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Grab BitTorrent files in your browser with Torrent Relay

Grab BitTorrent files without the software using Torrent Relay.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn

BitTorrent, one of the more useful file-sharing mediums out there is not without its complications. Software applications have come a long way, but there are still times when you want one less application running on your machine or simply want to grab a file without having to install anything.

Torrent Relay's got the same thing on its mind, with a browser-based BitTorrent downloader. Like Bitlet, which I checked out last year, Torrent Relay lets you plug in a download URL from any tracker site or a link from a friend, and it will convert it into a link you can simply click on to begin downloading it using your browser's download manager. This means the tool works on nonsoftware-friendly platforms too, such as game consoles (Wii and PS3) and mobile devices like the iPhone.

If a torrent file has multiple files in it, the tool will split them up. You can then click on the ones you want and download them one at a time. This works especially well for music albums where you might only want to grab a track or two (note: You could also just stream the music using this tool). One thing to note however, is that any single file is capped at 400MB, meaning you're going to have to rely on a software-based tool for those giant files.

[via TorrentFreak and Lifehacker]

Grab files from BitTorrent packages one at a time, like this Ubuntu installer ISO image. CNET Networks