qBittorrent is the acquisition workhorse of the Trash Panda automation ecosystem. While any reputable torrent client can function in this role, qBittorrent is recommended due to its stability, predictable behavior, strong API support, and mature feature set that integrates cleanly with the ARR suite.
This page covers conceptual configuration and performance-sensitive settings for qBittorrent running natively on Ubuntu within the Automation / Acquisition VM. Naming conventions, category mapping, and ARR-side configuration are covered in their respective guides.
qBittorrent is recommended for several pragmatic reasons:
Most importantly, qBittorrent behaves consistently under unattended operation, which is mandatory for a set-it-and-forget-it system.
qBittorrent’s responsibilities are intentionally narrow:
It should never:
This guide assumes qBittorrent is already installed and reachable via its Web UI.
qBittorrent must be bound to the VPN interface.
Relevant configuration variables:
Session\\InterfaceName=NordLynxSession\\InterfaceAddress=0.0.0.0Session\\ReannounceWhenAddressChanged=trueWhy this matters:
Binding to Any or a physical interface defeats the purpose of the VPN. If the VPN goes down, qBittorrent should stop transferring immediately — that is intentional behavior.
Your configuration emphasizes high download concurrency with controlled upload pressure.
Key performance-impacting settings:
Session\\MaxConnections=500Session\\MaxConnectionsPerTorrent=200Session\\ConnectionSpeed=50Session\\MaxActiveDownloads=10Session\\MaxActiveUploads=1Session\\MaxUploads=1Session\\MaxUploadsPerTorrent=1Design intent:
This configuration prioritizes fast acquisition without saturating upstream bandwidth.
Queueing is enabled and aggressively tuned.
Relevant settings:
Session\\QueueingSystemEnabled=trueSession\\IgnoreSlowTorrentsForQueueing=trueSession\\SlowTorrentsDownloadRate=512Session\\SlowTorrentsUploadRate=10Session\\SlowTorrentsInactivityTimer=180Effect:
This is essential for automation where human intervention is rare.
Disk behavior is one of the largest performance differentiators in automated systems.
Key disk-related settings:
Session\\DiskCacheSize=1024Session\\DiskIOReadMode=DisableOSCacheSession\\DiskIOWriteMode=DisableOSCacheSession\\AsyncIOThreadsCount=8Session\\PieceExtentAffinity=trueWhy these matter:
Combined, these settings produce predictable, sustained throughput rather than bursty I/O that can disrupt other services.
qBittorrent uses separate directories for incomplete and completed data.
Relevant settings:
Session\\TempPathEnabled=trueSession\\TempPath=/mnt/w/IncompleteSession\\DefaultSavePath=/mnt/w/CompleteBenefits:
Excluded file patterns:
Session\\ExcludedFileNamesEnabled=trueSession\\ExcludedFileNames=*.torrent, *.url, *.html, *.txt, *sample*, *.nfo, *.zip, *.rar, *.7z, *.isoThis prevents junk files from polluting downstream imports.
Upload limits are deliberately conservative.
Key values:
Session\\GlobalUPSpeedLimit=25600Session\\AlternativeGlobalUPSpeedLimit=1Session\\UseAlternativeGlobalSpeedLimit=falseRationale:
Downloads are intentionally less restricted, as acquisition speed is prioritized.
Web UI is enabled for internal management only.
Relevant settings:
WebUI\\Enabled=trueWebUI\\LocalHostAuth=trueSecurity posture:
Automation nodes should not be externally interactive.
ARRs interact with qBittorrent via API:
qBittorrent should remain policy-free and let the ARRs orchestrate behavior.
Logging is enabled but constrained.
Relevant settings:
FileLogger\\Enabled=trueFileLogger\\Backup=trueFileLogger\\DeleteOld=trueFileLogger\\MaxSizeBytes=66560FileLogger\\Age=3This ensures:
qBittorrent in this ecosystem is:
If you notice it running, something else is broken.
When it’s tuned correctly, it quietly feeds the system and disappears into the background — exactly as intended.