Torrent magnet links open new window but not transmission

google-chrome transmission torrent-client

59,754

Solution 1

If you want to use torrent to transmission, you have to allow remote access in transmission under preferences/remote.

If you want to open magnet links in transmission by clicking on them, you need to patch the /usr/bin/xdg-open script, here's mine for reference. The added lines are 311 and 490-493.

Solution 2

You can change the default handler for magnet links by editing the file .local/share/applications/mimeapps.list. Add the association to the two sections in the file like this (leaving other entries in those sections intact):

[Default Applications]
x-scheme-handler/magnet=transmission-gtk.desktop

[Added Associations]
x-scheme-handler/magnet=transmission-gtk.desktop

Log out and log back in for the change to take effect.

Solution 3

If you have installed transmission-gtk then the solution is easy.

gconftool-2 -s /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/magnet/command '/usr/bin/transmission-gtk %s' --type String
gconftool-2 -s /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/magnet/enabled --type Boolean true

The first one adds transmission-gtk as handler for magnet:// links the second enable it.

Since chrome/ium uses xdg-open this is the best method for setting the handlers. You can replace /usr/bin/transmission-gtk for any client you like. This works for almost all flavors of Ubuntu.

You can test this issuing in the terminal xdg-open "magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f41989f9797a88505f9e258d5e5d1354c3731a99" (downloads Ubuntu 13.04 64-bit)

Quinn Culver

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Quinn Culver almost 2 years

I've installed Ubuntu and Lubuntu a few times now and some of those times I've had the following problem, which I currently have. When I click a torrent magnet link in Chrome (usually from Pirate bay), instead of opening transmission, the only thing that happens is a new Chrome window opens.

Upon other installations, I've not had this problem; transmission opened just as I'd like.

I've tried using Chrome's extension .torrent to Transmission, but I get the error

unable to contact http ://localhost:9091/transmission/rpc

no response
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  Note: I'm using Lubuntu 13.04.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  Note: Firefox correctly handles magnet links.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  @BiggJJ I tried following Chan-Ho Suh's solution there, but to no avail.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  What version of Google chrome are you running? I use Google Chrome 28.0.1500.71 and it correctly handles magnet links withot to do nothing.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  You are trying to open a magnet:// link, or downloading a proper .torrent file?
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  @Braiam A magnet.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  just press right click in magnet link and copy it after that go to transsmion program and but it on it
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  @Mahmoud20070 That works, thanks. But it's still sub-optimal since I'd prefer to just be able to click in Chrome and have Transmission opened automatically with the torrent.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  Can you post cat /usr/share/app-install/desktop/chrome.desktop | grep MimeType and cat /usr/share/application/chrome.desktop | grep MimeType?
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  cat: /usr/share/app-install/desktop/chrome.desktop: No such file or directory and cat: /usr/share/application/chrome.desktop: No such file or directory
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  Ok, lets try to start clean, uninstall all transmission packages apt-get purge transmission* and install just transmission-gtk. I've tested again and I just don't see where things went wire.
- Admin almost 11 years
  
  @Braiam I re-installed transmission (per your suggestion) but am still having the same problem.
- Admin about 9 years
  
  This happened to me (on Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS) when Chromium was set as my default browser. If Firefox was set as my default browser, then Chromium instead started up a new empty tab in Firefox.
j0h almost 11 years

omgchrome.com/install-google-chrome-in-ubuntu-13-10 This claims there is a dependency issues.
j0h almost 11 years

askubuntu.com/questions/108925/…
Quinn Culver almost 11 years

I tried this but I hasn't seemed to work. Still chrome just opens a new browser (or a new tab separate from the others; however you wanna put it).
Braiam almost 11 years

There's no transmission.desktop in transmission's source file. Check if you meant transmission-gtk.desktop.
Quinn Culver almost 11 years

This doesn't seem to have worked. Still, even when I try your test from the terminal (to download Ubuntu), it opens a new Chrome window.
Quinn Culver almost 11 years

I tried this. It didn't seem to work.
Quinn Culver almost 11 years

@Braiam Yes, I tried with and without the -gtk.
Braiam almost 11 years

@QuinnCulver What's the output of gconftool-2 -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/magnet/command?
Braiam almost 11 years

@QuinnCulver and gconftool-2 -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/magnet/enabled? Try logging out to force the values to be updated.
Quinn Culver almost 11 years

The output is: true. I'd rebooted last time I tried your suggested commands. I'll try again; this time I'll only log out.
Braiam almost 11 years

@QuinnCulver I updated my responce with yet another solution.
Akisame over 10 years

You actually have to add the bittorrent entry to the xdg-open list to make this work with chrome as far as I know. Also bittorrent is a name for the system so almost all bittorrent clients have the word bittorrent in it's name.
zrajm about 9 years

That was not exactly the solution I was looking for (I don't like having to patch my OS stuff, even if it's just a silly wrapper script). But it worked perfectly. (I'm on Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS with Chromium set as my default browser.)
Umar about 9 years

can i copy and repaste the whole thing again on lubuntu 14.04 lts.
tpv about 9 years

@john : I'm on 14.04 too, using the same script, it should work :) (but please make a backup just in case)
Gabriel Felvinczi over 8 years

the gist link is a 404
tpv over 8 years

@m0sa : should be fixed now