De-hybridize Torrent
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:category:  PHP
:tags:      torrent file, torrent, libraries
:date:      2023-11-10 11:08:00 +0200

A feature that may be desired for some anti-V2 trackers.
While I would like to see the torrent community going the other way around,
some trackers choose not to allow version 2 torrents and sometimes even hybrids.

The `torrent file library`__ now allows cleaning unnecessary or undesired metadata versions from a torrent file.

.. __: https://sandfox.dev/php/torrent-file.html

.. note::
    The process will change the infohash value so it's not for a casual case.
    The trackers that process torrent files on their side, like setting the private flag,
    a process that changes infohashes anyway, would benefit most from using this feature.

The intended use and the primary future scope is actually the other way around:
the ability to remove version 1 metadata to make use of easy mutability of version 2 torrents
to add or remove files in existing torrent structures.

.. note::
    Mutability of torrent files does not mean that you can replace data in an existing torrent.
    Updated torrents will have different infohash values and be considered a different torrent in the network.
    But often creation of such updates without having any original files downloaded can be very beneficial.