Notes 
WebTorrent: Stream torrents in browsers and on desktop
Reviewed by Gabriel Bachmann
WebTorrent
webtorrent.io 1 rating so far*
Rate WebTorrent: No account needed
Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
Different from the rest of the list in a way that matters: WebTorrent speaks WebRTC so it can stream torrents in the browser, which is genuinely novel but also means it can only swarm with other WebTorrent-capable peers for that feature. That limits its usefulness as a general-purpose downloader. Pick it when in-browser or streaming playback is the actual goal, not when you just want to grab files. For ordinary torrenting, a traditional client like qBittorrent will connect to far more peers.
GitHub at a glance
webtorrent/webtorrent MIT bittorrentbrowserhacktoberfestjavascriptnodejsp2pstreamingtorrentwebrtcwebtorrent
Stars
31,469
+12 this week
Forks
2,852
677 watching
Last commit
today
healthy
Latest release
v3.0.21
3mo ago, 100+ total
Star history
Issues
96% closed
67
open
1,623
closed
+4 / -3
opened / closed, last 4 weeks
Opened vs closed, last 12 weeks
Commits, last 26 weeks
97 commits, active 8 of 26 weeks
167 contributors since Oct 2013
Languages
- JavaScript 99.8%
- Shell 0.2%
Updated daily from the GitHub API. Star tracking since Jun 15, 2026.
Website at a glance
webtorrent.io
D- score 25
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 2d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
WebTorrent alternatives
WebTorrent license, in plain English
MIT Permissive
Do almost anything: use, change, and ship it, even inside closed-source products. The only condition is keeping the copyright notice.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use
Requires
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Permissive licensing lets anyone reuse this, including inside closed products. That is freedom to build on, but no guarantee that downstream copies stay open.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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