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Is Storing Torrent Files or Magnet Links a Good Idea? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'd like to store/seed important data (wikipedia, gutenberg, etc.), and read recently that it would be a good idea to store torrent files long-term. My questions are:

Is it better to store torrent files or magnet links?
Will a given magnet link retrieve the exact same .torrent file every initiation?
Is storage of these files/links a good idea (especially if I have the files)?

This question is really about whether magnet links or torrent files are better to store long term, with a sanity check that this is something that should be done.

I've read these two StackExchange posts which were very helpful, and am looking to get more technical opinions and info:

top 4 comments

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

The other handy reason to keep torrent files around is you can use it to verify the data you have isn't corrupted or changed in some way.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago

As long as it's in your list, your client keeps a copy of the torrent file around somewhere.

[–] [email protected] 69 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Store torrent files. The magnet links are just the hashes of the torrent files.

Yes, the magnet link points to a specific torrent file, but you will only be able to get them if anyone is still sharing it and currently online.

If you have the torrent file and the content, you can start a new swarm if the old one is dead. If you only have the magnet link and the content, you can’t.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Ok, that's what I'll do. Thanks so much for the info! 😁