bittorrent-tracker is a Node.js implementation of a BitTorrent tracker, providing both client and server components. It handles announce and scrape requests to help BitTorrent clients discover peers and track swarm statistics across supported tracker protocols.

Key Features

Client and server implementations in one package
Supports HTTP/HTTPS trackers, UDP trackers (BEP 15), and WebSocket-based trackers used by WebTorrent
Announce and scrape support, including multi-scrape
IPv4 and IPv6 support
Optional web-based tracker statistics with JSON output endpoints
Server-side filtering hook for allow/deny logic (e.g., private tracker behavior)
Command-line interface to run a tracker server

Use Cases

Running a public or private tracker for distributing torrents within a community or organization
Powering WebRTC-friendly tracker infrastructure for WebTorrent browser swarms
Integrating tracker client functionality into custom Node.js BitTorrent tooling

Limitations and Considerations

Tracker state is primarily in-memory by default, so persistence and horizontal scaling require external design decisions
WebSocket tracking is primarily aimed at WebTorrent/WebRTC clients and may not be relevant for all BitTorrent ecosystems

bittorrent-tracker is a practical choice when you need a lightweight, well-tested tracker stack in JavaScript, with support for mainstream tracker protocols and straightforward operational tooling. It fits both standalone tracker deployments and programmatic embedding into other BitTorrent applications.