Protrans: Open NAT Ports and Configure Transmission Automatically

Introduction

Protrans is a user-friendly, open-source Go application designed to streamline the process of opening NAT ports using the natpmp library and automatically configuring them for the Transmission Torrent client. It offers the flexibility to be used either as a standalone tool or seamlessly integrated as a service within systemd.

Features

• Effortless NAT Port Opening: Protrans leverages the natpmp library to establish communication with your router, allowing you to effortlessly open the necessary ports for Transmission to operate effectively.

• Automatic Transmission Configuration: Protrans intelligently configures Transmission's port settings, ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance without manual intervention.

• Standalone or Systemd Service: Protrans caters to both standalone and systemd service deployment models. Choose the approach that best suits your workflow and system management preferences.

• Compatibility: Protrans is specifically designed to work with ProtonVPN. However, it includes a configuration file that may potentially work with other VPN providers, although this functionality is untested.

Using with Home Manager

If you use either NixOS or nixpkgs with home manager, you can import the whole project as a flake into your configuration and use it as a HM Module like you would do for any other NixOS module.

Installation

Prerequisites:

Go version 1.17 or later (https://go.dev/doc/install)

Standalone Usage:

Clone the Protrans repository:

git clone https://github.com/massix/protrans.git

Navigate to the project directory:

cd protrans

Build the Protrans executable:

go build -o protrans cmd/protrans/main.go

Run Protrans:

./protrans

Systemd Service:

Create a systemd service file (protrans.service) in a directory accessible by your systemd configuration (e.g., /etc/systemd/system/). Here's a sample service file:

[Unit]
Description=Protrans - NAT Port Opener and Transmission Configurator
After=network.target

[Service]
User=your-username  # Replace with your system user
Group=your-group    # Replace with your system group
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/protrans  # Replace with the path to your Protrans directory
ExecStart=/path/to/protrans  # Replace with the path to the Protrans executable

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload the systemd configuration:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable and start the Protrans service:

sudo systemctl enable protrans.service
sudo systemctl start protrans.service

Usage (Standalone)

Once you've built the Protrans executable, simply run it from the command line:

./protrans

Protrans will automatically open the necessary NAT ports and configure Transmission for optimal operation.

Usage (Systemd Service)

After configuring and enabling the systemd service, Protrans will automatically start at system boot and continue running in the background, ensuring your Transmission client remains properly configured.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Feel free to fork the repository, make changes, and submit pull requests.

License

Protrans is licensed under the MIT License.

Contact

For any questions or feedback, feel free to create an issue on the project's GitHub repository.