BitComet Installation Guide for Linux

BitComet Linux Edition is packaged using AppImage format and Docker image.

AppImage package

The AppImage package can run the application without needing superuser permissions to install it. The detailed info about AppImage format can be found at https://www.appimage.org/

Step 1: Check Linux Distro Version (optional)

Linux Distro	Supported Version
Ubuntu	18.04
Debian	12.1
Fedora	38
openSUSE	Leap 15.5 / Tumbleweed
CentOS	Stream 9
Others	GLIBCXX_3.4.22 or higher

The only requirement to run BitComet in your Linux distro is the GLIBCXX version in libstdc++.so.
BitComet cannot run if the GLIBCXX version in your Linux distro is lower than GLIBCXX_3.4.22

The version of installed GLIBCXX in your Linux distro can be find by following commands:

# find libstdc++.so.6 file
find /usr/ -name libstdc++.so.6

# get GLIBCXX version, typically using
strings /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6 | grep GLIBCXX

# or using
strings /usr/lib64/libstdc++.so.6 | grep GLIBCXX

Step 2: Download BitComet

The AppImage file of BitComet Linux edition can be downloaded from the official website.

Step 3: Make AppImage executable and run it

Using the GUI

Open your file manager and browse to the location of the AppImage
Right-click on the AppImage and click the ‘Properties’ entry
Switch to the Permissions tab and click the ‘Allow executing file as program’ checkbox
Close the dialog
Double-click on the AppImage file to run

Using the Terminal

Open a terminal
Change to the directory containing the AppImage, for example:

cd <my directory>

Make the AppImage executable:

chmod +x BitComet.AppImage

Run the AppImage:

./BitComet.AppImage

Step 4: Install missing libraries if failed to run AppImage (distro-specific)

If your Linux distro doesn't contain some necessary libraries that BitComet depends on, please try to install them manually.

Open a terminal
Change to the directory containing the AppImage, for example:

cd <my directory>

Try to run the AppImage again:

./BitComet.AppImage

Install the missing libraries based on the error message:

For Ubuntu / Debian distros

Library	commands to check installed version and install missing library
libfuse2	`apt list \| grep libfuse` `sudo apt install libfuse2`
libwebkit2gtk-4.0	`apt list \| grep libwebkit2gtk` `sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37`

Note: For Ubuntu 24.04 and above distros, the apt sources for 22.04 are required.

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu.sources
# add "jammy" to the end of line "Suites: xxx xxx xxx"
# add "jammy-security" to the end of line "Suites: xxx-security"
# save and quit
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37
# revert apt sources if necessary

For Fedora / RedHat / CentOS distros

Library	commands to check installed version and install missing library
libfuse2	`yum list fuse*` `sudo yum --enablerepo=epel install fuse-sshfs` `sudo usermod -a -G fuse $(whoami)`
libwebkit2gtk-4.0	`yum list webkit2gtk*` `sudo yum install webkit2gtk-4.0.x86_64`

For openSUSE distros

Library	commands to check installed version and install missing library
libfuse2	`zypper search -i libfuse` `sudo zypper install fuse libfuse2`
libwebkit2gtk-4.0	`zypper search -i webkit2gtk` `sudo zypper install webkit2gtk-4_0-37`

More info about errors related to something called “FUSE” can be found at this page

Deb package

Step 1: Download BitComet

the deb package of BitComet Linux edition can be downloaded from official website.

Step 2: Install deb package

Open a terminal
Change to the directory containing the deb file, for example:

cd <my directory>

Install the deb package:

sudo apt install ./BitComet-2.12.0-x86_64.deb

Step 3: Start the program

Launch the main program in GUI mode:

BitComet

Launch the main program in console mode with Web UI:

bitcometd

Note: The main program in both modes can only run one instance at a time.

Docker image (GUI mode)

List of BitComet Docker images in GUI mode: https://hub.docker.com/r/wxhere/bitcomet/tags

Deploy Method 1: using docker-compose

Step 1: Save docker-compose.yml to your local system:

services:
    sandbox:
        container_name: bitcomet
        image: wxhere/bitcomet:latest
        ulimits:
          nofile:
            soft: 65536
            hard: 65536
        volumes:
            # Store BitComet configuration files on the host.
            - /docker/appdata/BitComet:/home/sandbox/.config/BitComet:rw
            # Store downloaded files on the host.
            - ~/Downloads:/home/sandbox/Downloads:rw
        ports:
            # VNC GUI port
            - 5900:5900
            # Web GUI port
            - 6080:80
            # BitTorrent ports
            - 6082:6082
            - 6082:6082/udp
        environment:
            - VNC_PASSWORD=123456
            - HTTP_PASSWORD=123456
            - USER=sandbox
            - PASSWORD=123456

Note: Please change the username, password, and port mapping according to your own needs.

Step 2: Pull the docker image, create a container and run it:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up

Step 3: Open the webpage of BitComet GUI in your browser:

http://127.0.0.1:6080
username: sandbox
password: 123456

or connect to the VNC desktop with your VNC client:

port: 5900
username: sandbox
password: 123456

Step 4: Click the BitComet icon in desktop to launch it if closed.

Deploy Method 2: using Docker CLI

Step 1: Pull the docker image:

docker pull wxhere/bitcomet:latest

Step 2: Create a container and run it:

docker run -d \
  --name=bitcomet \
  --ulimit nofile=65536:65536 \
  -e VNC_PASSWORD=123456 \
  -e HTTP_PASSWORD=123456 \
  -e USER=sandbox \
  -e PASSWORD=123456 \
  -p 5900:5900 \
  -p 6080:80 \
  -p 6082:6082 \
  -p 6082:6082/udp \
  -v /docker/appdata/BitComet:/home/sandbox/.config/BitComet:rw \
  -v ~/Downloads:/home/sandbox/Downloads:rw \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  wxhere/bitcomet:latest

Note: Please change the username, password, and port mapping according to your own needs.

Step 3: Open the webpage of BitComet GUI in your browser:

http://127.0.0.1:6080
username: sandbox
password: 123456

or connect to the VNC desktop with your VNC client:

port: 5900
username: sandbox
password: 123456

Step 4: Click the BitComet icon in desktop to launch it if closed.

Docker image (Web UI mode)

List of BitComet Docker images in Web UI mode: https://hub.docker.com/r/wxhere/bitcomet-webui/tags

Deploy Method 1: using docker-compose

Step 1: Save docker-compose.yml to your local system:

services:
    sandbox:
        container_name: bitcomet-webui
        image: wxhere/bitcomet-webui:latest
        ulimits:
          nofile:
            soft: 65536
            hard: 65536
        volumes:
            # Store BitComet configuration files on the host.
            - /docker/appdata/BitComet:/root/.config/BitComet:rw
            # Store downloaded files on the host.
            - ~/Downloads:/root/Downloads:rw
        ports:
            # BitComet WebUI port
            - 6080:80
            # BitTorrent ports
            - 6082:6082
            - 6082:6082/udp
        environment:
            - BITCOMET_WEBUI_PORT=8080
            - BITCOMET_BT_PORT=6082
            - WEBUI_USERNAME=test
            - WEBUI_PASSWORD=test

Note: Please change the username, password, and port mapping according to your own needs.

Step 2: Pull the docker image, create a container and run it:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up

Step 3: Open the webpage of BitComet Web UI in your browser:

http://127.0.0.1:6080
username: test
password: test

Deploy Method 2: using Docker CLI

Step 1: Pull the docker image:

docker pull wxhere/bitcomet-webui:latest

Step 2: Create a container and run it:

docker run -d \
  --name=bitcomet-webui \
  --ulimit nofile=65536:65536 \
  -e BITCOMET_WEBUI_PORT=8080 \
  -e BITCOMET_BT_PORT=6082 \
  -e WEBUI_USERNAME=test \
  -e WEBUI_PASSWORD=test \
  -p 6080:80 \
  -p 6082:6082 \
  -p 6082:6082/udp \
  -v /docker/appdata/BitComet:/root/.config/BitComet:rw \
  -v ~/Downloads:/root/Downloads:rw \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  wxhere/bitcomet-webui:latest

Note: Please change the username, password, and port mapping according to your own needs.

Step 3: Open the webpage of BitComet Web UI in your browser:

http://127.0.0.1:6080
username: test
password: test