Browser Integration

transtui can add a torrent and immediately open its normal TUI so you see it land in the list - handy for registering it as the target when you click a magnet link or open a downloaded .torrent file.

--add mode

transtui --add "magnet:?xt=urn:btih:..."
transtui --add /path/to/file.torrent
transtui --add "file:///path/to/file.torrent"   # file:// URIs are supported too

Adds the torrent to the daemon (using the usual host/port/user/pass configuration from config.ini, optionally overridden with -H/-P/-u/-p, see Configuration), then opens the regular ncurses UI with the result ("Torrent added: ..." or "Could not add torrent: ...") shown in the status bar.

file:// URIs are decoded (percent-decoding, e.g. %20 → space) before the file is read, since desktop environments often send a file:// URI rather than a plain path when invoking an "open with" handler.

Only one transtui instance runs at a time (enforced via a per-user lock file). Clicking a second magnet link while transtui is already open adds the torrent to the daemon and exits immediately instead of opening a second UI - the running instance picks it up on its next poll. Launching plain transtui (no --add) while one is already running just prints transtui: already running and exits.

Registering as the default handler

make install runs this automatically as long as it's not run as root:

make install PREFIX=$HOME/.local   # binary + desktop/magnet registration, no sudo needed

sudo make install (system-wide binary install) skips it, since it would otherwise register the magnet handler under root's $HOME instead of yours. Run it yourself afterward, as your normal user:

make install-desktop   # installs desktop/transtui-add.desktop and runs xdg-mime

make install-desktop:

1. Installs desktop/transtui-add.desktop

   (Exec=transtui --add %u, Terminal=true) to ~/.local/share/applications/.

2. Runs update-desktop-database.
3. Runs xdg-mime default transtui-add.desktop x-scheme-handler/magnet

   and the same for application/x-bittorrent.

After that: clicking a magnet link in the browser, or "Open with" on a downloaded .torrent file in the file manager, opens a terminal window running transtui - Terminal=true is required here since ncurses needs a real TTY to draw itself, which a desktop launcher doesn't provide on its own.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing happens when you click a magnet link: check that transtui

  is on PATH (which transtui) and that xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/magnet points at transtui-add.desktop.

• "Could not add torrent" in the status bar: the same connection

  problems as in the regular TUI mode can happen here too (wrong host/port/ password) - see Daemon: setup & troubleshooting. If the daemon can't be reached at all, transtui falls back to its normal reconnect-help screen instead of showing the add result.