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What is XBNBT?

XBNBT is a modified BitTorrent tracker: server software that coordinates peers in a torrent swarm, telling clients who else to connect to. It is built on BNBT, a C++ port of the original Python BitTorrent tracker, and also incorporates code and features from The Trinity EasyTracker and CBTT.

What that means in practice

A tracker does not host the files being shared. It keeps track of which peers are announcing themselves for a given torrent and returns peer lists to those clients. XBNBT is therefore aimed at someone running a private or semi-private tracker, a community hub, or an internal distribution service rather than at someone who just wants to download torrents.

Who it suits

• Administrators who want a lightweight C++ tracker they can compile and run on their own hardware.
• Sites migrating from BNBT, CBTT, or Trinity EasyTracker, since XBNBT is compatible with those and supports custom announce and scrape endpoints to ease migration.
• Communities already using forum or CMS software with MySQL user tables, because XBNBT offers generic MySQL user integration for platforms such as IPB, vBulletin 3, phpBB and PHPNuke.

Trade-offs to weigh

XBNBT stores data either in flat files or in MySQL, so you can start simple and move to a database as load grows. It ships with a web interface, administrative and statistics options, search and filtering, RSS 2.0 feeds, and a dynamic image statistics engine that produces forum-friendly PNG, JPG or GIF graphics. It is multi-language, HTML 4.01 Strict and CSS-1 compliant, and the project states it has been tested with 100,000 peers on Linux.

The notable limitation is explicit: XBNBT does not support a user ratio system. If your tracker depends on enforcing upload/download ratios, this is not the tool for that. It is also older software distributed under the LGPL, so expect to build from source and to check that it compiles and runs on your current platform before committing.

Next step

If you are evaluating it, download the source, build it on a test machine, and run a small swarm first. Confirm two things early: that your database or flat-file setup matches how you want to manage users, and that the absence of ratio enforcement is acceptable for your community.

How do I install and configure XBNBT on Linux?

XBNBT is a C++ BitTorrent tracker that runs on Linux from source. The project ships C++ source code with Makefiles and also provides Dev-C++ and Microsoft Visual C++ project solutions, so on Linux you build it with the Makefile rather than the Windows project files. It is a modified tracker based on BNBT, The Trinity EasyTracker and CBTT, and it is covered by the GNU LGPL.

Build and install

1. Download the XBNBT source archive from the project's downloads page, or check out the XBNBT CVS tree if you want the current code rather than a release snapshot.
2. Unpack it and read the bundled documentation (the XBNBT Wiki, XBNBT Documentation and BNBT Documentation links) before changing anything. The configuration format inherits from BNBT, so the BNBT docs are the reference for most settings.
3. Build with the supplied Makefile. You need a C++ compiler and make; if you plan to use MySQL storage, install the MySQL client development headers first, because XBNBT supports either flat-file or MySQL database operation.
4. Start the tracker from the command line. XBNBT includes command line facilities for both DOS and Linux shell use, so you can run it in the foreground to watch startup errors, then move it to a service or screen/tmux session once it starts cleanly.

Configure the basics

• Choose storage mode: flat-file is simplest for a single small tracker; MySQL is the option when you want the generic MySQL user integration with IPB, IPB2, vBulletin 3, phpBB or PHPNuke, or when you need to share peer data with an existing site database.
• Set the announce URL and the announce-list address that get written into downloaded torrent files. XBNBT can modify both, which is what makes migration from another tracker practical.
• Configure the web-based interface. Administrative, statistics and control options, extra CSS controls, filter and search facilities, and RSS 2.0 output are all managed there.
• Turn on the announce key parameter and client identification if you want per-client tracking and stricter announce validation. Additional authentication controls are also available.
• If you run a multi-tracker setup, XBNBT supports the BNBT Tracker Links V1.0 hub-leaf feature plus an additional hub-hub link feature.

Two things to plan for

XBNBT does not support a user ratio system. If your community depends on ratio enforcement, you will need to handle that outside the tracker or pick different software. Second, the project claims testing with 100,000 peers on Linux, so scale is plausible, but that figure describes a tested configuration, not a guarantee for your hardware.

A sensible first step: build it once with flat-file storage, start it, and confirm that a test torrent announces successfully before you migrate an existing tracker's users or database across.

What are the key differences between XBNBT and the original BNBT tracker?

XBNBT is a modified build of BNBT, not a replacement for it. The original BNBT is a C++ port of the Python BitTorrent tracker, valued for speed and simplicity. XBNBT keeps that foundation but layers on compatibility with other tracker codebases, extra administration and statistics tools, and broader database and integration options.

What XBNBT adds over stock BNBT

• Compatibility with other trackers: XBNBT is described as BNBT-compatible, CBTT-compatible, and Trinity EasyTracker-compatible, and it includes features from jTracker. That matters if you are migrating from one of those systems or running a mixed setup.
• Database and storage choice: It supports flat-file or MySQL operation. Stock BNBT is typically run as a flat-file tracker; the MySQL route in XBNBT is what enables the user integration below.
• User database integration: It offers generic MySQL user integration with IPB, IPB2, vBulletin 3, phpBB, and PHPNuke, among others. This is a practical difference if you want tracker accounts tied to an existing forum.
• Tracker linking: It supports the BNBT Tracker Links V1.0 hub-leaf feature plus an additional hub-hub link feature, which is useful for multi-tracker or distributed setups.
• Administration and presentation: Additional administrative, statistics, and control options; filter and search facilities; improved navigation; extra CSS controls; RSS 2.0 feed with validation; and a dynamic PNG/JPG/GIF statistics engine for forum-friendly postings.
• Migration and client handling: Custom announce and scrape support to assist migration from other trackers, client identification, announce key parameter support, and controls for TCP window size and Nagle's Algorithm.
• Portability and standards: OS-portable C++ source with Makefiles and Dev-C++/Visual C++ project solutions; HTML 4.01 Strict, CSS-1, and WCAG 1.0 compliance with validation links; multi-language support with a built-in editor.
• Scale: Tested with 100,000 peers on Linux.

The trade-off to weigh first

XBNBT explicitly does not support a user ratio system. If ratio enforcement, hit-and-run tracking, or per-user upload/download accounting is central to your community, XBNBT is the wrong branch regardless of its other features. The original BNBT has the same limitation, so this is not a regression — but XBNBT's forum integrations can create the expectation that ratio tracking exists when it does not.

A concrete scenario

Suppose you run a phpBB or vBulletin forum and want a lightweight tracker whose accounts match your forum users, with a stats image you can drop into forum signatures. XBNBT's MySQL integration and dynamic image engine fit that directly. If instead you need private-tracker ratio rules, look at a tracker designed around them rather than either BNBT variant.

Next step

Read the XBNBT Wiki and documentation linked from XBNBT Home Page, then compare against the upstream BNBT documentation to see exactly which features are inherited versus added. If you are migrating from CBTT or EasyTracker, check the custom announce and scrape support first, since that is the feature most likely to determine whether your existing peers and torrents keep working.

How can I migrate from another BitTorrent tracker to XBNBT?

XBNBT's own feature list directly targets tracker migration: it supports custom announce and scrape URLs and can modify the announce and announce-list addresses inside already-downloaded torrent files. That means you can keep existing torrents working after switching trackers instead of asking every uploader to re-create them.

A practical migration path

1. Check compatibility first. XBNBT is built on BNBT and states compatibility with CBTT and Trinity EasyTracker, and it includes features from jTracker. If you are moving from one of those, expect the least friction; from an unrelated tracker, plan on more manual mapping of user data and stats.
2. Decide on storage. XBNBT supports flat-file or MySQL operation. MySQL is the more natural choice if you already run a forum or CMS database, because XBNBT lists generic MySQL user integration for IPB, IPB2, vBulletin 3, phpBB and PHPNuke. Flat-file is simpler for a small private tracker with no existing database.
3. Point old announce URLs at the new tracker. Use the custom announce and scrape support, then rewrite the announce and announce-list addresses in the torrent files you distribute. This is the step that prevents a mass re-download of .torrent files.
4. Preserve client behaviour. XBNBT supports the announce "key" parameter and client identification, which helps with passkey-style setups and with telling clients apart in logs. It also allows custom TCP window size and control of Nagle's Algorithm, which matters mainly for high-peer-count hosts.
5. Plan your admin workflow. XBNBT adds administrative, statistics and control options, filter and search facilities, a web interface, XML 1.2 dumps, an RSS 2.0 feed, and a dynamic PNG/JPG/GIF statistics engine for forum-friendly signatures. The XML dump is the useful one for importing or auditing data during a move.

One trade-off to weigh before you start

XBNBT explicitly does not support a user ratio system. If your current tracker enforces ratios and your community depends on that, migration means either accepting a ratio-free model or adding that logic yourself. This is the single biggest reason to pause and decide before committing.

Who this suits

XBNBT fits an administrator comfortable with C++ source, Makefiles and either Dev-C++ or Visual C++ project solutions, running on Linux or Windows, who wants a lightweight, customizable tracker and does not need ratio enforcement. It reports testing with 100,000 peers on Linux, so scale is not the obvious limiting factor. If you need ratio tracking or a packaged installer, look at other tracker software instead.

A concrete scenario

Suppose you run a small private tracker on Trinity EasyTracker with a phpBB forum. You export your user table, install XBNBT with MySQL and its phpBB integration, import the users, set the announce and scrape URLs to match your old ones, then batch-rewrite the announce address inside your existing torrent files. Members keep their current .torrent files and simply see a new tracker. The ratio question is the one you must answer before step one.

Next step

Read the XBNBT documentation and wiki, then compare its feature list against your current tracker line by line, especially ratio handling, database choice and announce URL format. XBNBT is available at XBNBT Home Page. For background on tracker concepts, the BitTorrent FAQ it links to is a reasonable starting point, and if you are migrating from Trinity EasyTracker, its own documentation will tell you what data you can export.

Does XBNBT support a user ratio system?

No. XBNBT does not support a user ratio system. The project's own feature list states this explicitly, so if your tracker depends on per-user upload/download accounting, enforced share ratios, or ratio-based promotions and warnings, XBNBT is not the right base without adding that logic yourself.

What it does offer instead

XBNBT is a modified BitTorrent tracker built on BNBT, The Trinity EasyTracker and CBTT, so its strengths sit in tracker-side operation rather than user accounting:

• Database flexibility: flat-file or MySQL operation.
• Admin and reporting: web-based interface, extra administrative, statistics and control options, filter and search facilities, and an XML v1.2 dump.
• Presentation: RSS 2.0 feed, dynamic PNG/JPG/GIF statistics images, and extra CSS controls.
• Integration: generic MySQL user integration with IPB, IPB2, vBulletin 3, phpBB and PHPNuke-style systems.
• Portability and scale: C++ source with Makefiles and Dev-C++/Visual C++ projects, tested with 100,000 peers on Linux.

Practical scenario

Say you run a small private community tracker and want each member's ratio shown on their profile and enforced at download time. With XBNBT you would get the announce/scrape handling, client identification, announce key parameter and user-integration hooks, but you would need to build the accounting, storage and enforcement layer yourself — or pair the tracker with separate ratio-tracking tooling.

How to decide

If a ratio system is a hard requirement, treat XBNBT as a tracker to extend rather than a complete solution. A useful next step is to read the project documentation and wiki linked from XBNBT Home Page to see how announces, authentication and MySQL user integration are wired, then judge how much custom accounting work you would need to add.

How do I enable MySQL database support in XBNBT?

XBNBT runs on either flat files or MySQL; MySQL is the option you want when a single-file peer store starts to strain or when you need to share user data with a forum. The home page confirms both modes exist and lists "Generic MySQL Users integration (IPB, IPB2, vBulletin 3, phpBB, PHPNuke, etc.)", but it does not publish the exact configuration steps — those live in the project's own documentation.

Where the answer actually is

The page points to a documentation set rather than inline instructions. Work through these in order:

• XBNBT Wiki and XBNBT Documentation — the modified tracker's own setup notes.
• BNBT Documentation — the upstream tracker XBNBT is built on; the database schema and config conventions come from here.
• CBTT and EasyTracker Documentation — relevant because XBNBT merges features from both.

Start at the XBNBT Wiki, then fall back to the BNBT docs for anything the wiki does not cover.

What to expect in the configuration

XBNBT is a C++ tracker with a web-based interface, so enabling MySQL is normally a config-file change plus a schema import, not a click-through installer:

1. Create a MySQL database and a user with rights on it.
2. Import the tracker's table schema from the source distribution.
3. Point the tracker config at the database host, name, user and password, and switch the storage mode from flat-file to MySQL.
4. Restart the tracker and confirm the web interface loads statistics from the database rather than a file.

If you also want forum accounts to work as tracker accounts, configure the "Generic MySQL Users" integration for your specific forum (IPB, vBulletin 3, phpBB, PHPNuke and others are named), which means mapping your forum's user table to the tracker's expectations.

Practical notes

• The page states XBNBT "Does NOT support a user ratio system", so MySQL here is about storage and account integration, not ratio enforcement.
• It is reported as "Tested with 100000 peers on Linux" — a large peer count is precisely the case where MySQL beats flat files, since concurrent writes to one file become the bottleneck.
• Distribution is C++ source with Makefiles and Dev-C++ / Visual C++ project solutions, so you will be building it yourself; LGPL terms apply.

Next step: open the XBNBT Wiki first and follow its MySQL section end to end. If a step is missing there, the BNBT documentation will usually supply the schema and config key names, since XBNBT inherits its database layer from BNBT.