New user account problem

[tores]

Hi everybody,

I'm stuck with a seedbox (dedicated server) because the man who set it up cannot be obtained any more and my technical knowledges are limited.
The server runs Debian 6.0 with Transmission 2.03.The problem is that i want to create a new user account.I created the account via webmin.I can connect to this account via sftp but transmission don't recognize it and cannot connect to it.
How can i set up transmission so it recognize the new account?

Many thanks

[rb07]

Transmission doesn't have or use user accounts.

If the Web client asks for a user and password, that is called authentication, and everything (enabled or not, user name and password) is configured in settings.json a file which you can edit following the right procedure.

The Wiki has better instructions about this, but in short you have to stop the daemon, open the file in an editor (either you login in a terminal and use an editor there, or through Webmin, or you ftp or otherwise copy the file and later send it back), store your changes, and start the daemon again.

An alternative is to specify the equivalent parameters on the daemon start-up. If I'm not mistaken, the parameters have priority over whatever the file has.

[tores]

I've done that (editing the json file) but still cannot connect.

I created the user account via putty with the 'useradd -m <username>' and the 'passwd <password> commands.The new user folder created succesfully.
Then i login in the new account and with the commands 'seedon' and 'seedoff' i create the config folder.
Then i try to connect from the browser (in the rpc port specified in the json file) but i can't.Keeps saying 'Unauthorized User'.

Any help will be much appreciated.

[rb07]

Looks like you did not understand... the user you create with useradd or Webmin or whatever is not an user name that Transmission will use.

The only "user" that Transmission knows in the one defined inside settings.json:

Code: Select all

    "rpc-authentication-required": false, 
    "rpc-enabled": false, 
    "rpc-password": "{716...", 
    "rpc-port": 9091, 
    "rpc-username": "", 
    "rpc-whitelist": "127.0.0.1", 
    "rpc-whitelist-enabled": true, 
 

This example has everything disabled, no Web client at all, values should be different on a real daemon. The "username" is any name, could be the same as an existing user name at the Operating System (OS) level, or not; and the password is something you first set blank, and later set using the Web client, and also has nothing to do with passwords at the OS level, i.e. if you use an existing user name, the password is not going to follow the OS user's password.

[tores]

Sorry,but it's first time that i have to do this ,and i really have to.

The setting file created is this

"alt-speed-down": 50,
"alt-speed-enabled": false,
"alt-speed-time-begin": 540,
"alt-speed-time-day": 127,
"alt-speed-time-enabled": false,
"alt-speed-time-end": 1020,
"alt-speed-up": 50,
"bind-address-ipv4": "0.0.0.0",
"bind-address-ipv6": "::",
"blocklist-enabled": false,
"dht-enabled": true,
"download-dir": "/home/******/Downloads",
"encryption": 1,
"incomplete-dir": "/home/******/Downloads",
"incomplete-dir-enabled": false,
"lazy-bitfield-enabled": true,
"lpd-enabled": false,
"message-level": 2,
"open-file-limit": 32,
"peer-limit-global": 240,
"peer-limit-per-torrent": 60,
"peer-port": 51413,
"peer-port-random-high": 65535,
"peer-port-random-low": 49152,
"peer-port-random-on-start": false,
"peer-socket-tos": 0,
"pex-enabled": true,
"port-forwarding-enabled": true,
"preallocation": 1,
"proxy": "",
"proxy-auth-enabled": false,
"proxy-auth-password": "",
"proxy-auth-username": "",
"proxy-enabled": false,
"proxy-port": 80,
"proxy-type": 0,
"ratio-limit": 2.0000,
"ratio-limit-enabled": false,
"rename-partial-files": true,
"rpc-authentication-required": true,
"rpc-bind-address": "0.0.0.0",
"rpc-enabled": true,
"rpc-password": "",
"rpc-port": 9091,
"rpc-username": "******",
"rpc-whitelist": "0.0.0.0",
"rpc-whitelist-enabled": true,
"script-torrent-done-enabled": false,
"script-torrent-done-filename": "",
"speed-limit-down": 100,
"speed-limit-down-enabled": false,
"speed-limit-up": 100,
"speed-limit-up-enabled": false,
"start-added-torrents": true,
"trash-original-torrent-files": false,
"umask": 18,
"upload-slots-per-torrent": 14
}

I set blank the password but the result is the same 'Unauthorized User'

[rb07]

This:

Code: Select all

"rpc-whitelist": "0.0.0.0",
"rpc-whitelist-enabled": true, 

means nobody has access to the Web client. You have to whitelist the address you are connecting from, or turn it off.

An this:

Code: Select all

"rpc-username": "******", 

I hope was changed by you to show in this forum.

[tores]

I changed it to this

"rpc-authentication-required": true,
"rpc-bind-address": "0.0.0.0",
"rpc-enabled": true,
"rpc-password": "",
"rpc-port": 9091,
"rpc-username": "*********",
"rpc-whitelist": "127.0.0.1",
"rpc-whitelist-enabled": false,



Set the password blank and yes i changed the username just for the forum
Same message ,'Unauthorized User.

[rb07]

Same message ,'Unauthorized User.

Did you stop, edit, then start the daemon?

[tores]

No i didn't.
I did it now ,with the same result
Stop and start the daemon with seedoff-seedon.
But when the daemon is started ,the password in the json file isn't blank anymore,is a string

[rb07]

Then look at the "seedon" script.

I assume its a script, those are not "well known" scripts, I have no idea where they came from, but it is very likely that the "seedon" script is starting the daemon with parameters, those parameters override anything you put on settings.json.

[tores]

I tried the seedoof-seedon in others users and the script didn't change the string in the json file.They work fine.
Is there any other way to set the password?
I tried the transmission-daemon -v <password> command,but the result was the same.

[rb07]

Either I don't understand what you are saying, or you are doing weird things...

I tried the seedoof-seedon in others users

If it is a well written script, changing what user runs it won't change anything. If it is not well written, then it will change which user is running transmission-daemon (not relevant to the user trying to use the Web client), and that might change which settings are used (if the script doesn't set a fixed configuration directory), that means each user can have its own configuration... and it usually just give you more trouble (access permissions, and other problems).

I tried the transmission-daemon -v <password> command,but the result was the same.

OK, let's take it from there... in a terminal first stop any other transmission-daemon (which belongs to you) running, then do:

Code: Select all

transmission-daemon -a "*" -g <path to your settings.json> -M -p 9091 -t -u admin -v password -w <path to your download dir> -f

Where <path to your settings.json> is the path only, not the path and the file name (and no spaces, quote it if it has spaces).
<path to your download dir> just as before, the full path (absolute path).

Live that running. Later you'll stop it with Ctrl-C .

On your browser try the Web client, with user "admin" and password "password". Did that work?

[tores]

No, doesn't work.
I send the seedoff signal and then the command you posted.
Here is the output of the command

[rb07]

You can see a few things in that screenshot:

• It complains about "address already in use..." which means you, or somebody else in the same computer, has transmission-daemon already running. If its yours, kill it (i.e. killall transmission-daemon);
• The version is 2.03, that could mean that the parameters are not the same. The rpc-whitelist parameter changed format and name... but I don't remember in which versions. Since you disabled it this shouldn't be a problem. The other I think they haven't changed, but again I'm not 100% sure.

Main thing is to stop all transmission-daemon before doing any test. Otherwise you are connecting to the old (already running) daemon.

[tores]

Yes ,you did it!
All fixed now.I thought that when i terminated the daemon from one user only that would be ok, but it wasn't.But when i terminated the daemon from all the users ,then the parameters saved succesfully and i was able to connect.Another thing i was doing wrong ,was that i included in the password string the characters $ and ?.So, when i was using the password <password> i was able to connect,but when i was changed to the original i wasn't.I took off these characters from the string and now everything is ok!

rb07 many thanks for all your time and help.Send me an address so i can send a case of wines You're great!