TorMonitor

How to schedule torrent downloads on Mac (download only at night)

Updated 2 min read Needs TorMonitor Pro

Short answer

Open Preferences (⌘,) ▸ Scheduler, turn on Enable downloading schedule, set the Active hours (for example 23:00 – 07:00), choose a speed or Unlimited, and set Outside these hours to Pause downloading. A separate Seed schedule does the same for uploading. The scheduler is part of TorMonitor Pro.

Scheduling is useful when your internet plan has off-peak hours, when you share the connection during the day, or when you only want your Mac uploading at night. TorMonitor has two independent schedules: one for downloading and one for seeding.

TorMonitor Scheduler preferences with the downloading schedule enabled from 20:40 to 07:00, unlimited speed, and Pause downloading outside these hours
Preferences ▸ Scheduler: downloads run at full speed from 20:40 to 07:00 and pause the rest of the day.

Steps to schedule downloads#

  1. Open TorMonitor ▸ Preferences… (⌘ ,) and choose Scheduler.
  2. Under Download schedule, turn on Enable downloading schedule.
  3. Click the two time buttons next to Active hours to set when downloading is allowed, for example 23:00 and 07:00.
  4. Next to Speed during these hours, leave Unlimited on, or turn it off and type a limit in kB/s.
  5. Set Outside these hours to Pause downloading, or to Use the Bandwidth limits if you'd rather download slowly during the day than not at all.
  6. Click OK. The status bar now shows the schedule, for example "Downloads unlimited until 07:00".

Schedule seeding separately#

The Seed schedule below works the same way for uploading: turn on Enable seeding schedule, pick the hours and speed, and choose whether seeding pauses outside them. A common setup is downloading all night and seeding only during the night as well, so your upload doesn't compete with video calls during the day.

Good to know#

  • Times are daily, in your Mac's local time.
  • A window can pass midnight: 22:00 – 06:00 works as you'd expect.
  • Equal start and end times mean all day.
  • While a schedule is on, its speed replaces the matching limit on the Bandwidth page. When you turn the schedule off, the Bandwidth limits apply again.
  • Torrents paused by a schedule resume on their own when their hours begin. If you start one yourself, it keeps running until the next change of schedule.
  • Your Mac needs to be awake for TorMonitor to download. Check System Settings ▸ Battery (or Energy) to keep it from sleeping when plugged in.

Questions#

Can I have different schedules for weekdays and weekends?#

Not yet. Each schedule is one daily window that repeats every day.

What if I need a download right now, outside the window?#

Select the torrent and click Start or Force Start. It runs until the next change of schedule, then follows the schedule again.

Does the scheduler limit upload speed while downloading?#

The download schedule only sets the download rate. Use the seed schedule, or the upload limit on the Bandwidth page, to control uploading.

Is the scheduler free?#

No, the scheduler is a TorMonitor Pro feature. Pro is a one-time purchase.