Set Up A Headless Deluge Server on Linux

https://linuxconfig.org/set-up-a-headless-deluge-server-on-linux

Objective

Install and configure a headless Deluge server, and connect to it with the Deluge client.

Distributions

This guide is tailored towards Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Arch Linux.

Requirements

A working install of one of the supported distributions with root privileges.

Difficulty

Easy

Conventions

• # - requires given linux command to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
• $ - given linux command to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

Introduction

There are tons of ways to manage torrents on Linux. Many of the available clients are excellent, but some have distinct advantages. If you're looking to manage large numbers of torrents and manage them over your network, Deluge is easily the best option.

Deluge relies on a client-server model. The Deluge daemon runs on a designated server machine that handles the download and upload of files. Then, you can connect to your server using the Deluge client on any computer on the same network to add, remove, and manage your torrents.

It doesn't hurt that it's very simple to control your torrents with Deluge either. It lets you easily add torrents from a variety of sources and even control their priority and place in the download queue.

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Install the Deluge Server

Deluge is open source and well-supported across most distributions. You can install everything that you need from your distribution's package manager.

Ubuntu/Debian

$ sudo apt install deluged deluge-console

Fedora

# dnf install deluge-daemon deluge-console

OpenSUSE

# zypper in deluged deluge-console

Arch Linux

# pacman -S deluge

Configure Your Server

You're going to need to do some setup on your server before you can take full advantage of it. The first thing that you're going to need is a user to run the Deluge daemon. Using a separate user is both more secure and lets the daemon run autonomously more easily. Start by setting up a group for Deluge.

# groupadd deluge

Then, create the Deluge user as a system user with their home directory as the main Deluge one.

# adduser -r –home-dir /var/lib/deluge -g deluge deluge

Make that Deluge directory and give your new user ownership.

# mkdir /var/lib/deluge
# chown -R deluge:deluge /var/lib/deluge

Next, you're going to need to log in to your new user, and start up Deluge temporarily to configure it. In order to do that, you'll need to sign in as your Deluge user.

# su deluge

Start up the daemon, and open the console client.

$ deluged
$ deluge-console

Once you're in the console, you can change the setting you need to. Enable remote access.

config -s allow_remote True

Exit the console, and log out as your Deluge user. You're going to have to stop the daemon too.

# ps aux | grep -i deluge
# kill 12345

You're going to need to set up your users next. Find the file at /var/lib/deluge/.config/deluge/auth. Open it with your text editor and add in new entries for your users. The look something like this:

username:password:10

The number at the end dictates the privilege level of the user. 10 lets you do anything.

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Create A Systemd Service

In order to run Deluge as a service when your server starts up, you're going to need to create a systemd service. The Deluge developers actually provide one on their website for you to use. Create a file at /etc/systemd/system/deluged.service. Paste in the following configuration.

[Unit]
Description=Deluge Bittorrent Client Daemon
Documentation=man:deluged
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=deluge
Group=deluge
UMask=007
ExecStart=/usr/bin/deluged -d
Restart=on-failure
# Time to wait before forcefully stopped.
TimeoutStopSec=300

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and exit. Finally, you can start up and enable your service.

# systemctl start deluged
# systemctl enable deluged

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Install the Deluge Client

You're now ready to start setting up your Deluge client. The Deluge client is GTK based, and serves as the control center for your server. Once again, it's available in your distribution's repositories.

Ubuntu/Debian

$ sudo apt install deluge-gtk

Fedora

# dnf install deluge-gtk

OpenSUSE

# zypper in deluge-gtk

Arch Linux

# pacman -S deluge

Connect To Your Server

Deluge Disable Classic Mode

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Open up the Deluge client. Click on "Edit" at the top. Then, select "Preferences." On the left side of the window, click the "Interface" tab. You'll see that the top heading is "Classic Mode." Uncheck that box to disable it.

Deluge Disable Add Connection

Return to the main menu. Click on "Edit" again. This time, select "Connection Manager." In the new window, click the "Add" button. Punch in your server's IP as the server name. Then, use the username and password that you set up for Deluge on your server. When everything's right, add your server and connect.

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Deluge Add Torrent

You're ready to start using your torrents.

Closing Thoughts

You now have a working headless Deluge server. You can access and manage it from anywhere on your network. Depending on how you want to use your server, you might want to set up a VPN connection and a firewall killswitch too.