BitTorrent proxy settings: the BitTorrent app, Classic and Web

BitTorrent proxy settings, in the BitTorrent app's Classic edition, are under Options > Preferences > Connection. Choose SOCKS5 as the proxy type: the app's help centre says peer connections are "not supported with standard HTTP proxies", so plain HTTP leaves your own address visible to peers. Beyond that one help article, very little about the app's proxy handling is documented.

If you came here about the BitTorrent protocol in general rather than the app called BitTorrent, which torrent clients work with SOCKS5 covers every common client in one table.

The app, not the protocol

BitTorrent is both the name of the file-sharing protocol and the name of a client app made by the company behind µTorrent. This page is about the app: BitTorrent Classic for Windows, BitTorrent Web for Windows and Mac, and the Android app. The protocol itself works the same whatever client you use.

The two apps are near-twins from the same company. BitTorrent's help article on proxies is word for word the same as µTorrent's, so most of what we found applies to both. We have written the µTorrent page separately, because more has been said about that client.

Is a proxy the right tool here?

Usually not. If you want a Linux image, an open-source installer or a dataset, the publisher's HTTP mirror is often the plainer route, and it puts nothing on a metered proxy. If your concern is copyright enforcement, the torrent projects that address it recommend a VPN instead; proxy vs VPN explains why.

A proxy fits when you want the BitTorrent app alone to leave from another address. Keep to things you may share: distribution images, Internet Archive and Creative Commons items, research data, software patches. Unauthorised sharing is not allowed on ProxyPanda, and our acceptable use policy makes staying within the law your responsibility. Peer-to-peer traffic for lawful content is fine on our residential proxies and on unmetered dedicated IPs, meaning ISP or datacenter IPs with no traffic cap.

What the help centre says

BitTorrent's article "Does your software support proxies?" gives the route and the types: Options > Preferences > Connection, with SOCKS4, SOCKS5, HTTP Connect and HTTP. Then:

Peer communication proxying is not supported with standard HTTP proxies, and UDP proxying is only supported with SOCKS5.

That leaves two usable choices with ProxyPanda, and one of them is uncertain:

• SOCKS5 carries peer connections. Use it. Residential ports answer SOCKS5, and ISP and datacenter proxies switch to it in the dashboard.
• HTTP Connect can carry peers only if the proxy tunnels to any port, which we have not confirmed for every port on our HTTP proxies.
• Plain HTTP proxies trackers and leaves peers on your own address.

What it will not carry through us

• UDP. The app relays UDP only over SOCKS5, and we have not verified a UDP relay on our gateways, so treat our SOCKS5 as TCP only. DHT, UDP trackers and uTP should not be expected to work through the proxy. We could not find out whether the app then drops that traffic or sends it from your own address.
• Incoming connections. Peers generally cannot connect in to a proxied client. You will see fewer of them.
• Encryption. A proxy relays connections and encrypts nothing.

It also costs in both directions: what you download, and what you upload to other peers while seeding, both cross the proxy. How each direction counts on your plan is under metering.

Setting it up in BitTorrent Classic

1. Open Options > Preferences > Connection.
2. Set the proxy type to SOCKS5.
3. Enter the host and port from your service page. On ISP and datacenter proxies, choose SOCKS5 in the dashboard first and copy the port it shows.
4. If your version has login fields, enter your username and password. If not, put your address on the IP allowlist, and the proxy will not ask for one.
5. Apply, and restart the torrent you are testing.

What we could not confirm

• BitTorrent Web. We found no documentation of a proxy setting in it.
• Logins and per-traffic switches. The help article does not describe a username and password, or separate switches for trackers and peers.
• Recent versions. The last entry on the app's public Windows release page is "BitTorrent 7.11.0 For Windows (build 46555) November 22, 2022". Whether newer builds arrive silently by update, we could not tell.
• UDP fallback. Whether DHT and uTP go direct when the proxy cannot carry them.

The app also advertises a token-reward feature called BitTorrent Speed. It has nothing to do with proxies, and we leave it out here.

Given how much is unconfirmed, the meter is your best evidence.

Check the meter

1. Prove the proxy works from the same computer: curl -s -x socks5h://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT https://api.ipify.org should print an address that is not yours.
2. Note the traffic figure for the service in the dashboard (where to find it).
3. Download a small, lawful torrent, and note what the app reports as transferred.
4. A few minutes later, since figures update regularly rather than live, compare.

A dashboard figure close to the app's means peers went through the proxy. One that barely moved means they did not. How to check your proxy provider's meter covers the method in full.

Quick answers

Where are the proxy settings in BitTorrent? In Classic: Options > Preferences > Connection.

Which proxy type should I use? SOCKS5. Standard HTTP proxies do not carry peer connections in this app.

Does BitTorrent Web have proxy settings? We found no documentation saying so.

Will DHT work through ProxyPanda? Expect not. We treat our SOCKS5 as TCP only.

Next step

If you have a choice of client, one that documents its proxy behaviour fully, such as qBittorrent or BiglyBT, will save you guesswork. Questions are welcome in Discord.