WebTorrent: How I built a BitTorrent client in the browser

Presented by Feross at JSLA (js.la) on Thursday May 29th 2014
WebRTC changes everything! For the first time, we can do peer-to-peer, or client-to-client, communication in the browser without plugins, extensions, or a software installation. This enables an entirely new class of applications to be built for the web!
This talk will look at WebTorrent, a BitTorrent client for the browser that fully-interoperates with the regular BitTorrent network. WebTorrent uses WebRTC Data Channels and special "hybrid clients" to connect to the wider BitTorrent network. By making BitTorrent easier, we're making it accessible to new swathes of users who were previously intimidated, confused, or unwilling to install a program on their computer to participate.
* feross
* github.com/feross

[@realcyberpirate]

Look at that old school youtube yo 1:12, so many memories. Also, uTorrent 1:26 ahh Nostalgic!

[@kennethzhang799]

Awesome explanation of signaling and establishing P2P. Thanks, Feross!

[@rafidhoda]

Amazing talk! You have a knack for explaining technical concepts in an easy and fun way! I've bookmarked this talk and I'll be revisiting it often. Thank you so much :)

[@youtubetutorials84]

Really dope talk. Very inspiring for anyone into P2P and distributed computing. Thanks Feross.

[@electronicshacks8288]

you are the games changer bro!!

[@level42jeff]

Would be nice to add some subtitles for the parts with no Mic

[@cazino4]

So does the STUN server get around the need to manually forward ports on your router or does it signal the browser to use UPNP?

[@maycodes]

Amazing Idea !!

[@user-xr3fi1ne9x]

like it thanks!

[@lprimeroo]

Awesome presentation ! What do you use for creating presentations btw ?

[@carlosramon6102]

RIP KZbin.

[@technotux7835]

33:07 NAT isn't a problem , without NAT all our personal computers will be exposed to the internet and hacked,you just configure your router and make forward that incomming connection to a specific computer on the lan search for portforwarding

[@evergreen-]

techno tux, lol, no. By itself, NAT doesn’t assume any protection whatever, but because it’s saturated with firewall rules on most common router configurations, people attribute NAT things it doesn’t do. When IPv6 becomes mainstream (soon), no NAT will be needed!

[@peterhooper2643]

@@evergreen- +liked because its a common myth

[@j7ndominica051]

The "fast, lightweight" desktop client from the official site is 50 meg (!), and has a blink web browser in it. And people said that microtorrent got bloated when it grew to 2 megs, and included HTML/JavaScript via Internet Explorer. "Lightweight" here is like corporate-speak, a word that doesn't actually mean anything. How is a javascript client going to prevent advertisements and fake download buttons from being shown by content providers? Quite the opposite, they would now be able to control the whole viewing experience and display ads while the video is playing inside the web browser. A separate torrent client, a chat application and web page viewer is closer to the Unix philosphy than everything being done inside the web browser. The user sees the separate modules and can run any combination of them.

[@11kwright]

Ya know, I hear these talks all the time of something innovative coming out or looking to bring about and some years will pass and it's still the boring same old talk. And there's always people like you that say something to support it trying to be clever or intelligent when it's agains always the flipping boring same and ends iwht "a word that doesn't mean anything" - like it's all shit. WHERE IS IT is all I wanna know. Is there something out there better than bit torrent or utorrent? Cos if not we are still stuck in the same time pre-talking. Some techies can be just talk whilst others are doers - I guess that doesn't mean anything but true!!!

[@pieceofshit6501]

my boi had 568 bitcoins in 2014 💀😭💀

[@radnukespeoplesminds]

does webtorrent implement mutable torrents ? does anybody?

[@Takolouski]

bro is absolutely fucking cooked if he still doesn't have those bitcoins

[@joaquimjalmeida8760]

Hi Feross tks by info. i need information how can i in using -- uTorrent Web -- make an insertion (where??) an Hash to open the seeds to start download the file ?? in my µTorrent standard on the left menu i could insert the HASH. Its possible do insertion on the new uTorrent Web, can tel-me how ?? tks

[@EsotericArnold]

@18:47

[@KushLemon]

Vacuous, useless talk.