Azureus Vuze (formerly Azureus) is a BitTorrent client. Like other bittorrent clients, it is used to transfer files over the BitTorrent Peer-to-peer File sharing network. In other words, it is used to download files that other people have made available.

Azureus is written in the programming language Java. Java programs often use more resources than programs written in other languages. However, Java also allows programs written in it to be run on many different operating systems.

In 2003, the core developers of Azureus formed a company called Vuze, Inc. (formerly Azureus, Inc.) Vuze, Inc. offers legal downloads of content over the BitTorrent network.

The program's logo is the Blue Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates azureus). The Azureus name was given to the project by co-creator Tyler Pitchford, who uses the Latin names of poison dart frogs as codenames for his development projects.

Azureus was first released in June 2003 at SourceForge.net, mostly to experiment with the Standard Widget Toolkit from Eclipse. It is now one of the most popular BitTorrent clients. Released under the GNU General Public License, Azureus is free software.

GUI

Azureus's swarm feature

Azureus allows users to download multiple files in a single graphical user interface (GUI). The program also features detailed statistics and a large number of user-configurable settings. While downloading a file, the user can view several different statistics including:

Current download and upload speeds and estimated time remaining

The percentage of each file completed and information on the "pieces" (small parts of the complete file) still needed including the piece number and availability

File names, sizes and levels of completion for specific files within the download directory (BitTorrent allows a user to create a torrent file for an entire directory). It is also possible to prevent certain files from downloading.

Peer data including IP addresses (and country with the use of a plugin), the speeds at which you are downloading and uploading to/from them, the port they are running BitTorrent on, and the BitTorrent client they are using

The total and average "swarm speeds"

Features

Azureus's advanced statistics page

Azureus allows users to specify maximum upload and download speeds and is configurable. Azureus also allows users to open some files that have been completed before the entire torrent from within the program. Additionally, Azureus can serve as its own tracker, allowing users to share their own files with others without uploading it to any site. Azureus also supports tracker-less torrents via DHT. Azureus supports Message stream encryption, an anti-throttling method. Peer exchange and the magnet: URI scheme are supported. An integration with the Nodezilla Grid Network is implemented as a plugin, enabling the anonymous storage, sharing and publication of torrent files. Azureus also features multiple ways of viewing a file, such as Swarm, Peers, and Pieces.

Unlike all other popular BitTorrent clients, Azureus supports the I2P and Tor networks, allowing users to transfer files over the BitTorrent network anonymously.

Plugins

Azureus also offers a range of plugins designed to make using the program easier or to give the more experienced user more options and more advanced tools with which to configure Azureus. Some plugins available are as follows:

3D View - Opens a 3D view of the peer swarm of peers in a new tab. (Windows only)

Advanced Statistics - Gives advanced information on the progress, activity and transfer of torrents.

Auto Categorizer - Automatically categorized torrents depending on their file types.

Auto Speed - Automatically adjust global upload speed limit based on network latency.

Auto Seeder - Automatically seeds files based on the contents of torrent and data directories.

Chat - Lets users chat by cr3.2 Enhanced Protocol

Azureus now supports an enhanced inter-client messaging protocol, which is aimed at allowing plugins to use the connections created by Azureus to add functionality to the program. Other clients developers can see the specifications for this protocol at the Azureus Wiki. Plugin developers can check the plugin javadocs to see how to use it. For example, the JPC and Chat plugins make use of this messaging extension.

JPC

Joltid Peer Cache (JPC) is now integrated into Azureus. For users whose ISP support this, JPC should allow faster downloads, while helping the ISP reduce its bandwidth costs. The JPC plugin can be disabled through Tools > Options > Plugins > JPC. However, as of February 2007, the plugin has been "Discontinued for lack of ISP support", as mentioned in the Azureus Wiki.

Notable plugins

AzSMRC - provides remote control and multiuser features

DHT Scraper - Distributed Database (DHT) torrent scraper.

Firefrog - A simple Firefox-style download manager.

MainlineDHT - Allows Azureus to use the Mainline DHT

Ono - Attempts to find and connect to peers "closer" (in the network sense) to the user in an attempt to increase speed. Results from over 100,000 users designate that it finds peers that give orders of magnitude lower latencies and higher average download rates than those picked at random. Note that this plugin collects and stores data from users (but not any information that can be tied to what you are downloading, see ), and you can turn off the data collection if it bothers you.

Peer Injector - Allows one or more peers to be manually injected into torrents for explicit connection purposes.

Progress Bar - Adds a graphical progress bar column to MyTorrents.

ScaneRSS - imports Torrents from RSSFeeds based on Rules

Status Mailer - Sends an email via SMTP when a download starts and/or completes.

Stuffer - Client banning plugin with support for use of regular expressions.

Upload Shaper - Automatically adjust global upload speed limit based on download speed * factor.

Team Seeder - Helps seed torrents that are tracked by Azureus when there are a dedicated team of seeders.

DHT

Azureus version 2.3.0.0 introduced the Distributed Database function (a form of DHT, namely Kademlia), which is a decentralization of the BitTorrent protocol, making it more independent from trackers. For users of Azureus 2.3.0.0 or newer, this allows a user to download a file from peers even when the original tracker is unavailable or has been shut down. The downside to this is that private tracker operators, with membership requirements, are required to explicitly alter their torrent files so that the Azureus client knows not to share peer information about that swarm. Some critics also say that this is simply "reinventing the wheel," referring to earlier peer-to-peer protocols and programs the weaknesses of which BitTorrent was praised for overcoming. Others see it as an evolution of the BitTorrent protocols to circumvent enforcement actions of the entertainment industry. Azureus uses its own form of DHT incompatible with the official BitTorrent client offered by BitTorrent, Inc.. All of the other clients, including BitComet and µTorrent, support the official DHT. For compatibility uses the mainline DHT is available to Azureus users as a plugin.

License

Through version 2.5.0.4, Azureus was distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), beginning with the version 3 distribution, the license presented upon installation changed. While it still states that the "Azureus Application" is available under the GPL, completing installation requires the user to agree to the terms of the "Vuze Platform", which include restrictions on use, reverse-engineering, and sublicensing. These restrictions of use include the prohibition of use of Azureus 3 by people "under the age of 18".