Install qBittorrent-nox on Ubuntu 26.04

qBittorrent-nox is an open-source BitTorrent client designed for downloading files. It is essentially the same as the standard qBittorrent application, but without the desktop graphical user interface (GUI). Instead, qBittorrent-nox is managed entirely through a web interface, making it suitable for use on headless servers and remote systems. This tutorial explains how to install qBittorrent-nox on Ubuntu 26.04.

Install qBittorrent-nox

Add the official qBittorrent repository to the system:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

Install the qBittorrent-nox:

sudo apt install -y qbittorrent-nox

After installation, verify the installed qBittorrent-nox version to confirm that the installation was successful:

qbittorrent-nox --version

Create a dedicated system user and group for running the qBittorrent-nox service. The home directory will be used to store qBittorrent configuration files and downloads:

sudo adduser --system --group --home /var/lib/qbittorrent qbittorrent

Set the correct permissions for the qBittorrent home directory:

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/lib/qbittorrent

Enable the qBittorrent-nox service to start automatically at system boot:

sudo systemctl enable qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent

Start the qBittorrent-nox service:

sudo service qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent start

Check the qBittorrent-nox service status to verify that it is running correctly:

sudo service qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent status

The following commands can be used to stop or restart the qBittorrent-nox service:

sudo service qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent stop

sudo service qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent restart

Testing qBittorrent-nox

After starting the qBittorrent-nox service, check the service logs to find the temporary Web UI administrator password generated during the first startup:

sudo journalctl -u qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent | grep 'temporary password' | tail -n1

The command will display a log entry similar to the following, which contains the temporary password:

Jul 21 06:34:48 ubuntu qbittorrent-nox[2829]: The WebUI administrator password was not set. A temporary password is provided for this session: PBNZSfyPm

Open a browser and enter URL address http://<IP_ADDRESS>:8080, where <IP_ADDRESS> is IP address of the system. Log in using the default username admin and the temporary password shown in the service logs.

Note: It is recommended to change the temporary password. Open Tools from the menu bar and select Options. Navigate to the Web UI tab. Under the Authentication section, the password can be changed.

By default, downloaded files are stored in the /var/lib/qbittorrent/Downloads directory.

Uninstall qBittorrent-nox

If decided to completely remove the qBittorrent-nox, stop the service and remove a systemd unit file:

sudo service qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent stop

sudo systemctl disable qbittorrent-nox@qbittorrent

Remove the qBittorrent-nox package and any unused dependencies from the system:

sudo apt purge --autoremove -y qbittorrent-nox

Remove the qBittorrent system user:

sudo deluser qbittorrent

Remove the qBittorrent repository configuration file:

sudo rm -rf /etc/apt/sources.list.d/qbittorrent-team-ubuntu-qbittorrent-stable-resolute.sources

Remove qBittorrent configuration files stored in the home directory of the current user:

rm -rf ~/{.cache,.config,.local/share}/qBittorrent

Note: the /var/lib/qbittorrent/Downloads directory contains downloaded files. Move any required files to another location before running the following command, as it will permanently remove the qBittorrent data directory:

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/qbittorrent