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Just download metadata from magnet links in torrent list, without starting download #6179

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opened 2026-02-21 18:15:58 -05:00 by deekerman · 10 comments

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:15:58 -05:00

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Originally created by @Zcehtro on GitHub (Oct 17, 2017).

A feature I would like to request is to download just the torrent metadata without starting to download a torrent's content.
This could be very useful for torrents with large amounts of data, or a very large file listing, and you don't want to start downloading the data just yet; and you've already had it in the torrent list for some time.

This could be in two places where I think it would be useful:

In the torrent add dialog where the metadata is loading automatically (if the origin is a magnet link):
There could be an additional button at the buttom that would say something like "Finish retrieving metadata and add paused"
In the context menu of the main window's torrent list:
For any torrent that is paused and is just the magnet link with no additional data, an option to download the metadata and leave it paused would be very useful.

This would be very useful for stored torrents.

Originally created by @Zcehtro on GitHub (Oct 17, 2017). A feature I would like to request is to download just the torrent metadata without starting to download a torrent's content. This could be very useful for torrents with large amounts of data, or a very large file listing, and you don't want to start downloading the data just yet; and you've already had it in the torrent list for some time. This could be in two places where I think it would be useful: 1. In the torrent add dialog where the metadata is loading automatically (if the origin is a magnet link): There could be an additional button at the buttom that would say something like "Finish retrieving metadata and add paused" 2. In the context menu of the main window's torrent list: For any torrent that is paused and is just the magnet link with no additional data, an option to download the metadata and leave it paused would be very useful. This would be very useful for stored torrents.

deekerman

2026-02-21 18:15:58 -05:00

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deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:02 -05:00

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@ghost commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017):

What does it do if you uncheck "Start Torrent"

@ghost commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017): What does it do if you uncheck "Start Torrent"

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@Zcehtro commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017):

It will not start the torrent after adding it to the list.
The case I present is if the user adds it immediately before the program has time to download the data, or if there are no peers to download from ATM.

The main point is it will add the magnet link with the hash info to the torrent list, but not download the torrent data such as trackers list, file list, embedded comment, etc.

Also, as far as I've noticed, leaving just the magnet link in the torrent list will not set a fixed "Added Date". ie After every program start the not-downloaded torrent will go back up to the top of the torrent list as if it were just newly added. Happened to me with magnet links I kept for a couple weeks.

@Zcehtro commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017): It will not start the torrent after adding it to the list. The case I present is if the user adds it immediately before the program has time to download the data, or if there are no peers to download from ATM. The main point is it will add the magnet link with the hash info to the torrent list, but not download the torrent data such as trackers list, file list, embedded comment, etc. Also, as far as I've noticed, leaving just the magnet link in the torrent list will not set a fixed "Added Date". ie After every program start the not-downloaded torrent will go back up to the top of the torrent list as if it were just newly added. Happened to me with magnet links I kept for a couple weeks.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@eadmaster commented on GitHub (Dec 28, 2017):

This was implemented in the latest v4.0.3:
click "File->Add torrent links" , paste the link, click Download and wait for metadata retrival.

@eadmaster commented on GitHub (Dec 28, 2017): This was implemented in the latest v4.0.3: click "File->Add torrent links" , paste the link, click Download and wait for metadata retrival.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@Zcehtro commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2018):

@eadmaster No, nothing new was implemented.
Metadata retrieval is a normal step of the whole torrent downloading process.

I'll explain it again, this time with a screenshot:

This is a magnet link, it is in the download list.
There is no torrent downloaded, there is no metadata downloaded.
It is currently paused because I am adding many magnet links to the download list.
I do not want to download the torrents' contents now, if there were many.
But I would like to download the torrent files, just the metadata, without having to manually pause/stop each one once the metadata finished downloading.
My request would be to have a command per se "File -> Retrieve metadata from magnet link(s)".

@Zcehtro commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2018): @eadmaster No, nothing new was implemented. Metadata retrieval is a normal step of the whole torrent downloading process. I'll explain it again, this time with a screenshot: ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/10564090/34994616-e2f0eb04-fab2-11e7-9cdb-23df0ea13c59.png) This is a magnet link, it is in the download list. There is no torrent downloaded, there is no metadata downloaded. It is currently paused because I am adding many magnet links to the download list. I do not want to download the torrents' contents now, if there were many. But I would like to download the torrent files, just the metadata, without having to manually pause/stop each one once the metadata finished downloading. My request would be to have a command per se "File -> Retrieve metadata from magnet link(s)".

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@Dekker500 commented on GitHub (Oct 2, 2018):

I'll add my vote for this request as well. Sometimes, I'll add a stack of magnets but I cannot wait for the metadata fetch to finish (for instance because I need to shutdown "now"). When I next start qBitTorrent, it'll have that list of torrents but without metadata. "Starting" all of them is an option, however it would then pre-create all the files, and I'd like to avoid that.

I just want to select the torrents, and force download JUST the metadata, so I can manually review the sizes, and review the contents to see if they are actually what I want.

Just giving my take on this!

Oh, and @eadmaster, for fun I tried to re-add the magnet link for a torrent that was missing metadata, and it simply said it already existed and merged the trackers - but never downloaded the metadata. I don't want to "delete" all the torrents and re-add them. Seems like there should be the capability to force metadata only retrieval.

@Dekker500 commented on GitHub (Oct 2, 2018): I'll add my vote for this request as well. Sometimes, I'll add a stack of magnets but I cannot wait for the metadata fetch to finish (for instance because I need to shutdown "now"). When I next start qBitTorrent, it'll have that list of torrents but without metadata. "Starting" all of them is an option, however it would then pre-create all the files, and I'd like to avoid that. I just want to select the torrents, and force download JUST the metadata, so I can manually review the sizes, and review the contents to see if they are actually what I want. Just giving my take on this! Oh, and @eadmaster, for fun I tried to re-add the magnet link for a torrent that was missing metadata, and it simply said it already existed and merged the trackers - but never downloaded the metadata. I don't want to "delete" all the torrents and re-add them. Seems like there should be the capability to force metadata only retrieval.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@Unknow0059 commented on GitHub (May 5, 2019):

As a temporary workaround, select all affected torrents, Force download.
Wait for the metadata to be retrieved and pause all.

@Unknow0059 commented on GitHub (May 5, 2019): As a temporary workaround, select all affected torrents, Force download. Wait for the metadata to be retrieved and pause all.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@Mounter81 commented on GitHub (Jul 11, 2020):

A BIG +1 for this feature request. Specially because with the WebUI in the case of adding a magnet link, there isn't even the usual pop-up window that downloads the metadata and displays the files to select/deselect them before we add the torrent to the list, like it is "normally" in "desktop mode". So this is even a bigger issue when using the webUI regularly. Either one or the other way, please make it work somehow, thanks!

@Mounter81 commented on GitHub (Jul 11, 2020): A BIG +1 for this feature request. Specially because with the WebUI in the case of adding a magnet link, there isn't even the usual pop-up window that downloads the metadata and displays the files to select/deselect them before we add the torrent to the list, like it is "normally" in "desktop mode". So this is even a bigger issue when using the webUI regularly. Either one or the other way, please make it work somehow, thanks!

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@thalieht commented on GitHub (Mar 9, 2022):

Duplicate of #929

@thalieht commented on GitHub (Mar 9, 2022): Duplicate of #929

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@ackvf commented on GitHub (Nov 16, 2024):

Yeah guys, I really want to download just part of a large torrent, or many torrents, but I not always catch it after the metadata is loaded and it have already reserved tens of gigabytes of space on the hard drive, or simply just created files that I don't want.

Downloading just the metadata and then pausing automatically is something I really used a lot in uTorreent and others.

@ackvf commented on GitHub (Nov 16, 2024): Yeah guys, I really want to download just part of a large torrent, or many torrents, but I not always catch it after the metadata is loaded and it have already reserved tens of gigabytes of space on the hard drive, or simply just created files that I don't want. Downloading just the metadata and then pausing automatically is something I really used a lot in uTorreent and others.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 18:16:03 -05:00

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@zybexXL commented on GitHub (Nov 29, 2024):

+1
There's already an option in settings for "Torrent Stop Condition = Metadata Received". It would be nice to be able to set this on an individual magnet already on the download list.

@zybexXL commented on GitHub (Nov 29, 2024): +1 There's already an option in settings for "Torrent Stop Condition = Metadata Received". It would be nice to be able to set this on an individual magnet already on the download list.