uTorrent uTP Protocol Goes Open Source
BitTorrent releases the improved protocol found in uTorrent 2.0
BitTorrent Inc. announced the move of uTP, the BitTorrent protocol behind uTorrent 2.0, into open source development. The most important improvement to uTP is the protocol's network awareness. In other words, a BitTorrent client using uTP can detect network congestion and throttle itself accordingly. Thereby removing the need for Internet Service Providers to throttle user bandwidth.
uTP's throttling capabilities have not been acknowledged by major ISPs, as they continue to detect torrent activity and throttle user bandwidth.
As expected, the network awareness feature has drawn ire from users who want the most seeds and the fastest download speed, but developers haven't been happy with the feature either. uTP comes with more overhead compared to the previous client and other minor bugs have been reported.
BitTorrent Inc.'s decision to open source uTP is a solution to the above complaints.
"uTP continues to evolve and open sourcing the code will be essential in its continued development and adoption," Jenna Broughton, BitTorrent spokesperson told TorrentFreak.
The uTP code can be found at GitHub, with all licensing and documentation in tow. uTP is written in C++ with the external interface written in C.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.
-
LMDE 7 Now Available
Linux Mint Debian Edition, version 7, has been officially released and is based on upstream Debian.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.