Fragments is a Simple Torrent Client for Linux

There are plenty of torrent clients for Linux with open-source apps like Deluge, qBittorrent and Transmission the most post popular.

But if you’re looking for lightweight torrent client that fits GNOME desktop like a glove, be sure to check out Fragments.

Fragments is free, open-source torrent client written in GTK4/libadwaita. Designed to be easy to use, Fragments opens BitTorrent files and magnet-links so you can download the files they point to.

A supremely focused tool, Fragments provides most of the features you need with none of the bloat you don’t. Being built on top of Transmission it supports many of the same features. It can also be used as remote control for Fragments or Transmission running on different devices.

screenshot of Fragments, a GTK torrent client for Linux desktop
Fragments in action

Clicking on a torrent in Fragments displays an insightful pop-over giving an overview of active bandwidth usage, uptime, seeds, and peers, plus controls to pause/resume the torrent, or remove the torrent from the queue (and, optionally, remove downloaded data).

I also like the “Statistics” sheet accessible from the hamburger menu. This dishes up a wealth of data on network speeds, torrent status, and uptime, as well as usage statics (e.g., downloaded data) for both the current session and for the total time you’ve been using the app — nice!

screenshot of Fragments, a GTK torrent client for Linux desktop showing the torrent activity dialog
Click on a torrent to learn more

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Speed, peer, and encryption settings
  • Deep GNOME integration

Cons:

  • No “run in background” mode
  • Can’t download specific files inside a torrent
  • No scheduling or bandwidth limit features

Some of these cons are by design and unlikely to change. Still, they’re important to know when you’re considering a torrent client. You may expect that closing the app won’t stop the download, and that it’ll keep “running in the background”. Not so here, so be aware of it.

Installing Fragments Torrent Client

Fragments is free, open source software licensed under the GPL v3. As a GNOME Circle app the source code for the app is hosted on the GNOME Gitlab (report bugs or contribute code there).

Fragments is available from Flathub making it relatively easy to install on any modern Linux distribution, including Ubuntu, Fedora, and Manjaro. Some Linux distros may offer prebuilt packages of older versions in their repo too, so check there first should you prefer.