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ruTorrent Ratio Groups

Introduction

Ratio groups are an advanced feature in rTorrent and& ruTorrent that give you precise control over seeding rules and conditions for your torrents. With detailed ratio groups configurations, you can automatically manage seeding and uploading behavior across your entire torrent library.

Features

  • Set actions like stopping seeding, moving torrents between trackers, or labeling torrents when certain seeding goals are reached.
  • Eliminates the need for manual oversight and intervention as your library grows.

Ratio Group Conditions

Each ratio group contains a set of conditions that must be met for the configured action to trigger:

  • Minimum Upload Percentage - The minimum percentage of the torrent that must be uploaded before the action occurs. This is calculated as a percentage of the total torrent size.

  • Maximum Upload Percentage - The maximum percentage of the torrent that can be uploaded before the action occurs. This serves as an upper limit on the ratio.

  • Minimum Upload Size - The minimum number of MB or GB that must be uploaded before the action occurs. Useful for controlling absolute upload amounts.

  • Maximum Seed Time - The maximum time in hours for seeding before the action occurs. Allows limiting seeding time regardless of ratio.

Understanding How Ratio Group Conditions Work

  • The minimum percentage and minimum upload size work in conjunction - both conditions must be satisfied for the action to occur. This allows requiring both a minimum ratio and a minimum absolute upload at the same time.

  • The maximum percentage and maximum seed time work independently - if either condition is reached, the action will happen regardless of other conditions. This allows setting hard limits on ratio and time.

Here is a table showing examples of how the conditions interplay to trigger the action:

Min % Max % Min UL Max Time Action? Reasoning
Yes No Yes No Yes Min conditions met
No Yes No No Yes Max condition met
No No Yes No No Need both min conditions
Yes No No Yes No Need both min conditions
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes All conditions met

As shown, the action occurs when:

  • Both Min % and Min UL are met
  • Either Max % or Max Time occur

So you have full flexibility to combine conditions or isolate certain rules.

Common Ratio Group Configurations

Here are some useful ratio group configurations you may want to employ:

Simple Ratio Stopping

Scenario: Stop seeding when a torrent reaches a specified ratio.

Example:

  • Min Ratio: 200%
  • Max Ratio: 200%
  • Min Upload: 0
  • Max Time: -1
  • Action: Stop

This will stop all torrents when they reach 2.0 ratio.

Time Limited Seeding

Scenario: Stop seeding after a certain amount of time, regardless of ratio.

Example:

  • Min Ratio: 1000%
  • Max Ratio: 0
  • Min Upload: 0
  • Max Time: 48 (hours)
  • Action: Stop

This will stop all torrents after 48 hours seeded, no matter the ratio.

Combined Ratio and Time Stopping

Scenario: Stop seeding based on ratio OR time, whichever comes first.

Example:

  • Min Ratio: 200%
  • Max Ratio: 0
  • Min Upload: 0
  • Max Time: 48 (hours)
  • Action: Stop

This stops at 2.0 ratio or 48 hours, whichever happens first.

Fixed Upload Amount Stopping

Scenario: Stop seeding after uploading a fixed amount of data.

Example:

  • Min Ratio: 1000%
  • Max Ratio: 0
  • Min Upload: 10 (GB)
  • Max Time: -1
  • Action: Stop

This stops all torrents after 10GB uploaded, regardless of ratio.

Stop Unseeded Torrents

Scenario: Stop torrents that don't reach set ratio after a certain time period.

Example:

  • Min Ratio: 150%
  • Max Ratio: 0
  • Min Upload: 0
  • Max Time: 168 (hours)
  • Action: Stop

Stops torrents unseeded after 1 week.

Additional Points and Tips

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind when working with ratio groups:

  • Check rules often as library grows - A rule that works for 10 torrents may need tweaking for 100 or 1000 torrents. Reevaluate regularly.

  • Beware of overlapping conditions - Having multiple broad rules may lead to unintended consequences. Check for conflicts.

  • Test heavily before deploying - Create a test label and test ratio groups before unleashing them on your whole library.

  • Start simple - Get basic rules working before moving to intricate conditions with many trackers/labels.

The possibilities are endless for creating automated, intelligent seeding behaviors with ratio groups. Use them wisely and they will make torrent library management a breeze.