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Where Does Transmission Store Settings and Torrents?

Transmission keeps settings, torrent files and resume data in a config directory that differs per client and OS.

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Transmission splits its state into legible parts. Settings.json holds every preference, the torrents subfolder holds the .torrent files, and resume tracks progress per download. Blocklists and stats sit beside them.

Each frontend gets its own directory: GUI, daemon, and CLI variants differ by suffix. The daemon's directory is the one server guides mean, usually under the service user's config home. Downloads default to the user's Downloads folder until settings say otherwise.

Where Transmission stores this, by platform

Linux
~/.config/transmission

settings.json, torrents, resume, and blocklists live here. Daemon installs use transmission-daemon instead, often under a service account home.

Windows
%LOCALAPPDATA%\transmission

Same internal layout as Linux. The daemon variant sits at %LOCALAPPDATA%\transmission-daemon for service installs.

Frequently asked questions

My settings.json edits keep reverting. Why?

Stop the client or daemon first. Transmission rewrites settings.json on exit, silently discarding hand edits made while it runs. Edit stopped, start after, and the values stick.

Can the GUI and daemon share one config?

Yes. Point both at one directory with TRANSMISSION_HOME or the -g flag and they share torrents and settings. Running both at once against it corrupts state, so pick one running client at a time.

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