SerrebiTorrent

SerrebiTorrent is a Windows desktop torrent manager designed for keyboard-first use and screen readers. It can manage torrents on this PC (local libtorrent) or control a remote client (qBittorrent, Transmission, rTorrent).

Latest: v1.5.33 - Fixed CMD window flash during updates

What you get

• Connect to local libtorrent, rTorrent (SCGI/XML-RPC), qBittorrent, or Transmission from one interface.
• Live download/upload speeds, progress, ratio, tracker host, and status messages for each torrent.
• Create torrents.
• Responsive UI: remote operations run in the background to avoid freezing.
• Quick filters (All, Downloading, Complete, Active) plus a tracker tree in the sidebar.
• Keyboard workflow + tray support that plays nicely with NVDA and other screen readers.

Download & run (portable)

1. Download the latest ZIP from https://github.com/serrebi/SerrebiTorrent/releases
2. Extract the entire SerrebiTorrent folder somewhere (example: C:\Portable\SerrebiTorrent\).
3. Run SerrebiTorrent.exe (do not move the EXE out of its folder).

Portable data (profiles, preferences, resume data, logs) lives next to the app in SerrebiTorrent_Data\.

First-time setup

• Open Connection Manager: Ctrl+Shift+C (or tray icon → Switch Profile → Connection Manager...)
• Add a profile and connect:
  • Local: manages torrents via libtorrent on this PC (default profile on first run).
  • Remote: point at qBittorrent / Transmission / rTorrent and enter credentials if needed.

Settings

• Local session + app settings: Tools → Local Session Settings… (Ctrl+,) (or tray icon → Settings → Local Session Settings…)
• Remote client settings (enabled only when connected): Tools → qBittorrent/Transmission/rTorrent Remote Settings… (or tray icon → Settings → …)

Auto-updater (Windows)

The app checks GitHub Releases for updates. You can enable/disable the startup check in Local Session Settings, or run Tools → Check for Updates.

Update flow:

• Downloads the release ZIP from GitHub using the update manifest asset (SerrebiTorrent-update.json).
• Verifies the ZIP SHA-256 from the manifest.
• Verifies Authenticode signature on the new SerrebiTorrent.exe.
• Uses a helper script to swap folders safely, keep a backup, and restart the app.

If an update fails, check the updater log in %TEMP%\SerrebiTorrent_update_*.log.

Release pipeline (automated)

Prereqs:

• Python 3.14 + dependencies from requirements.txt
• Git + GitHub CLI (gh auth login completed)
• Code signing cert installed
• SignTool available (default path used, or set SIGNTOOL_PATH)

Commands:

• build_exe.bat build builds, signs, and zips locally.
• build_exe.bat release auto-bumps version, builds, signs, zips, tags, pushes, creates the GitHub release, and uploads the update manifest.
• build_exe.bat dry-run shows what it would do without modifying anything.

Versioning uses the latest vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH tag as the base. If none exists, it starts at v1.0.0. Commits with BREAKING CHANGE or !: bump major; commits starting with feat (or containing feature) bump minor; otherwise it bumps patch.

Build from source (developers)

Commands:

• git clone https://github.com/serrebi/SerrebiTorrent
• python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
• build_exe.bat build

Build output lands in dist\SerrebiTorrent\. For distribution, zip the entire SerrebiTorrent folder (not just the EXE).

Accessibility & shortcuts

Everything stays reachable by keyboard:

• Ctrl+Shift+C: Connection Manager
• Ctrl+O / Ctrl+U: Add torrent file / Add URL or magnet
• Ctrl+S / Ctrl+P: Start / Stop selected torrents
• Delete / Shift+Delete: Remove / Remove with data
• Ctrl+A: Select all
• Tab: Toggle focus between the sidebar and torrent list; double-clicking the tray icon restores the window.
• Ctrl+N: Create a torrent

Need to troubleshoot? Logs live under SerrebiTorrent_Data\logs next to the EXE/script in portable mode (or per-user app data in installed mode). Open AGENTS.md if you need technical or build details.

Auto-update

SerrebiTorrent includes automatic update functionality:

Update Process

1. App checks GitHub releases for newer versions (manual via Tools menu or automatic on startup if enabled)
2. Downloads update ZIP and verifies SHA-256 checksum and Authenticode signature
3. Launches hidden helper script that:
   • Waits for app to exit
   • Backs up current installation to <install_dir>_backup_<timestamp>
   • Applies update by moving new files to install directory
   • Restarts the app
4. Backup cleanup runs automatically:
   • Default: Keeps 1 backup (newest) and deletes it after 5-minute grace period
   • Immediate: Set SERREBITORRENT_KEEP_BACKUPS=0 to delete backup immediately after successful update
   • Multiple: Set SERREBITORRENT_KEEP_BACKUPS=N to keep N most recent backups

Configuration

• Backup Retention: Set environment variable SERREBITORRENT_KEEP_BACKUPS to control how many backup folders to keep (default: 1)
• Signing Trust: Set SERREBITORRENT_TRUSTED_SIGNING_THUMBPRINTS to comma-separated list of trusted certificate thumbprints

Notes

• The update process runs completely hidden (no CMD windows appear)
• User data in SerrebiTorrent_Data is preserved during updates
• If an update fails, the backup is automatically restored
• Backups are cleaned up automatically after a grace period to allow manual rollback if needed

Test plan (manual)

• Build a release with build_exe.bat release and extract the ZIP to a folder like C:\Temp\SerrebiTorrent-old.
• Create a newer release (make a small commit, then run build_exe.bat release again).
• Launch the older app, run Tools -> Check for Updates, accept the prompt, and confirm:
  • The app closes and restarts on the new version
  • No CMD/console windows appear during the update
  • After 5 minutes, backup folders are automatically cleaned up (or immediately if SERREBITORRENT_KEEP_BACKUPS=0)
  • The status bar reports update status or errors clearly