Changelog #

1.5.0 #

Streaming: Removed speculative tail preloading — the engine no longer downloads the last 4MB of a file at startup. Modern players (MPV, VLC, etc.) fetch container metadata (MP4 moov atom, MKV cues) on-demand via HTTP range requests, which the built-in server already supports
Streaming: Head-only preload now sets 8 pieces at flat deadline=0ms instead of staggered 30ms intervals, focusing 100% of startup bandwidth on the beginning of the file
Streaming: Removed file anchor logic from the priority loop that re-prioritized the last 2 pieces every 200ms, which competed with the playhead for bandwidth
Performance: Startup time reduced from ~30–60s to ~5–15s by eliminating bandwidth competition between head and tail piece downloads

Platform: Added iOS support (arm64 device + x86_64 simulator, universal static library)
CI: New build-ios job cross-compiles libtorrent + torrent_bridge as a static .a for iOS, merged with lipo
Packaging: iOS podspec with -force_load so all FFI symbols are visible via DynamicLibrary.process()

License: Switched to GPL v3 (OSI-approved)
Streaming: Dual-end preloading — fetches first 4MB and last 4MB of the file simultaneously on stream start. The tail contains the MP4/MKV moov atom (seek table), enabling instant seeking without buffering the whole file first
Streaming: Staggered 30ms piece deadlines on the head (down from 45ms) for faster playback start
API: disposeTorrent(id) — stop streams, remove torrent, and delete files in one call
API: disposeAll() — clean up every torrent and stream at once (ideal for exit button)
API: startStream() now accepts maxCacheBytes for a sliding window RAM cache limit
API: init() now accepts defaultSavePath (defaults to system temp dir — no permission setup needed)
API: addMagnet() and addTorrentFile() savePath is now optional (uses defaultSavePath)
README: Fully rewritten with complete API documentation and code examples

Streaming: Removed sequential_download flag (conflicts with set_piece_deadline)
Streaming: Reduced readahead from 150 to 30 pieces to avoid excessive pre-buffering
Streaming: clear_piece_deadlines() on seek + 1-second cooldown for faster seek response
Streaming: Re-enabled uTP for incoming and outgoing connections (reaches more peers behind NAT)
Cache: Configurable RAM cache limit with percentage-based sliding window eviction (10% safety buffer, min 5 pieces)
Save path: Defaults to system temp directory on all platforms
CI: Automatic GitHub Release creation with zipped native libraries on every build
pubspec: Added repository, issue_tracker, and topics fields for pub.dev discoverability

Initial release
Native libtorrent 2.0 bindings via Dart FFI
Built-in HTTP streaming server with byte-range support
Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android support with prebuilt binaries (no build required)
Auto-fetches best public trackers on startup
Magnet link and .torrent file support
Per-file streaming with automatic largest-file selection
torrentUpdates and streamUpdates streams for reactive UI
DHT, PEX, LSD peer discovery