A new version of the open-source Transmission BitTorrent client, 4.1.0, has been released, featuring various enhancements and user interface improvements across its GTK, Qt, and WebUI builds. The development team expressed their excitement over this completion, stating, "We’ve been working on this release for over a year now."
Key updates in Transmission 4.1.0 include:
- IPv6 support, which incorporates local peer discovery and dual-stack UDP trackers.
- CLI support for sequential downloading, enabling users to download files in order, enhancing the experience when streaming videos.
- Improved performance with the µTP (Micro Transport Protocol), coupled with reduced CPU and RAM usage due to optimizations in
libtransmission.
User experience has also been enhanced in the new version. The Qt client now adopts native system icons for menus and toolbars based on the user’s operating system, with MacOS users seeing SF Symbol icons, Windows users accessing Segoe glyphs, and Linux users utilizing XDG standard icons. Furthermore, the GTK client has implemented native file chooser dialogs and improved accessibility features for screen readers.
Notable additional features include:
- A JSON-RPC 2.0-compliant RPC API for developers.
- Torrent verification once downloads complete.
- Reduced latency when sending messages to peers.
- Proxy support for web connections.
- Improved dark mode compatibility on macOS.
- Drag-and-drop functionality for adding torrents in the WebUI.
To implement sequential downloading in the CLI version of Transmission 4.1.0, users need to include the -seq or --sequential-download command when launching the application.
Transmission is typically preinstalled in Ubuntu if the extended selection is chosen during installation; however, an older version is included by default. You can download Transmission 4.1.0 from the official website, which offers installers for major operating systems and the raw source code.
For those who prefer package management, an unofficial Transmission snap is available on the Snap Store, albeit currently at a previous version, with the latest build expected to be pushed to the stable channel soon. There is also an unverified Transmission listing on Flathub that users can keep an eye on.
This update marks a significant step forward for Transmission, providing users with enhanced performance and usability.