tracker for additional peers.

PARAMETERS

-b, --blocklist

Enable peer blocklists. Transmission understands the bluetack blocklist format.

-d limit

Set maximum download speed in KB/s. 0 means unlimited.

-u limit

Set maximum upload speed in KB/s. 0 means unlimited.

-g, --config-dir dir

Directory for configuration files. Allows sharing config between different Transmission clients.

-m

Do not seed after download completes; exit immediately.

-w dir

Directory to save downloaded files. Defaults to current directory.

-q

Quiet mode. Suppress most output, show only critical messages.

-h, --help

Display help message and exit.

-v, --version

Display version number and exit.

CAVEATS

transmission-cli handles only one torrent at a time and is not designed for continuous operation. For managing multiple torrents or running as a service, use transmission-daemon with transmission-remote instead. The client must remain running for the entire download; closing it will interrupt the transfer.

HISTORY

Transmission was originally created by Eric Petit and Josh Elsasser in 2005 for macOS, with Linux support following shortly after. The command-line interface was added to provide headless operation capabilities. Transmission became known for its lightweight design and cross-platform support, becoming one of the default BitTorrent clients on many Linux distributions.