aMule Documentation

aMule is a free, open-source file-sharing program for the eD2k (eDonkey2000) and Kademlia (Kad) peer-to-peer networks. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD, and stays close to eMule in look and feel so users can switch with ease.

History​

aMule began in August 2003 as a multiplatform fork of xMule (itself derived from lMule), bringing the eMule experience to systems beyond Windows. It stays faithful to eMule's look and feel, and as eMule's own development has largely stalled, aMule has grown well beyond its origins to become the actively maintained client for the eD2k and Kad networks.

Features​

Features inherited from eMule​

aMule supports the features eMule users will already recognize:

• Two networks — connects to both the eD2k and Kad networks for the widest possible pool of files and sources.
• eMule compatible — wire-compatible with eMule and every *Mule client, so you share the same files and sources, connect to the same servers, and open standard ed2k:// links.
• Several ways to search:
  • Your connected server
  • All known servers at once (global search)
  • The Kad network, which can ask extra peers for more results
  • Straight from your browser, by clicking ed2k:// links
• Source Exchange — clients share their source lists with each other, so you find more places to download from, faster.
• Credit system — the more you upload to someone, the sooner they upload back to you, keeping sharing fair for everyone.
• Automatic corruption repair — downloads are checked for integrity, and damaged parts are detected and re-downloaded on their own.
• Hands-off download management — aMule sets priorities and finds sources by itself, so you can start many downloads and leave them running.
• Bandwidth control — set hard upload and download speed limits so aMule never saturates your connection, or let it run full-throttle when you are away.
• Categories — organize your downloads into named groups.
• Preview — watch a video or open an archive before the download finishes (using your preferred media player; MPlayer by default).
• Boolean search — refine your searches with AND, OR, and NOT.
• Compressed transfers — data is compressed on the fly for faster transfers and less load on servers.
• IP filtering — block connections from known-bad or unwanted address ranges, using a list that can be downloaded (emule-security's by default) and, optionally, refreshed at every start.
• Secure identification — protects your identity so no one can impersonate you or steal your upload credits.
• Misbehaving-client detection — spots and blocks peers that try to cheat the sharing rules.
• Release Priority (known as PowerShare in eMule) — give your own shared files top priority so others can grab them quickly.
• Automatic server-list updates — keep your server list current automatically, or refresh it whenever you like.
• System tray — keep aMule running quietly in the system tray (or notification area) on all major desktops.
• Media metadata — reads the length, bitrate, codec and tags of shared media with ffprobe and publishes them so they show in other users' search results.
• Clients page — see the peers you are downloading from and uploading to, plus a history of the clients you have exchanged data with.
• Comments and ratings — read and leave comments and ratings on files, including the notes published on Kad.
• Collections — queue every file of an .emulecollection at once, or export your own selection of shared files to one.
• Guided first run — a setup wizard on first launch sets up your nickname, bandwidth, networks, ports, folders and desktop integration, and offers to download the server list and Kad nodes.
• Searches that survive a restart — your last 100 searches and the results of up to 20 open tabs are restored the next time aMule starts.
• Update notifications — aMule lets you know when a new version is available.
• Proxy support — route your connection through a proxy server.
• Friends and messaging — keep a friends list and exchange messages with other users.
• Online signature — publish your current status, such as speed and active downloads, on a website or forum signature.
• Flexible progress display — show download progress as a chunk bar, a percentage, or both.
• Skins — change aMule's appearance with downloadable skins.
• 37 languages — use aMule in your own language.

Features added by aMule​

On top of that, aMule adds capabilities of its own:

• Runs everywhere — native support for Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD.
• Native packages — ready-to-use builds for every platform: installer and portable .zip on Windows, a Universal2 .dmg on macOS, AppImage and Flatpak on Linux, for both x64 and ARM64, plus fully static headless binaries for Linux servers.
• Free and open source — released under the GPL-2.0 license with no telemetry, no advertisements, and no vendor lock-in; the full source code is open to inspect and contribute to.
• Full remote control — run aMule in the background and manage it remotely from a remote GUI, a REST API and browser Web UI, a command-line interface, or the legacy WebUI, all built on its External Connections (EC) system.
• Remote path mappings — map the folders of a core running on another machine to where they are mounted locally, so amulegui can open files and show them in the file manager.
• Encrypted remote control — remote interfaces encrypt their connection to the core, new installations accept it only from the local machine, and failed logins are throttled.
• Search-result filtering — hide unwanted results as you type, so you find what you want faster.
• Endgame mode — near the end of a download, a fast source takes over the blocks held by a much slower one, so files do not stall at 99% behind one slow peer.
• Adaptive request depth — how many blocks aMule requests ahead from each source adapts to its speed and latency, keeping fast and distant links busy.
• Upload slot control — set a minimum speed per upload so you share with a sensible number of people at once, instead of spreading too thin.
• Share exclusion patterns — keep files such as .DS_Store or Thumbs.db out of your shares with wildcard or regular-expression patterns.
• Verify local data — re-hash shared files on demand to check that the data on disk is still intact.
• Automatic folder rescan — aMule notices when files are added, changed, or removed in your shared and Incoming folders, with no manual refresh.
• Remembers sources for rare files — saves where to find hard-to-get files so your downloads pick up again quickly after a restart.
• Quick link bar — paste ed2k:// or magnet: links straight into a bar at the bottom of every window (or only the Searches window, if you prefer).
• One-click links — aMule registers itself with the operating system for ed2k:// and magnet: links and .emulecollection files on Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD.
• Run a command on completion — automatically launch a script or program when a download finishes.
• Works across filesystems — keep downloads and shared files on different drives or filesystems.
• Secure (HTTPS) updates — server lists and filter lists can be downloaded over secure HTTPS connections.
• Network interface binding — pin aMule's traffic to one network interface, such as a VPN, so it does not leave through the default route while that interface exists (not available on BSD).
• Country lookup — shows the country flag of the servers and users you connect to, using a free country database that aMule downloads and keeps up to date.
• Start on login — have aMule launch automatically when you sign in.
• Light and dark appearance — the interface follows your system's light or dark theme, with sharp icons on high-resolution displays.
• Default file permissions — choose the access permissions applied to completed downloads.

Quick Start​

• Getting Started — first run, configuration, searching and downloading

Modules​

Tool	What it does
amule	All-in-one client with a full graphical interface
amuled	Background version with no window (daemon)
amulegui	Graphical interface that controls a background aMule
amuleapi	REST API and browser Web UI for a background aMule (replaces amuleweb)
amulecmd	Command-line interface for a background aMule
amuleweb	Legacy WebUI for a background aMule
ed2k	Command-line helper that sends ed2k:// links to a running aMule
alc / alcc	Create ed2k:// links for your own files (graphical and command-line)
wxcas / cas	Show your aMule status as images or web pages

Supported Platforms​

aMule runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD, on both x86_64 and ARM64 hardware.