Tracker Information
What is a BitTorrent tracker?
A BitTorrent tracker is a server that helps BitTorrent clients communicate. It coordinates file transfers between users (peers) by tracking who is sharing a given torrent. The tracker does not store any files — only information about active swarm participants.
What is OpenTracker?
OpenTracker is a high-performance BitTorrent tracker software created by erdgeist. It is open-source, extremely fast, and minimalist. It can handle millions of connections with minimal resource usage.
How does the tracker work?
A BitTorrent client sends an "announce" request to the tracker with the torrent's info_hash. The tracker responds with a list of peers currently sharing or downloading the same torrent. The tracker only knows: the info_hash, the peer's IP address, and port.
The observed-hash index
Besides serving swarms, this tracker keeps an index of the info hashes it has seen, and fetches each torrent's name and file list from the swarm itself. It exists so that an abuse report naming a title can be matched to a hash, and so that a hash can be shown for what it is. Nothing is downloaded beyond the metadata; entries expire once a swarm has been quiet for a while. Members can search it.
Accounts
An account is optional — the tracker works without one. It unlocks member features according to the groups it holds, such as searching the index or registering torrents without a CAPTCHA. What is stored for an account is listed in the Terms.
What data does the tracker store?
The tracker only stores active swarms — a list of info_hashes and their associated peers (IP + port). This data is temporary and removed when a peer's session expires. No files, torrent names, or content are stored. The index additionally keeps, per observed hash, the torrent name and file list fetched from the swarm — metadata, not content.