This was the setup I had recently, but recent versions of gluetun just couldn’t maintain a connection. I tried with three different VPN providers and they all dropped connection within 12 hours.
You can run qBittorrent outside docker and configure it to only bind to the network interface for the VPN (in Tools->Options->Advanced->Network Interface).
Unless for some strange reason your VPN connection is constantly renaming the network interface when it starts, this should work fine and make sure qBittorrent never sends any data outside the VPN connection.
This is Linux, so there’s usually more than one way to get the same result.
My torrent client is running in docker on my NAS, so running it outside of docker is a no-go. I switched back to my old setup of using a docker container that combines both qbittorrent and openvpn in the same container. Smooth sailing with no hitches at all. I can’t share the VPN across containers anymore, but qbittorrent was the only container that actually needed it.
Maybe I’ll get it working one day. Today is just not that day.
This also means you can run multiple instances very easily. I personally run one instance for public trackers, then an entirely separate instance for private trackers. It makes managing private seeding rules much easier, and helps avoid accidental hit-and-runs because of a dumb misconfiguration.
1000% this. Get on a private tracker and setup your glutun/qbit docker container and you never have to worry about your ratios or bring had by the feds. It’s so nice. My jellyfin setup with Seerr gets a lot of traffic from my whole family. All of it is running on second hand hardware from office e-waste auctions that I’ve spent maybe $250 on over the last 4-5 years. Way cheaper than paying for all the subscription streamers. And I got to learn a fuckload of cool stuff I never would have otherwise.
Alternatively a server-only qBittorrent (controllable via the web-interface only) without docker (package: qbittorrent_nox) behind an always on VPN, configured to only bind to the network interface of the VPN so that it doesn’t send any data outside the VPN does the same but it’s much lighter so you can put it in shitty-shit hardware.
This is what I have in the cheap mini-PC which I use as Homeserver/NAS/TV Media Player.
I actually run two instances of gluetun running two VPN seats configured for two different countries and a script that speed tests both every hour and switches what network is piped into qbit based on how fast the speed test was with some logic for if I am uploading more or downloading more on the client. Quite proud of it tbh.
You can lock qBT to a specific network adapter in the settings. I think it’s somewhere in the advanced settings. Lock it to using your VPN interface, and it will only be able to connect when your VPN is active. By default, it will attempt to use any active network to connect, and things like split tunnel or kill switches can still allow leaks in the few moments between a disconnect and the software killing other connections. But by locking qBT to a specific network adapter, you ensure it won’t even attempt to use alternative connections when your VPN is disconnected.
Yeah, I do that, although qbit lately has been difficult, and I have to do this thing where I toggle to any interface and then back to IVPN. But yeah, I like redundancy in my piracy for sure. Got a letter about 20 years ago (or my dad did), and so I’ve tried my best to avoid it. Well, I guess my best would be not pirating stuff, but that’s impossible.
you can also manually tell it which network to use and select the vpn so if the vpn stops working it loses internet rather than continuing to run unprotected.
You can also run qBittorrent in a docker container behind an always on VPN. Very nice for those with a little arr in their lives. 🏴☠️
For maximum privacy, I have qBittorrent on an air gapped system. Good luck catching me FBI!
/s
I took the above setup one step further and never plugged in the power!
Yes qbittorrent and gluetun in a docker container is very handy.
It took me a while to figure out gluetun. Once it’s all setup and configured correctly, it’s great !
Any resources you found handy to get you going? I am getting started with Docker and would love any advice!
The official documentation of the thing you want to setup is usually the best source of information.
This was the setup I had recently, but recent versions of gluetun just couldn’t maintain a connection. I tried with three different VPN providers and they all dropped connection within 12 hours.
You can run qBittorrent outside docker and configure it to only bind to the network interface for the VPN (in Tools->Options->Advanced->Network Interface).
Unless for some strange reason your VPN connection is constantly renaming the network interface when it starts, this should work fine and make sure qBittorrent never sends any data outside the VPN connection.
This is Linux, so there’s usually more than one way to get the same result.
My torrent client is running in docker on my NAS, so running it outside of docker is a no-go. I switched back to my old setup of using a docker container that combines both qbittorrent and openvpn in the same container. Smooth sailing with no hitches at all. I can’t share the VPN across containers anymore, but qbittorrent was the only container that actually needed it.
Maybe I’ll get it working one day. Today is just not that day.
I’ve heard some people have that issue, check out binhex’s qbit container with built-in VPN handling.
This also means you can run multiple instances very easily. I personally run one instance for public trackers, then an entirely separate instance for private trackers. It makes managing private seeding rules much easier, and helps avoid accidental hit-and-runs because of a dumb misconfiguration.
1000% this. Get on a private tracker and setup your glutun/qbit docker container and you never have to worry about your ratios or bring had by the feds. It’s so nice. My jellyfin setup with Seerr gets a lot of traffic from my whole family. All of it is running on second hand hardware from office e-waste auctions that I’ve spent maybe $250 on over the last 4-5 years. Way cheaper than paying for all the subscription streamers. And I got to learn a fuckload of cool stuff I never would have otherwise.
Alternatively a server-only qBittorrent (controllable via the web-interface only) without docker (package: qbittorrent_nox) behind an always on VPN, configured to only bind to the network interface of the VPN so that it doesn’t send any data outside the VPN does the same but it’s much lighter so you can put it in shitty-shit hardware.
This is what I have in the cheap mini-PC which I use as Homeserver/NAS/TV Media Player.
I’ve been using a split tunnel to make sure qbit stays behind the VPN, but I like this idea too, feels like there’s some redundancy.
I actually run two instances of gluetun running two VPN seats configured for two different countries and a script that speed tests both every hour and switches what network is piped into qbit based on how fast the speed test was with some logic for if I am uploading more or downloading more on the client. Quite proud of it tbh.
You can lock qBT to a specific network adapter in the settings. I think it’s somewhere in the advanced settings. Lock it to using your VPN interface, and it will only be able to connect when your VPN is active. By default, it will attempt to use any active network to connect, and things like split tunnel or kill switches can still allow leaks in the few moments between a disconnect and the software killing other connections. But by locking qBT to a specific network adapter, you ensure it won’t even attempt to use alternative connections when your VPN is disconnected.
Yeah, I do that, although qbit lately has been difficult, and I have to do this thing where I toggle to any interface and then back to IVPN. But yeah, I like redundancy in my piracy for sure. Got a letter about 20 years ago (or my dad did), and so I’ve tried my best to avoid it. Well, I guess my best would be not pirating stuff, but that’s impossible.
It’s stacked, even.
you can also manually tell it which network to use and select the vpn so if the vpn stops working it loses internet rather than continuing to run unprotected.