How To Install qBittorrent 5.0.3 On Ubuntu 24.10, Ubuntu 24.04 And Derivative Systems (Via PPA And Flatpak)

As you may know, qBittorrent is a open-source feature-rich torrent client (similar to Transmission) designed to provide both a seamless ad-free experience and advanced functionality for power users. It is lightweight, but powerful and has a clean and feature-rich interface, which makes the software very popular among its users.

Main features of qBittorrent:

• Cross-Platform Compatibility – qBittorrent is available and can be installed on all the major platforms, including Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.
• User-Friendly Interface – The interface is simple and mirrors familiar torrent clients, making it easy for everybody to use the software
• Integrated Search Engine – the integrated search engine enables the users to search for torrents directly withit the client; the support for multiple search categories and customizable search plugins makes downloading content very easy
• Ad-free experience – unlike other torrent clients, qBittorrent is completely free of ads, offering an uninterrupted user experience
• Advanced Download Management – qBittorrent allows users to download files in order (sequential downloading) and also permits band scheduling and prioritization.
• Built-In Media Player – you can watch video content directly with qBittorrent
• Support for All Major Protocols – it supports DHT (Distributed Hash Table), PEX (Peer Exchange), and LSD (Local Peer Discovery), ensuring faster and more reliable downloads.
• RSS Feed Support – the RSS feed feature is perfect for users who download recurrent content, because this automates downloads based on user-defined filters
• Remote Control via Web UI – it enables the users to manage the downloads remotely, via the internet browser
• Lightweight – qBittorrent is light on system resources

The latest stable version available is qBittorrent 5.0.3, which comes with the below changes.

• BUGFIX: Discard obsolete “state update” events after torrent is reloaded (glassez)
• BUGFIX: Fix incorrect SQL column definition (glassez)
• BUGFIX: Avoid redundant requests of announce entries from libtorrent (glassez)
• WEBUI: Fix removing tracker URL with ‘|’ character (Thomas Piccirello)
• WEBUI: Fix reloading page after login (Evgenii Ryshkov)
• WEBAPI: Fix incorrect key in torrent creator (Bartu Özen)
• RSS: Don’t add duplicate episodes to previously matched (wavygecko)
• RSS: Use cached current time when parsing RSS feed (glasses)

How to install qBittorrent 5.0.3 on Ubuntu 24.10, via the official PPA:

How to Install qBittorrent on Ubuntu 24.10, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04 and Derivative Systems via PPA

To install qBittorrent on Ubuntu, follow these steps:

(Optional) Step 0: Update Your System

Before installing any new software, it is recommended to update your system to ensure you have the latest packages and security updates.

The apt update && apt upgrade command is essential for package management in Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions. It ensures that your system has the latest software updates and security patches, preventing compatibility issues and vulnerabilities. The && operator allows both commands to run in sequence, meaning apt upgrade executes only if apt update completes successfully.

Run the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

This will refresh the package list and upgrade installed software while maintaining dependencies.

Step 1: Add the qBittorrent Repository

qBittorrent is not included in Ubuntu’s default repositories, so you need to add the official Personal Package Archive (PPA) provided by the qBittorrent team. To do this, execute the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

Press Enter when prompted to confirm adding the repository. This allows your system to fetch and install qBittorrent from the PPA.

Step 2: Update the Package List

After adding the qBittorrent repository, update the package list to ensure your system recognizes the new software source:

sudo apt update

This step ensures that Ubuntu is aware of the latest available qBittorrent package.

Step 3: Install qBittorrent

Now that the repository has been added and updated, install qBittorrent with the following command:

sudo apt install qbittorrent -y

The -y flag confirms the installation automatically, preventing the system from asking for manual confirmation.

Step 4: Launch qBittorrent

Once the installation is complete, you can start using qBittorrent by running:

qbittorrent

Alternatively, you can launch it from the Applications Menu by searching for “qBittorrent.”

(Optional) Remove qBittorrent

If you want to uninstall qBittorrent, use the following command:

sudo apt remove qbittorrent -y

To completely remove qBittorrent, including all configuration files, use:

sudo apt purge qbittorrent -y

Additionally, to remove the PPA repository, run:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

Finally, to clean up unnecessary dependencies, execute:

sudo apt autoremove -y

PS: The same commands work on older Ubuntu systems as well, but they do not install the latest qBittorrent version, but an older version.

How to install qBittorrent 5.0.3 on Ubuntu 24.10 and derivative systems, via Flatpak:

Flatpak is a universal package management system that allows applications to run in an isolated environment. This ensures better security and compatibility across different Linux distributions.

Flatpak applications are distributed through Flathub, a repository that hosts numerous software packages, including qBittorrent.

To install qBittorrent via Flatpak, follow these steps:

Step 1: Install Flatpak and Enable Flathub

If Flatpak is not already installed on your system, install it using the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Step 2: Install qBittorrent using Flatpak

After installing Flatpak, install qBittorrent from Flathub by running:

sudo flatpak install flathub org.qbittorrent.qBittorrent

Step 3: Launch qBittorrent via Flatpak

Once installed, you can launch qBittorrent using:

flatpak run org.qbittorrent.qBittorrent

Alternatively, you can find it in the Applications Menu.

(Optional) Remove qBittorrent

If you installed qBittorrent via Flatpak and wish to remove it, run:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.qbittorrent.qBittorrent

This ensures your system stays clean and optimized.