frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

Show HN: Webtor – open-source torrent streaming engine

https://webtor.io
34•vintikzzzz•1y ago
Hi HN,

I built Webtor — an open-source engine that lets you stream .torrent and magnet links directly in the browser.

- No swarm exposure — all torrent traffic runs server-side

- In-browser playback via HLS

- Progressive download with resume support

- Lightweight JS SDK and public API

- Fully self-hostable via Docker

Demo: https://webtor.io

GitHub: https://github.com/webtor-io

SDK: https://github.com/webtor-io/embed-sdk-js

Self-hosted: https://github.com/webtor-io/self-hosted

API: https://rapidapi.com/paveltatarsky-Dx4aX7s_XBt/api/webtor

Would love feedback!

Comments

harvey9•1y ago
It looks like if I use your hosted service to stream then you become the distributor of any copyright material in that torrent. Is that correct, and if so aren't you likely to be taken down or blocked in jurisdictions where that is enforced?
angra_mainyu•1y ago
Popcorn time seems like the safer bet
vintikzzzz•1y ago
True, Popcorn Time was slick — but if I remember correctly, it runs as a local app and immediately connects you to the swarm. That means your IP is exposed and you’re technically distributing content while watching it.

Webtor works differently — all torrent traffic goes through the backend, and your browser just receives the stream over HTTPS. No swarm connection from the user side at all.

So it’s not as feature-rich maybe, but it’s built with privacy and accessibility in mind — especially for people who can’t or don’t want to touch P2P directly.

vintikzzzz•1y ago
That’s a valid concern, and I’m aware of the risks involved.

Webtor is a tool, not a content provider — it doesn’t index or host anything itself. Users supply their own torrent or magnet links, and the system processes them on demand, like a torrent client with a browser interface.

That said, if someone uses the hosted version to stream content that triggers a copyright complaint — yes, I may receive a DMCA notice, and in that case I’ll take the content down as required.

This is also exactly why the project is fully open-source and self-hostable — anyone can run it privately, with full control and different legal boundaries depending on their jurisdiction.

noman-land•1y ago
If this is a tool and doesn't host any content, what exactly will you be taking down upon receiving a DMCA?
KomoD•1y ago
> what exactly will you be taking down upon receiving a DMCA?

Content on the hosted instance...?

vintikzzzz•1y ago
Good question.

Even though Webtor doesn’t host or index any content itself, users can generate direct links like https://webtor.io/{infohash} to access specific torrents. Sometimes these links get shared publicly — on forums, blogs, or aggregators — and that’s usually how DMCA notices find their way to me.

When that happens, I remove access to that specific infohash from the hosted service. It’s not about removing stored files (since there’s no persistent storage), but about disabling further processing of that particular torrent.

toomuchtodo•1y ago
Looks like an open source version of put.io? Very cool! You might list hosters and jurisdictions where it’s friendly to host the remote torrent component and they’ll ignore IP claims and other copyright holder love letters.
doublerabbit•1y ago
Any documentation on how to self-host without Docker?

I use FreeBSD.

vintikzzzz•1y ago
There are currently around 14 individual components involved — torrent engine, HLS pipeline, subtitles, storage, APIs, etc.

It’s technically possible to run everything manually without Docker, but you’d need to wire all services together, manage configs, ports, and background jobs.

That’s why I strongly recommend the Docker setup — it’s the easiest way to get things running.

You can absolutely take a look at the Dockerfile (https://github.com/webtor-io/self-hosted/blob/main/Dockerfil...). It should give you a clear idea of how things are connected, if you want to replicate it manually on FreeBSD.

0manrho
•
1y ago
> or host anything itself.

It does, or there would be nothing to download.

> and the system processes them on demand > Webtor is a tool, not a content provider

By assembling the chunks into content it then provides via a link to download.

Is the implication here that the data is transient (eg time-gated or single use links) or something?

We're in the age of AI and Automation. Just because you aren't publishing an index of your content doesn't mean there aren't plenty of others searching, indexing, scraping, and aggregating it, nor does it mean the content isn't provided to the internet/public.

vintikzzzz•1y ago
The content is only partially downloaded to the servers, and only on demand. Storage is limited — old, inactive cached data is removed when space is needed for new requests.

There’s also the ability to revisit previously used content via direct links like https://webtor.io/{infohash} — this lets users bookmark a stream or return to it later. However, availability still depends on whether the content is cached or needs to be fetched again.

I actually experimented with making content indexable in the past, but many torrents turned out to be pirated — and eventually triggered DMCA notices. So I chose not to publicly expose anything on the hosted version.

Automation is possible: there’s a public API and a lightweight SDK for embedding content into external websites.

Show HN: Tinyreplay – lightweight session replay without analytics/cloud

https://github.com/kzekiue/tinyreplay
2•kzekiue•32m ago•0 comments

Show HN: A deterministic I Ching engine, cross-validated against another impl

https://github.com/yaomancy/liuyao-engine
2•Jincheng-xie•45m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Getting GLM 5.2 running on my slow computer

https://github.com/JustVugg/colibri
852•vforno•2d ago•211 comments

Show HN: Wyrm – Solve algebra by touch, built on an open-source soundness engine

https://github.com/dicroce/wyrm_math
74•dicroce•1d ago•13 comments

Show HN: 18 Words

https://18words.com/
1099•pompomsheep•1d ago•350 comments

Show HN: Reverse-engineering web apps into agent tools

81•pancomplex•1d ago•34 comments

Show HN: Frugon – Find which LLM calls a cheaper model could handle (local, MIT)

https://github.com/Rodiun/frugon
58•jarodrh•3d ago•10 comments

Show HN: Reviving my 2001 college band with AI

https://www.fadingmaize.com
53•jacobgraf•1d ago•58 comments

Show HN: Krbn, a pencil-style 3D renderer with SVG output

https://github.com/vpalos/Krbn
2•vpalos•3h ago•0 comments

Show HN: SubjectiveZero, an open-source agentic node editor for creative coding

https://sxp.studio/apps/subz
22•tasoeur•17h ago•4 comments

Show HN: Abralo – Free, easy way to run several Claude Code agents in one window

https://abralo.com/
32•cwbuilds•2d ago•23 comments

Show HN: Phobos – A tiny scale-free kernel language with tile-DAG support

https://www.joa-ebert.com/posts/2026-07-07-phobos-lang/
7•joajoa•3d ago•1 comments

Show HN: Runloom – Go-style coroutines for Python free-threaded

https://github.com/robertsdotpm/runloom
45•Uptrenda•20h ago•28 comments

Show HN: Velocity – a keyless 3D globe that fuses 15 live Intel feeds

https://github.com/AndrewCTF/osint-geospatial-console
3•AndrewCTF•6h ago•0 comments

Show HN: @playbykey/theory - Music theory TypeScript engine and MCP server

https://theory-engine.docs.playbykey.com/
2•codewithbre•6h ago•4 comments

Show HN: Analog Watch

https://analog.watch
103•ezekg•1d ago•95 comments

Show HN: I mapped 8.5M research papers into an interactive atlas

https://tomesphere.com/atlas
79•leonickson•2d ago•24 comments

Show HN: FableCut – A browser video editor AI agents can drive (zero deps)

https://github.com/ronak-create/FableCut
96•ronak_parmar•1d ago•58 comments

Show HN: Rubiks Cube Solver

https://speedcube.com.br/
23•wozzp•1d ago•13 comments

Show HN: Follow London Trains in 3D

https://ride.nexttrain.london/
154•mgranados•6d ago•62 comments

Show HN: I built a web tool to see and edit what an AI thinks before it answers

https://lucid.earthpilot.ai
33•ada1981•1d ago•8 comments

Show HN: Microsoft releases Flint, a visualization language for AI agents

https://microsoft.github.io/flint-chart/#/
344•chenglong-hn•2d ago•136 comments

Show HN: LastShelf – an emergency map of your family's documents bills& contacts

https://www.lastshelf.ai/
47•sbrown12•1d ago•32 comments

Show HN: RandoFont – A browser for Google Fonts

https://randofont.alesh.com
24•aleshh•1d ago•3 comments

Show HN: Sighthound - open-source vulnerability scanner for source code

https://github.com/Corgea/Sighthound
19•asadeddin•1d ago•0 comments

Show HN: Neil the Seal Game

https://neiltheseal.app/
97•dalemhurley•5d ago•88 comments

Show HN: Devthropology – Better Insights for GitHub Repos

https://devthropology.com/demo
37•dpc94•1d ago•10 comments

Show HN: Yamanote.fun – A complete soundscape for Tokyo's Yamanote line

https://www.yamanote.fun/
236•madebymagnolia•3d ago•52 comments

Show HN: Pylon Sync, an agent-first full-stack realtime framework

https://www.pylonsync.com
12•ericc59•1d ago•4 comments

Show HN: Policy enforcement for Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex

https://kastra.ai/
13•carlosjimenez1•1d ago•4 comments