A comprehensive web-based tool to automate and manage your Transmission torrent downloads with RSS feed integration, intelligent media organization, and enhanced security features. Now with automatic updates and easy installation!

Changelog

v2.0.0 (2025-03-05)

Major: Completely redesigned installation system using git
New: One-click update feature with version checking
New: Automatic Transmission detection and installation
New: System status dashboard with update notifications
New: Automatic detection of existing installations for seamless updates
New: About page with developer information
Improved: Better error handling for Transmission connection
Improved: Enhanced update process that preserves existing configurations
Fixed: Various UI bugs and responsiveness issues

v1.2.0 (2025-02-15)

New: Enhanced media organization with better content detection
New: Improved post-processor with configurable filtering
Improved: Transmission client integration with better error handling
Improved: UI enhancements for better usability
Fixed: RSS feed parsing issues
Fixed: Authentication problems in certain configurations

v1.0.0 (2025-01-10)

Initial Release: Basic functionality for RSS feed monitoring
New: Integration with Transmission BitTorrent client
New: Web interface for managing torrents and feeds
New: Post-processing capability for downloaded content
New: Basic content categorization by media type

Features

🔄 RSS Feed Integration: Automatically download torrents from RSS feeds with customizable filters
📊 Torrent Management: Monitor and control your Transmission torrents from a clean web interface
📚 Intelligent Media Organization: Automatically categorize and organize downloads by media type
📖 Book & Magazine Sorting: Specialized processing for e-books and magazines with metadata extraction
📂 Post-Processing: Extract archives, rename files, and move content to appropriate directories
🔄 Remote Support: Connect to remote Transmission instances with local path mapping
🔒 Enhanced Security: Authentication, HTTPS support, and secure password storage
📱 Mobile-Friendly UI: Responsive design works on desktop and mobile devices
🔧 One-Click Updates: Built-in version checking and automated update system
🚀 Automatic Transmission Installation: Installs and configures Transmission if needed

Installation

Prerequisites

Ubuntu/Debian-based system (may work on other Linux distributions)
Git (will be automatically installed by the bootstrap installer if needed)
Internet connection (for downloading and updates)

System Requirements

Memory: 512MB minimum, 1GB recommended
CPU: Any modern processor (1GHz+)
Disk: At least 200MB for the application, plus storage space for your media
Network: Internet connection for RSS feed fetching and torrent downloading

Automatic Installation

The easiest way to install Transmission RSS Manager is with the bootstrap installer:

# Download the bootstrap installer
wget https://git.powerdata.dk/masterdraco/transmission-rss-manager/raw/main/bootstrap-installer.sh

# Make it executable
chmod +x bootstrap-installer.sh

# Run it with sudo
sudo ./bootstrap-installer.sh

The bootstrap installer will:

Install git if needed
Clone the latest version from the repository
Run the main installer which guides you through configuration
Set up the service and web interface

New in v2.0.0:

The installer now detects if Transmission is installed and offers to install and configure it automatically if needed.
The installer automatically detects existing installations and runs in update mode, preserving your existing configuration.
When updating, only necessary files are modified while maintaining your custom settings and preferences.

Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually:

Clone the repository:

git clone https://git.powerdata.dk/masterdraco/transmission-rss-manager.git
cd transmission-rss-manager

Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```

Configure settings:

cp config.example.json config.json
nano config.json

Start the server:

# Using the convenience script (recommended)
./scripts/test-and-start.sh

# Or start with debug logging
./scripts/test-and-start.sh --debug

# Or run in foreground mode
./scripts/test-and-start.sh --foreground

# Or start directly
node server.js

Configuration

Main Configuration Options

The system can be configured through the web interface or by editing the config.json file:

{
  "transmissionConfig": {
    "host": "localhost",
    "port": 9091,
    "username": "transmission",
    "password": "password",
    "path": "/transmission/rpc"
  },
  "destinationPaths": {
    "movies": "/mnt/media/movies",
    "tvShows": "/mnt/media/tvshows",
    "music": "/mnt/media/music",
    "books": "/mnt/media/books",
    "magazines": "/mnt/media/magazines", 
    "software": "/mnt/media/software"
  },
  "processingOptions": {
    "enableBookSorting": true,
    "extractArchives": true,
    "renameFiles": true,
    "ignoreSample": true
  }
}

Remote Transmission Setup

For remote Transmission instances, configure the directory mapping:

"remoteConfig": {
  "isRemote": true,
  "directoryMapping": {
    "/var/lib/transmission-daemon/downloads": "/mnt/transmission-downloads"
  }
}

This maps paths between your remote Transmission server and the local directories.

Usage

Web Interface

The web interface provides access to all functionality and is available at:

http://your-server-ip

RSS Feed Management

Go to the "RSS Feeds" tab in the web interface
Click "Add Feed" and enter the RSS feed URL
Configure optional filters for automatic downloads
The system will periodically check feeds and download matching items

Managing Torrents

From the "Torrents" tab, you can:

Add new torrents via URL or magnet link
Start, stop, or delete existing torrents
Monitor download progress and stats

Media Organization

The post-processor automatically:

Waits for torrents to complete and meet seeding requirements
Identifies the media type based on content analysis
Extracts archives if needed
Moves files to the appropriate category directory
Renames files according to media type conventions
Updates the media library for browsing

Book & Magazine Sorting

When enabled, the system can:

Differentiate between books and magazines
Extract author information from book filenames
Organize magazines by title and issue number
Create appropriate folder structures

Detailed Features

Automatic Media Detection and Processing

The system uses sophisticated detection to categorize downloads:

Movies: Recognizes common patterns such as resolution (1080p, 720p) and release year
TV Shows: Identifies season/episode patterns (S01E01) and TV-specific naming
Music: Detects audio formats like MP3, FLAC, album folders
Books: Identifies e-book formats (EPUB, MOBI, PDF) and author-title patterns
Magazines: Recognizes magazine naming patterns, issues, volumes, and publication dates
Software: Detects software installers, ISOs, and other program files

Enhanced Post-Processing

The post-processor automatically processes completed torrents that have met seeding requirements:

Smart File Categorization: Automatically detects media type based on content analysis
Intelligent Folder Organization: Creates category-specific directories and file structures
Archive Extraction: Automatically extracts compressed files (.zip, .rar, .7z, etc.)
File Renaming: Cleans up filenames by removing dots, underscores, and other unwanted characters
Quality Management: Optionally replace existing files with better quality versions
Seeding Requirements: Configurable minimum ratio and seeding time before processing

Robust Transmission Integration

The improved Transmission client integration provides:

Enhanced Error Handling: Automatic retry on connection failures
Media Information: Deep analysis of torrent content for better categorization
Remote Support: Comprehensive path mapping between remote and local systems
Torrent Management: Complete control over torrents (add, start, stop, remove)
Performance Monitoring: Track download/upload speeds and other performance metrics

RSS Feed Filtering

Powerful filtering options for RSS feeds:

Title matching: Regular expression support for title patterns
Category filtering: Filter by feed categories
Size limits: Set minimum and maximum size requirements
Custom rules: Combine multiple criteria for precise matching

Remote Transmission Support

Full support for remote Transmission instances:

Secure authentication: Username/password protection
Path mapping: Configure how remote paths map to local directories
Full API support: Complete control via the web interface

Updating

Using the Web Interface (New in v2.0.0)

The easiest way to update is through the web interface:

Navigate to the Dashboard
Look for the "System Status" section
If an update is available, an "Update Now" button will appear
Click the button to automatically update to the latest version

The system will:

Back up your configuration
Pull the latest code from the repository
Install any new dependencies
Restore your configuration
Restart the service automatically

Using the Installer

You can also update by running the installer again:

# Navigate to the installation directory
cd /opt/transmission-rss-manager

# Run the installer with sudo
sudo ./main-installer.sh

The installer will:

Detect your existing installation automatically
Run in update mode
Preserve all your existing configurations
Update only the necessary files
Restart the service with your updated installation

Using the Command Line

If you prefer to update via command line:

cd /opt/transmission-rss-manager
sudo scripts/update.sh

Use the --force flag to force an update of dependencies even if no code changes are detected:

sudo scripts/update.sh --force

Manual Update

Alternatively, you can download and run the update script:

wget https://git.powerdata.dk/masterdraco/transmission-rss-manager/raw/main/scripts/update.sh
chmod +x update.sh
sudo ./update.sh

File Structure

transmission-rss-manager/
├── server.js                    # Main application server
├── modules/                     # Modular components
│   ├── post-processor.js        # Media processing module
│   ├── rss-feed-manager.js      # RSS feed management module
│   ├── transmission-client.js   # Transmission API integration
│   ├── config-module.sh         # Installation configuration
│   ├── dependencies-module.sh   # Dependency installation
│   ├── file-creator-module.sh   # File creation for installation
│   ├── service-setup-module.sh  # Service setup
│   └── utils-module.sh          # Utility functions
├── bootstrap-installer.sh       # Minimal installer that clones the repository
├── main-installer.sh            # Main installation script
├── config.json                  # Configuration file
├── scripts/                     # Utility scripts
│   ├── update.sh                # Update script
│   └── test-and-start.sh        # Test and start script
├── public/                      # Web interface files
│   ├── index.html               # Main web interface
│   ├── js/                      # JavaScript files
│   │   ├── app.js               # Core application logic
│   │   └── utils.js             # Utility functions
│   └── css/                     # CSS stylesheets
│       └── styles.css           # Main stylesheet
└── README.md                    # This file

Modules

Post-Processor

The Post-Processor module handles:

Monitoring completed torrents
Categorizing content by type
Extracting archives
Organizing files into the correct directories
Renaming files according to conventions

RSS Feed Manager

The RSS Feed Manager module provides:

Regular checking of configured RSS feeds
Filtering of feed items based on rules
Automated downloading of matching content
History tracking of downloaded items

Advanced Configuration

Seeding Requirements

Set minimum seeding requirements before processing:

"seedingRequirements": {
  "minRatio": 1.0,
  "minTimeMinutes": 60,
  "checkIntervalSeconds": 300
}

Security Settings

Enable authentication and HTTPS for secure access:

"securitySettings": {
  "authEnabled": true,
  "httpsEnabled": true,
  "sslCertPath": "/path/to/ssl/cert.pem",
  "sslKeyPath": "/path/to/ssl/key.pem",
  "users": [
    {
      "username": "admin",
      "password": "your-hashed-password", 
      "role": "admin"
    },
    {
      "username": "user",
      "password": "your-hashed-password",
      "role": "user"
    }
  ]
}

Note: Passwords are automatically hashed on first login if provided in plain text.

Processing Options

Customize how files are processed:

"processingOptions": {
  "enableBookSorting": true,
  "extractArchives": true,
  "deleteArchives": true,
  "createCategoryFolders": true,
  "ignoreSample": true,
  "ignoreExtras": true,
  "renameFiles": true,
  "autoReplaceUpgrades": true,
  "removeDuplicates": true,
  "keepOnlyBestVersion": true
}

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

Transmission for the excellent BitTorrent client
Node.js and the npm community for the foundation libraries
All contributors who have helped improve this project